Cognitive Health Genomics

The Cognitive Health Genomics Group seeks to improve understanding of psychiatric and neurological disorders through statistical analysis of large genomics datasets. An important contribution from the lab has been research that overturned the widely held view that age-related de novo mutations are causally related to risk of psychiatric disorders in children of older fathers.

Another key focus of the Group is understanding the role of the gut-brain axis in psychiatric disorders (autism, anxiety), neurodegenerative diseases (eg. Parkinson’s disease) and functional gastrointestinal disorders (eg. IBS) that are frequently co-morbid with these conditions. We are investigating the role of the gut microbiome in autism and anxiety and we are working to establish methods for spatial transcriptomics of the gut epithelium in health and disease.