Summer School in Brain Disorders Research
Our annual Summer School in Brain Disorders Research is held at one of the world’s leading centres on neuropsychiatric genetics and genomics.
Due to a high volume of applicants, applications for the 2026 programme have now closed.
Our four-day course takes place at the Hadyn Ellis Building, run by the team based in the Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG) at Cardiff University.
The summer school aims to provide trainees and scientists with a grounding in brain disorders research and to inspire and inform the researchers of tomorrow.
The summer school includes talks on a range of topics in psychiatry, neurology, and neuroscience, including:
- neuroimaging
- psychiatric epidemiology
- genetics and epigenetics
- high-throughput sequencing
- manipulation of stem cells
- phenotypic assessments
- ethics in genetic research
The summer school also includes workshops on scientific careers and academic fellowships.
2026 programme
A copy of the 2026 programme is below. Please note that this is subject to change.
Monday 13 July
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Registration and lunch |
| 13:00 | Introduction, Professor James Walters and Professor George Kirov |
| 13:10 | Principles of high-throughput sequencing: sample preparation, equipment, Professor Nigel Williams |
| 13:55 | Laboratory tour in small groups and coffee while you wait, Dr Alexandra Evans and Ngoc-Na Vinh |
| 15:30 | High-throughput sequencing tour, part two: analysis and interpretation of sequencing data, Dr Elliott Rees |
| 16:15 | Copy number variations (CNVs) in neurodevelopmental disorders, Professor George Kirov |
| 17:00 | Check-in for those with student accommodation with Professor George Kirov and the Communications team |
Tuesday 14 July
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | Using MRI to understand mental disorders, Dr Xavier Caseras |
| 09:45 | Neuroimaging tour of CUBRIC and coffee while you wait, Professor Neil Harrison and team |
| 11:45 | A developmental approach to understanding child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr Frances Rice |
| 12:30 | Lunch |
| 13:15 | Movement disorder phenotypes and genetics, Dr Duncan McLaughlin |
| 14:00 | Coffee |
| 14:15 | Huntington's disease: translating genetics into therapies, Dr Tom Massey |
| 15:00 | Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders, Dr Claire MacIver |
Wednesday 15 July
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | Identifying gene expression profiles, Professor Nick Bray |
| 09:45 | Emerging technologies (CRISPR-Cas9, single-cell sequencing and others), Dr Yasir Syed |
| 10:30 | Making neurons from stem cells: laboratory tour and coffee while you wait, Dr Yasir Syed and team |
| 12:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00 | Parallel talks: Research careers in medicine, Dr Rhys Bevan-Jones |
| 13:45 | Imaging epilepsy, Professor Khalid Hamandi |
| 14:30 | Coffee |
| 15:00 | Genetics of epilepsy, Dr Rhys Thomas, Newcastle (via Teams) |
| 15:45 | Psychedelics and psychiatry, Dr Mathew D Hoskins |
| 16:30 | Pizzas and posters: if applicable, bring a research poster with you, and enjoy some pizza with researchers from the Division for Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences |
Thursday 16 July
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | Reproductive psychiatry and the effect of gender and sex on mental health, Professor Arianna Di Florio |
| 09:45 | Measuring risk for Alzheimer’s Disease, Professor Valentina Escott-Price |
| 10:30 | Coffee |
| 11:00 | Workshop: Social and ethical aspects of genetic testing, Dr Kimberley Kendall and Professor George Kirov |
| 12:00 | Advances in the genetics of psychiatric disorders, Professor James Walters |
| 12:45 | Lunch and farewell |
Speakers
The programme is delivered by experts in their respective fields.
- Professor James Walters
- Professor George Kirov
- Professor Nigel Williams
- Dr Elliott Rees
- Dr Xavier Caseras
- Professor Arianna Di Florio
- Dr Khalid Hamandi
- Dr Kathryn Peall
- Dr Tom Massey
- Dr Yasir Syed
- Professor Adrian Harwood
- Professor Jeremy Hall
- Dr Jack Underwood
- Dr Will Davies
- Dr Gerry Dawson
- Dr Rhys Thomas
- Dr Mathew D Hoskins
Accommodation
Free student accommodation is available for attendees living outside of Cardiff, subject to availability at the time of acceptance.
Contact us
For more information, contact the following: