The Department of Psychiatric and Medical Genetics, with several research subdivisions, continues its long-standing goals of elucidating the genetic liability and mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders and other behavioral anomalies. An important part of the overall research effort has been the search for specific risk factors --including endophenotypes--that may predict to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Huntington’s disease or other diseases, usually those with behavioral components.
The long tradition of “firsts,” i.e., new discoveries, that has represented this department since its foundation in the late 1930’s continues. For example, the past decade or two has witnessed discoveries by members of this department of genes or gene regions involved in spinal muscular atrophy, Wilson’s disease, retinitis pigmentosa, and primary pulmonary hypertension, among others. Notable “firsts” are associated with two still ongoing longitudinal studies, namely, the Venezuelan Huntington’s Disease Pedigree Study, led by Dr. Nancy Wexler, and the New York High-Risk Project (NYHRP), directed by Dr. Niki Erlenmeyer-Kimling.
