GENios

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that affects how people think, feel, and behave.

Genetics to Improve Outcomes in Schizophrenia (GENios) is a research study that focuses on the genetics of outcomes in schizophrenia in order to identify how genes, and knowledge of people’s genetics, can help to develop healthcare that is more tailored to an individual, so-called precision psychiatry.

About us

Working under the leadership of Professor James Walters, our project team are members of the Psychosis and Major Affective Disorders research group within the Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, based in the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University.

Our research is possible thanks to a grant from the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Lived experience

In undertaking this study, the Cardiff University research team also benefits from the invaluable support and guidance of lived experience experts (LEEs).  These individuals have personal experience of schizophrenia themselves – whether individually or experience caring for someone with schizophrenia – and share their opinions, experiences and perspectives with the research team to meaningfully shape the structure, priorities and activities of the GENios project.

Global partnership

Global cooperation is at the centre of the GENios project.  The study is an international collaboration to investigate the genetics of outcomes in schizophrenia, on the largest scale to date, made possible through world-wide partnership and data sharing.  The GENios programme of research will repurpose data, both existing data from international collaborations and new data generated during the lifetime of the project, to undertake large-scale genomic studies of schizophrenia outcomes.

Our research

The GENios study will use existing and new data to undertake large-scale genomic studies of schizophrenia outcomes.  The project focuses on four key outcomes that were prioritised for research according to guidance from individuals with lived experience of schizophrenia as well as drawing upon scholarship in this field:

• antipsychotic treatment response
• hospital admissions
• occupational functioning
• social functioning

The aims of this project are to understand the genetic contributions to these outcomes in schizophrenia to:

• advance current understanding of the biological mechanisms that drive variability in outcomes
• highlight novel drug targets
• identify genomic predictors of outcomes that can be leveraged for precision medicine

Join our collaboration

We are inviting contributions from fellow researchers around the world of relevant datasets, namely:

• Genomic data
• Phenotypic data (particularly on treatment resistance and outcomes)

Participation presents opportunities for meaningful scientific partnership, including co-authorship of publications and engaging with (optional) meetings to discuss study progress.

To find out more and register your interest, complete our form.

Enquiries

Key contacts