Since the advent of array-based genotyping methods, researchers world-wide have made major progress in understanding the molecular processes underlying neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. There is evidence that both a large number of common genetic risk factors, each conferring a small individual increase in disease risk, as well as rare variants with higher penetrance contribute to disease development. The results allow a first glimpse into the biology of these diseases, using functional studies, animal models as well as imaging genetics. Despite all progress, a substantial proportion of the heritability is still unexplained and researchers are currently discussing the most promising approaches to detect these genetic factors.
Sven Cichon studied biology in Bonn and graduated in 1995 with a doctorate on the impact of CNS-expressed receptor/transporter genes for the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. He was post-doc at Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., Cambridge, USA and worked at the Department of Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp, Belgium. He returned to Bonn in 2004 to become head of the Molecular Genetics Laboratory at the Life & Brain centre of excellence. In 2009, Sven Cichon was appointed as professor of genomic imaging at the Research Center Jülich and at the University of Bonn. He currently establishing a new research group bridging molecular genetics and neuro-imaging.
Moderation: Professor Dr. Uwe Völker