I am a Research Neuroscientist transitioning from PhD at the psychiatric department of the University Hospital Frankfurt to a post-doc in the USA. I specialise in Translational Psychiatry, i.e. bridging the gap between clinical and preclinical studies, “from bench to bedside” – and back. Specifically, I am interested in the underpinnings of neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. To better understand those, we establish mouse models informed by human genetic and epidemiological studies and use behavioural, molecular, and morphological methods to gain insights. I have spent a lot of my time interacting with rodents and enjoy communicating their value to both colleagues and the general public, including youths
Of Mice and Men: Translational Psychiatry
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In this talk I aim to give some insights into how the field of Translational Psychiatry implements large-scale genomic data from human studies to develop preclinical models for studying psychiatric disorders. Furthermore, we will discuss the use of models to understand more about the disorders‘ underlying mechanisms and the effects of risk factors, such as genetic mutations and environment during development, and to find targets for future interventions. I will give a couple of examples of using „omics“ for translation from the clinic to the lab and back, in order to elucidate aspects of brain functions and dysfunction that have not been well understood thus far. Along the way, we will touch on the ethics of using genomic data and animal models in Neuroscience and Psychiatry, especially in the case of neurodevelopmental disorders, considering the field’s difficult history, enduring social stigma, and special care required when discussing these disorders.
