Scholarship Description
General Information The research project, for which the Post-Doctoral Fellowship was granted by FAPESP, is a result of a partnership between the University of São Paulo (USP), the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in the field of mental health. Thus, the project linked to the post-doctoral fellowship aims to deepen studies on the etiology of psychiatric disorders through the evaluation of genomic data from probands and their parents, as well as psychosocial data related to functional impairments in these individuals, such as school dropout and unemployment.
The main activities include creating and managing databases, analyzing data generated from genomic sequencing (exomes and whole genome), conducting GWAS analyses, and calculating polygenic scores. Additionally, the fellow will be responsible for coordinating part of the project, supervising students, and organizing tasks for the execution and development of the project. They will also be responsible for writing/publishing articles related to the project.
Project Summary All mental disorders have a genetic etiological basis, and there is a high degree of genetic overlap among them. Moreover, it is known that these disorders lead to functional impairments, resulting in school dropout and/or unemployment. Thus, our hypothesis is that within a community sample, some individuals have greater genetic susceptibility than others to dysfunctional trajectories and mental disorders. We also hypothesize that disorders with an earlier onset may be related to a subtype of disease with a greater genetic contribution, and therefore, with a higher polygenic risk score (PRS) and/or a greater number of non-inherited copy number variants (CNVs). We will also test the hypothesis that the Family Liability Index (collected as a screening tool for subjects' risk at baseline) is related to the parents' PRS, the children's PRS, and their functional impairments and mental disorders.
General Objective: Identify variants related to or capable of predicting major mental disorders and trajectories of functional impairments.
Specific Objectives:
Correlate genomic variants (SNVs - Single Nucleotide Variants - and CNVs) and trans-diagnostic PRS with: a. Any mental disorder present in the second wave (age group at higher risk); b. Functional impairments (using the variable "neither working nor studying" vs. "working or studying" in the second wave, the age group at higher risk);
Correlate the age of onset of disorders with the aforementioned genomic variants;
Correlate the Family Liability Index with the parents' PRS, the children's PRS, and their functional impairments and presence of mental disorders (separately and in a mediation model);
Test whether the parents' PRS can predict the mentioned outcomes in their children.
The position is open to both Brazilians and foreigners.
Email for interested applicants: See Below
Please specify in the subject “Application for PD - BHRC - First Name + Last Name.”
Candidates must submit the following documents:
1. Curriculum summary (FAPESP model) including a list of publications (highlighting authorship that demonstrates the necessary expertise);
2. Cover letter indicating the reason for interest in the fellowship and a brief description of your experience;
3. Three recommendation letters (and contacts);
4. Lattes Curriculum
