Happy Holidays from the Kennedy Lab! 🎄☃️🎁❄️

Check out our recent publication on patient experiences and opinions on pharmacogenomic testing in psychiatry published in JPM_MDPI doi.org/10.3390/jpm140… #pharmacogenetics

I just returned from Harry Rosen’s funeral. He lived a full life of dedication to others including special attention to mental health and supporting CAMH. The quote on his office wall points out that each individual is unique — also true for mental health care.

Harry Rosen has been a key supporter of our research at CAMH. In addition to his incredible Canadian legacy, he will be remembered for his dedication and generosity towards mental health efforts and individualized medicine. May he rest in peace.

Our Tanenbaum Centre for Pharmacogenetics is at the forefront of developing gene-guided treatments that enable patients to receive personalized care based on their optimal treatment plan; while reducing symptoms of illness + minimizing side effects. MORE: camh.ca/en/science-and…

Terrific publication that is only the beginning of high value science from this @camhnews longitudinal cohort of psychosis-prone youth. Also to come are molecular studies of genomic risk factors and blood biomarkers of clinical outcomes. Very exciting!

My paper using wearables to study the association of anxiety disorders and heart rate variability is published! This was one of my thesis chapters, and I'm excited to finally have it out! Check it out here: sciencedirect.com/science/articl… CAMH Research CAMH Empatica

Excited to share that our paper on the association between the schizophrenia-associated C4 gene and its implications for understanding suicide risk is finally published! Check it out here: nature.com/articles/s4153…

Congratulations to Niki and Kowsar for their achievements at IMS Scientific Day Institute of Medical Science! 👏🏻👏🏻Additionally, we're delighted to share that Dr. Kennedy has been awarded the Mel Silverman Mentorship Award. #IMSScientificDay

Earlier this week, I was truly honored and humbled to receive this award at the #APAAM2024 ⁦ American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting for my contributions to #pharmacogenomics in psychiatry! Following the Q&A round, I felt I should have maybe added one more sentence in the 'take home':

Important message from @camhnews. The science & evidence should drive policy. Easy access to alcohol (& any substance with abuse potential) means more deaths, more illness, more hospitalization, and more cost to citizens. And less regulation impacts young people the most.

Our CoMorMent study identifying genetic, immunometabolic, lifestyle, and psychosocial factors underlying the link between depression and cardiovascular disease in Nature Cardiovascular Research, with Joëlle A. Pasman Ole Andreassen Unnur Valdimarsdóttir Andrew McIntosh Dr Cathryn Lewis nature.com/articles/s4416…

Very few studies of mental illness examine large longitudinal cohorts of people receiving mental health care. CAMH has made a major investment to study biology to social determinants to service use data across the lifespan, partnering with patients and families.

I’m excited to share that my PhD study using the genetics of heart rate variability to identify new targets for anxiety disorders has been published in Psychiatry Research! sciencedirect.com/science/articl… CAMH Research CAMH Institute of Medical Science University of Toronto

Fantastic talk by our very own Niki Akbarian from Kennedy Lab on the realtionship between Neuroticism and Alzheimer’s Disease #DPRD2024

Great talk by our postdoc from Kennedy Lab, Dr. Sarah Afjeh on gene co-expression in Bipolar Disorder #DPRD2024

🎉Happy #DNADay!🧬Today we celebrate the amazing impact of genetics on science, health & society by answering your questions on AI + genetic testing. Plus, we're celebrating our #DNADay25 Essay Contest winners at noon! 🏆👏 Join the convo here: redd.it/1k7i3t1 #ASHG