PhD defence A.P.S. (Anil) Ori

One in every 200 people will be diagnosed with schizophrenia during their lifetime and about 1.5 million people received a schizophrenia diagnosis this year, worldwide. Despite the fact that so many people suffer from the illness and its high burden on families and societies, we know so little about the biology of schizophrenia with no cures yet available. Genomic technologies and new developments in quantitative genetic methodology have proven to be instrumental in advancing our knowledge on the biology of complex human diseases, including schizophrenia. Large-scale genetic studies have for example been successful at identifying genetic variation associated with schizophrenia thereby propelling new insights into its disease mechanisms. The next step forward is to conduct further functional investigations that build upon these genetic associations to clarify the molecular and cellular processes that are disrupted. At the same time, gaining understanding of the molecular consequences that impact the bodies and lives of those who suffer from the illness is equally important as well.

This thesis is a collection of my research on the biology of schizophrenia and embodies the genomic opportunities and diverse research strategies that lay at our disposal to clarify and improve our understanding of the illness. With the use of laboratory model systems of brain and blood cells, large case-control cohorts, newly developed DNA methylation algorithms, and by re-using and leveraging external genomic datasets, I conducted an in-depth investigation into the biology of schizophrenia. My aim was to go beyond the findings of large-scale genetic studies and conduct research that uses state-of-the-art methodology and integrative genomic analyses to identify new pieces to the puzzle of schizophrenia biology in the post-GWAS era.

The PhD defences will not take place publicly in the usual way. A live stream link has been provided to candidate. The ceremony will begin exactly at 15:30.