Johns Hopkins Medicine - Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Mood Disorders Program
Family, twin, and adoption studies show a strong genetic component to bipolar disorder and to major depression. Our work focuses on nailing down which of the 25,000 human genes confers the risk for developing these mood disorders. The work has several aspects including clinical assessment of people with bipolar disorder and major depression and their families, laboratory experiments using DNA from those who volunteer for our studies, and analysis of the clinical and genetic information obtained. Clinical Assesments We currently have two projects involving new clinical assessments for bipolar disorder and one for major depression. For all of these studies, our research psychiatrists interview those who volunteer and obtain DNA from them by extracting it from white blood cells collected through a routine blood draw. Click on one of the links below for more information about our studies: CLICK HERE FOR BIPOLAR DISORDER GENETICS STUDY INFORMATION
CLICK HERE FOR DEPRESSION GENETICS STUDY INFORMATION
Laboratory Experiments In the George Browne Psychiatric Genetics Lab, volunterrs' DNA is carefully stored and organized for use in a variety of experiments. Our molecular geneticists carry out experiments designed to identify regions of chromosomes likely to harbor bipolar disorder genes, find new variations within potential disease genes, test the DNA sequence variations in large numbers of individuals, and determine whether particular genes are turned on too high or not enough. Analysis of Genetic Information Our statistical geneticists analyze the large amount of data generated, looking for correlations that let us know when our experiments have revealed something of value. We have been particularly interested in examining clinical features of illness such as psychotic symptoms (e.g. hallucinations and delusions), for example, that may correlate with patterns seen in patients’ DNA, and thus distinguish genetically important disease subtypes. CLICK HERE FOR BIOINFORMOODICS: TOOLS FOR GENE DISCOVERY IN MOOD DISORDERS
The identification of bipolar disorder and major depression genes may someday provide benefits to those who are suffering from these illnesses and those at risk for them. For example, genes will point to biochemical pathways of disease and could lead to development of new medications to alter those pathways. In addition, specific disease gene variants might be associated with better response to particular medications; this might provide an opportunity for clinicians to optimize their choice of medications, getting the right drug to the right patient at the right time. There is already good evidence that a variation in the serotonin transporter gene might provide exactly this kind of opportunity in the treatment of major depression. With knowledge of multiple disease genes, genetic testing could be developed for purposes of diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, or early intervention. J. Raymond DePaulo Jr., M.D.
Dr. DePaulo, the Henry Phipps Professor and Director of the Department of Psychiatry, is the prinicipal investigator of the depression genetics study. He received his BS from Xavier University and his MD from Johns Hopkins University. He then went on to complete his residency training in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. DePaulo created both the affective disorders clinic at Johns Hopkins and the research program focused on the genetics of affective disorders in the 1980s; he directed them both until 2005. He has authored over 100 scientific publications as well as two books. |  |
 | James Potash, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Potash is the principal investigator of the family genetic study of bipolar disorder as well as co-prinicipal investigator of the depression genetics study, and Co-Director of the Mood Disorders Program. He received his BA from Yale University and his MD and MPH from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his residency in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital. One focus of Dr. Potash’s research is the genetics of the psychotic form of bipolar disorder. A second focus is epigenetics, which involves heritable information not contained within the DNA sequence; he has an NIH grant to study the epigenetics of depression.
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Dean MacKinnon, M.D.
Dr. MacKinnon is the co-principal investigator of the individual genetic study of bipolar disorder. He received his BA from the University of Pennsylvania and his MD from the University of California at San Diego. He completed his residency in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. MacKinnon is also the director of the first-year medical student Psychiatry course. His specific research interest is in the comorbidity (co-occurrence) of mood disorders and anxiety disorders.
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Here are the clinicians working on the projects:  | Fernando Goes, M.D.
Dr. Goes is a post-doctoral fellow investigating the genetic basis of psychotic forms of bipolar disorder. He received his BS from Brown University and his MD from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his residency in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
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Francis Mondimore, M.D.
Dr. Mondimore is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry. He received his BA from LaSalle College and his MD from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his residency in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Mondimore was a member of the faculty at Johns Hopkins before leaving to join the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He returned to the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1999. Dr. Mondimore is the author of numerous books, including Adolescent Depression: A Guide for Parents, Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families, A Natural History of Homosexuality, and Depression: The Mood Disease.
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 | Jennifer Payne, M.D.
Dr. Payne is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the principal investigator of a clinical trial for bipolar depression. She received her BS from Davidson College and her MD from Washington University. She completed her residency in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she served as chief resident. Dr. Payne’s research interests are mood disorders in women and hormonal influences on mood disorders.
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Barbara Schweizer, R.N., B.S.
Mrs. Schweizer is the research nurse for the genetic studies of mood disorders, and a member of the psychiatry department faculty. She has been working with the team for over 15 years and is responsible for supervising all research assistants as well as providing clinical expertise as needed. She received her BS from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. |  |
Here are the research assistants working on the projects: Erin Miller Klasen, M.S.
Ms. Klasen is the clinical data manager for the genetic studies of mood disorders. She received her BS in Psychology from Duke University and her MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University. |  |
 | Jennifer Toolan, B.A.
Ms. Toolan is a research assistant for the genetic studies of mood disorders and the clinical trial of riluzole. She is the coordinator of the individual genetic study of bipolar disorder. She received her BA in Psychology from Loyola College and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University. |
Brandie Craighead, M.S.
Ms. Craighead is a research assistant for the genetic studies of mood disorders, and she is the coordinator of a study on anxiety in bipolar disorder. She received her BS in Biopsychology from Mt. St. Mary’s College and her MS in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University. |  |
Meredith Goodell, B.A.
Ms. Goodell is a research assistant working on the genetic studies of mood disorders. She received her BA in Human Biology from Brown University. She is planning to pursue a joint degree in nursing and public health. |  |
 | Erin Snyder, B.A.
Ms. Snyder is a research assistant for the genetic studies of mood disorders, and she is the research coordinator of the adolescent at-risk study of familial bipolar disorder. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park and is currently pursuing her master’s degree and specialist certificate in School Psychology at Towson University. |
Here is the laboratory team working on the projects:  | Peter Zandi, Ph.D.
Dr. Zandi is a genetic epidemiologist working on genetic studies of mood disorders and epidemiologic studies of Alzheimer’s disease. He received his BA in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. in Mental Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. |
Virginia Willour, Ph.D.
Dr. Willour is a geneticist working on genetic studies of mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Down syndrome. She received her BS in Biology and German from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in Genetics from Stanford University. |  |
 | Deepak Grover, Ph.D.
Dr. Grover received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi, India. He is studying the epigenetics of depression and is applying computational methods to analyze human genetic data.
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Yuqing Huo, M.D.
Dr. Huo is a laboratory technician working on the genetic studies of mood disorders. She received her MD from Henan Medical University in China. Before coming to Hopkins, Dr. Huo was an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Henan Medical University. |  |
 | Kuangyi Miao, M.S.
Ms. Miao is the genetic data manager for the genetic studies of mood disorders. She received her BS in Computer Science from Hangzhou University in China and her MS in Computer Science from Towson University.
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Ranjana Verma, Ph.D.
Dr. Verma is a post-doctoral fellow. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder at Delhi University and the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology. She is working on the sequence analysis of genes on chromosome 15q located within the region linked with major depression. |  |
 | Mengmeng Shen, B.A.
Mr. Shen is a lab technician for the genetic disorders of mood disorders. He received his BA in Biology from Johns Hopkins University and plans to attend medical school. |
For more information, please call 410-614-1017 or email moods@jhu.edu
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