The interplay between environmental and genetic risk factors in the aetiology of substance use disorders

Honours or PhD project. We are seeking a highly motivated student with a strong interest in statistics and quantitative studies.

BACKGROUND

Mental health disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, and substance use) are the leading cause of global disease burden in the young adult population. Twin and family studies show that both genetic and environmental factors play a large role in the aetiology of these disorders. The Translational Neurogenomics group aims to identify genetic risk factors for a range of mental health and substance use disorders, and investigate the interplay between genetic and environmental risk factors.

UK Biobank is a major national and international health resource with the aim of improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses. UK Biobank recruited 500,000 people aged between 40-69 years in 2006-2010 from across the country to take part in this project. They have undergone measures, provided blood, urine and saliva samples for future analysis, and detailed information about themselves and agreed to have their health followed. Over many years, this will build into a powerful resource to help scientists discover why some people develop particular diseases and others do not. Extensive information on mental health has been collected from a subset of 150,000 individuals.

POTENTIAL PROJECTS

1. Substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs) are explained by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Exposure to traumatic experiences, particularly in childhood, has been linked with both substance abuse and dependence. Is this link stronger in people with a genetic predisposition to SUDs? This project will investigate the interaction between genetic liability to substance use and traumatic experiences in the UK Biobank.
2.  A network approach to psychopathology is an alternative way of conceptualising mental illness. A disorder is conceptualised as a system of interacting relationships between symptoms, rather than the set of symptoms resulting from a single latent factor (the disorder). This project will conduct a network analysis of substance use disorders (SUDs) using symptom-level data from the UK Biobank. Networks will be estimated for groups with a high vs. low genetic predisposition for substance use in order to determine whether genetic risk is associated with differences in psychopathological network structure.

WHAT DO WE OFFER

• A position in a dynamic research environment and the opportunity to conduct high-quality studies.
• Access to large-scaled datasets through (inter)national collaborations.
• Being a part of a successful research team.