Welcome to the Sullivan Lab

The Sullivan Lab is under the direction of the award winning Dr. Patrick Sullivan, MD. Dr. Sullivan is the recipient of the Ming Tsuang Lifetime Achievement Award, the Yeargan Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Genetics, and he is Director of the Center for Psychiatric Genomics. Dr. Sullivan is known for his extensive clinical work identifying the link between mental disorders and genetics. The Sullivan Lab strives to dissect the genetic composition of complex traits, which are of great importance to the general public — particularly focusing on schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, postpartum depression, anorexia nervosa, and autism. We employ genetic approaches to investigating the etiology, pharmacogenetics, and clinical sub-typing of these disorders. We take the phrase “complex trait” seriously; no single lab will be able to solve these problems in isolation. This requires us to collaborate in a real way with experts in many other disciplines. We have deep links with researchers in other UNC departments/centers and other institutions worldwide. The Sullivan Lab is located in the Department of Genetics, in the School of Medicine, at UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Sullivan is also a Professor in the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Major funding sources for the Sullivan Lab include the US National Institutes of Health, the Swedish Research Council, and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.