Our Mission

The UNC Center for Psychiatric Genomics is committed to rapidly advancing our understanding of the specific causes of severe psychiatric illness. We engage world experts in genomics, population studies, neuroscience, protein network biology, public health, and pharmacology to accelerate scientific discovery.

Our Vision

The Center for Psychiatric Genomics represents a synergistic framework to coordinate and stimulate growth in basic and applied genomics research as it relates to human psychiatric disease and provides education and training at the interface among genetics, psychiatry, public health, and medicine.

The Center for Psychiatric Genomics was launched in 2013 . Our goal is to embrace the challenge of utilizing and applying rapid advancements in technology to optimize “team science”. The Center for Psychiatric Genomics brings teams of scientists, clinicians, and researchers together to work collegially and harmoniously on the leading edge of genomics research and translational psychiatric medicine. The Center for Psychiatric Genomics serves as a catalyst and a model for other universities and institutions both nationally and internationally.

The Center for Psychiatric Genomics is a center without walls. Its administrative hub is at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but its tendrils reach around the globe. The Center is powered by local, national, and international collaborations.

Our motivating questions for the Center of Psychiatric Genomics are: With the current research in genetics, can we improve the diagnosis of children, adolescents, and adults with psychotic and major mood disorders? Do these new findings have prognostic and treatment implications? Can they be applied in an ethical manner and one which is accepted and understood by clinicians, patients and families?