Grants support
schizophrenia
studies at UH
Two University of Hawaii-Manoa researchers have been awarded $120,000 to study the genetics of schizophrenia and identify adolescents at risk for psychoses.
Marilou Andres of the Pacific Biomedical Research Center and Jason Schiffman of the Department of Psychology received two-year 2004 Young Investigator awards from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.
They were among 190 award recipients chosen by the Alliance's Scientific Council out of more than 1,000 grant applications. Council members include three Nobel Prize winners, present and former directors of the National Institute of Mental Health and many leaders in psychiatric research in universities and medical centers worldwide.
Dr. Herbert Pardes, council president and chief executive officer of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, said: "The studies we are funding will build upon recent breakthroughs in genetics, imaging technology and molecular biology of the brain.
"Not long ago, people were looking for a single gene for each mental illness, but today, as our research grants show, there is a multiplicity of genes functioning in complex relationships at the core of each of the characteristic mental illnesses."
Andres is investigating genetic changes in potassium channels that could cause some symptoms of schizophrenia.
Schiffman plans to follow at-risk adolescents for one year to determine and refine accuracy of methods to predict those who might develop psychosis.
The Young Investigator Award Program provides funding for the most promising young scientists conducting neurobiological research relevant to schizophrenia, associated disorders or other serious mental illnesses.
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