Social Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry

To undertake research on the interplay between genetic, environmental and maturational factors, and their roles in the causal processes underlying the origins and course of multifactorial mental disorders; to consider the implications for clinical practice and public health policy; and to train others in the methodologies involved.”

The goal of the Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry (MRC) Centre is to bridge the gap between “nature” (genetics) and “nurture” (environment) as they interact in the development of complex human behaviour, such as depression and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children.

Launched in 1994 as a partnership between the MRC (Medical Research Council) and the thrn IoP, the Centre is a unique multi-disciplinary institution that studies social epidemiology, child and adult psychiatry, developmental psychopathology, development in the family, personality traits, cognitive abilities, statistical genetics, and molecular genetics. This unparalleled approach has inspired and nurtured collaborative research between the different departments within the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience and demonstrated its impressive multifaceted expertise