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Recent Updates

News

FAMILY Spotlight – Interview series

Meet Lennart Oblong, a FAMILY PhD student in the Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Genetics group at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, supervised by Emma Sprooten. His PhD research focuses on uncovering how genetic variation influences brain function and behavior, particularly in the context of intergenerational transmission of mental health-related traits. In this brief interview, Lennart shares insights into his role in the FAMILY project, what inspired his journey into science, and the most surprising discovery he has encountered in his research so far.

5 December 2024
News

FAMILY Spotlight – Interview series

Meet María Ortuño, a FAMILY PhD student in the Multimodal Neuroimaging in High Risk and Early Psychosis group at the Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica and Hospital Clínic de Barcelona (IDIBAPS), under the supervision of Gisela Sugranyes. Her doctoral research explores markers of glutamatergic dysfunction in adolescents at high risk of developing psychosis. In this brief interview, María shares insights into her role in the FAMILY project, what inspired her to pursue a career in science, the most surprising discovery of her journey so far, and what motivates her in the day-to-day challenges of research.

28 November 2024
News

FAMILY Spotlight – Interview series

Introducing Signe Mežinska, associate professor of bioethics at the University of Latvia in Riga and the leader of work package 8 in the FAMILY project. With a background in bioethics and sociology, Signe’s research interests encompass biomedical research ethics, the protection of research participants’ rights, the ethics of biobanking and biotechnologies, reproductive ethics, and the rational use of medicines. This brief interview offers insights into the FAMILY project, particularly work package 8, explores Signe’s strategies for maintaining balance in the challenging world of science, and provides valuable advice for young researchers.

21 November 2024

About

Mental illness runs in families.
The FAMILY consortium aims to improve the life of mentally-ill persons and their families:

  • firstly focus on better understanding the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of mental illness from parent to child.
  • studying the family context, we will try to build models to predict whether mental illness will be transmitted across generations or not.
  • FAMILY will also address key ethical and social issues raised by risk prediction for clinical use, such as the right not to know, and the risk of stigma.
  • Lastly, together with the family advocacy and support organisation EUFAMI and the not-for-profit association ESCAP, we will try to increase awareness and foster active engagement of families, and translate new discoveries to patients and mental health care professionals.

Read more

FAMILY translates current barriers into 3 themes of enquiry, with the following 6 project objectives:

Theme 1

Understanding intergenerational transmission of risk

  • Estimate the contribution of genetic and environmental routes of intergenerational transmission of risk from parent to offspring throughout the life course.
  • Identify causal factors underlying genetic and environmental routes of risk transmission and resilience.
Theme 2

Predicting risk of mental illness in a familial context

  • Identify and validate genetic, epigenetic, and brain imaging biomarkers for risk or resilience to mental disease in the family.
  • Develop and validate a multimodal risk prediction model and a normative modelling framework to predict, at the individual level, who is at risk of developing a mental disorder.
Theme 3

Creating societal impact and end-user engagement

  • Map and evaluate social and ethical consequences of risk prediction for clinical use.
  • Increase awareness and foster active engagement of families and translate new discoveries to patients and mental health care professionals.

Impact

Scientific

New breakthrough scientific discoveries on the intergenerational transmission of risk of mental illness and risk prediction within a family context, pushing the field forward towards first clinical implementation of family-based prediction tools by 2035.

Clinical

Ethical considerations regarding risk prediction support mental health care professionals and patients and their families in clinical decision-making. Awareness on the role of transmission of risk of mental health problems stimulates the integration of child/adolescent and adult mental health care services, leading to improved care for high-risk families.

Societal

Improved mental health literacy in vulnerable high-risk families, resulting in increased engagement with their own mental health and earlier recognition of mental health problems, leading to earlier identification and preventive intervention. Improved quality of life of vulnerable high-risk families because of earlier recognition of emerging problems, earlier and focused preventive interventions, and less stigma and discrimination.

Economic

Earlier identification and preventive intervention of mental health problems prevents exacerbation of these problems, resulting in reduced mental health care cost in the longer term.