Psychiatric Disorders

A new approach for growing neurons, an HIV survival strategy, whole-genome blood typing, and more.

Broad researchers are engaged in a massive effort to expand genetic diversity in psychiatric research, and to increase low and middle-income countries' capacity for large-scale research. One of their first stops: Africa.

Guided by a multispecies comparison between dogs, mice, and humans, researchers identify new genes and biological pathways associated with OCD.

By probing genetic variation, scientists continue to unearth the roots of disease and pave the way for precision medicine.

On January 9, Broad Institute was honored to host renowned neurobiologist Ben Barres.

Barres, Chairman of Neurobiology and Professor of Neurobiology, Developmental Biology, Neurology, and Ophthalmology at Stanford, visited Broad as a guest of the Stanley Center and gave a seminar entitled “What do reactive astrocytes do?” to a packed auditorium. His research has made important contributions to the role of microglia and astrocytes in the biology of the brain, in particular their role in synaptic pruning.

You can watch his talk here.

The study of structural variation — large-scale changes in DNA that can, in some cases, refashion entire chromosomes — in the genomic era has lagged behind that of sequence variation. But there’s a growing appreciation of how important structural variants are to human biology and disease. What makes these variants more challenging to study, and what is being done to overcome those challenges?