The Schofield Group is interested in the genetics of mental illness and brain function. In particular, we have focused on investigating the genetic causes of bipolar disorder, a debilitating and severe psychiatric illness which affects around 1% of the Australian population. Bipolar disorder is characterised by mood swings from the extremes of elevated moods (mania) and low moods (depression), and patients often experience normal moods (euthymia) between these episodes.
We have been studying families with multiple individuals who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder to examine the transmission of DNA to affected individuals, in order to identify bipolar disorder susceptibility genes. Because of the nature of the disorder and the complex pattern of genetic transmission, we expect that multiple genes will contribute to susceptibility, and that no single gene will have a large effect on the development of the disorder. It is possible that particular combinations of genes will be stronger risk factors for developing bipolar disorder than individual genes, so we are also looking at interactions between regions of the genome to identify genes which may, in concert, affect susceptibility to this severe psychiatric illness.
Click here to access Prof Peter Schofield's research papers:
Appointed Institute head in 2004, Peter graduated from the University of Sydney with the University Medal and was awarded a PhD in genetics from The Australian National University in 1985. He undertook postdoctoral positions in biotechnology in the US and the University of Heidelberg. Peter was appointed a NHMRC Senior Research Fellow at the Garvan Institute in 1993, becoming head of the Neurobiology Research Program in 1999. His research interests focus on identifying genes that lead to mental illness and to dementia.
Career:
Animal models of mental illnessWhile animals do not suffer from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, animal studies undertaken by Dr Albert Chetcuti and PhD student Carlotta Duncan have investigated how the administration of antimani |
Genes, environment and depressionIn a collaborative study with Professors Kay Wilhelm and Phil Mitchell from the UNSW School of Psychiatry, Professor Peter Schofield and his team examined the genetic variation in the transporter prot |
Genes, ethics and mental illnessWork on genes involved in predisposing an individual to mental illness has allowed Professor Schofield's research group to undertake a range of collaborative studies examining community and patient un |
Genetics of bipolar disorderBoth genetic and environmental factors are involved in the development of bipolar disorder, a severe mood disorder characterised by oscillations from normal mood to periods of elevated mood (mania) or |
Genetics of early onset Alzheimer's diseaseDementia is usually thought of as a disease of ageing. |
Genetics of frontotemporal dementiaDr John Kwok and Professor Peter Schofield have been studying familial dementias and, together with PhD student Agnes Luty, have characterised a large South Australian family that has frontotemporal d |
Genetics of normal brain functionIn a collaborative study with Professor Lea Williams from the University of Sydney at Westmead Hospital and Assoc Professor Evian Gordon from the Brain Resource Company, Dr Carol Dobson-Stone and Prof |
Quantitative trait analysis of bipolar disorderGenetic research into bipolar disorder traditionally uses strict categorical criteria to define a clinical diagnosis. |
