Functional analysis of novel rare coding variants for schizophrenia using zebrafish

Project Code

MRCNMH26Ex Ryu

Project Type

Wet lab

Research Theme

Neuroscience and Mental Health

Project Summary Download

Summary

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder with debilitating effects on a patient’s quality of life. Because current medications do not work well, we need to study its molecular cause to develop new therapeutics. Recent research identified a number of genetic mutations in Schizophrenia patients called “rare coding variants.” These mutations change the proteins they produce, but for many of them, we do not yet know the functional consequences. In this project we will study the functions of the rare coding variants using zebrafish and compare the results with mouse models of equivalent mutations and human post-mortem brain tissue.

Lead Supervisor

Professor Soojin Ryu

Lead Supervisor Email

s.ryu@exeter.ac.uk

University Affiliation

Exeter