To Stem the Tide of Suicide

Virginia Willour, Ph.D.

Finding at least one gene for suicide is a goal that occupies a fair amount of Virginia Willour’s time. Recently, she and colleagues took a new look at earlier data on patients with problems where suicide risk runs high: in major depression, bipolar disorder and alcoholism.

By focusing on people within those illnesses who had attempted suicide, the rationale went, her team hoped something would stand out. And it has, almost.

What’s intriguing, says Willour, who has a Ph.D. in genetics from Stanford, is that all three disorders point to the same spot on chromosome 2. That would suggest that a “suicide gene” within it isn’t solely tied to a specific disease.

It looks to be something independent, something that may prompt an “impulsive aggression,” Willour says, “that nudges an already-depressed person to act on suicidal thoughts.”

The next step—finding the actual gene—takes expertise and an ability to delay gratification.

Willour has designed a large-scale study that acts like a fine sieve in winnowing out what’s distracting in the broad target area, to pinpoint where DNA differs between suicide-prone mood disorder patients and healthy controls.

It’ll take several years. “Our goal is to bring new logic to therapy, an approach based on understanding the biology. So I’m in it for the long haul.”

Click here for Faculty Profile of Dr. Willour