Cardiff researcher wins child psychiatry research award

A clinical research fellow has won the joint first prize in the Trainee Publication category for her research.

Dr Olga Eyre won the prize for her paper: Investigating the genetic underpinnings of early-life irritability, co-authored with Dr Lucy Riglin.

The CPRS award seeks to celebrate and promote research work in the field of child and adolescent mental health carried out by a CPRS member who is training in child and adolescent psychiatry. This includes core training (CT-level) and Academic Clinical Fellows (ACFs).

The winner of the competition was determined by members of the Society’s Competition Committee, who were said to be impressed with the high quality, methodological rigour and clinical importance of the publication.

The research aimed to investigate the genetics of irritability, primarily testing whether irritability in childhood is associated with genetic risk for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The association between irritability and genetic risk for depression was also examined.

The findings suggest that irritability is associated with genetic risk for ADHD both in the general population and in individuals with ADHD, but an association with genetic risk for depression was not observed. This suggests childhood irritability could be conceptualised as a neurodevelopmental difficulty, behaving more like disorders such as ADHD than mood disorders.

Olga commented on the award:

“I’m delighted to have been awarded this distinguished prize. It really illustrates the hard work of everyone involved with this research. Hopefully, our findings advance our understanding of early life irritability, its genetic basis and its links to other psychiatric conditions.

“Thank you to Anita for the nomination and to everybody else who has assisted and supported me in my research career so far.”

Olga was nominated for the award by Professor Anita Thapar, lead for the developmental disorders research theme. Commenting on Olga’s achievement, Anita said:

“It’s brilliant that Olga’s hard work has been recognised. The research carried out by her and the rest of the team is pioneering and I’m so pleased they have been rewarded for their efforts. I look forward to seeing the progress she and her colleagues will undoubtedly make in the future.”