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About the Centre

The Centre brings together world-leading researchers from within the School of Medicine and from across the University.

Our work includes discovery and translational research – based on genetics and genomics, but increasingly moving into clinical and basic neurosciences – to understand the major causes of mental illness.

Spanning the period from childhood to old age, the Centre’s research focus includes major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as well as neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Professor Michael Owen introduces the Centre

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The Centre’s Objectives

The Centre will initially run for 5 years from 2009-2014. 

As well as greatly enhancing Cardiff University’s research on neuroscience and mental health, it will focus on training basic and clinical researchers and on developing and delivering a novel public engagement programme. 

The Centre’s objectives are to:

  • Identify new risk genes (susceptibility genes) for psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders and to explore the impact of specific genes across diagnostic boundaries and in relation to specific symptoms and dimensions.
  • Develop new research areas to allow these findings to benefit patients through improved understanding of disease mechanisms and through better diagnosis and classification. This will include work in population cohorts, patients and model systems and include studies of brain imaging, cognition, novel symptom clustering and molecular and cell biology.
  • Train a cadre of clinical and non-clinical scientists capable of delivering this discovery and translational agenda.
  • Develop and deliver an innovative public engagement and communications programme in order to bring the results of its research closer to the public, patients, carers and professionals.