Research group of neuropsychiatric genomics

Mental health problems are extremely prevalent in the modern societies, with every second individual affected during their lifetime. However, the causal mechanisms of such problems are not well understood. This is hindering advancements in novel prevention and treatment strategies to improve the quality of life of affected individuals and their family members. Our research team aims to advance the understanding of the causes and consequences of mental health problems across the lifespan and move towards better and personalized prevention and treatment strategies.

Our group is currently mainly working on two larger themes:

Exploring the genetic and environmental factors (as well as their interplay) influencing the onset, course and outcomes of neuropsychiatric disorders and related traits. We conducted the Estonian Biobank “Wellbeing and mental health” data collection – mapping self-reported mental health-related symptoms as well as risk and protective factors on more than 86 000 participants, corresponding to 10% of the Estonian adult population.
For details, please see the cohort profile description published in International Journal of Epidemiology
Investigating the mechanisms underlying the strong comorbidity between psychiatric disorders and somatic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma and COVID-19 severity, to improve disease management and health outcomes of the patients. We integrate multiple large-scale data layers in the Estonian Biobank, including genomics, metabolomics, electronic health records and questionnaire data.