I investigate the link between DNA methylation, the brain and mental health across the lifespan. Specifically, I focus on traits including depression, hyperactivity and behavioural difficulties as well as mental health conditions such as anorexia nervosa and schizophrenia. As an active member of the ENIGMA Schizophrenia, BrainAge, and Eating Disorder working groups, I have a long track record of investigating brain imaging correlates of mental health conditions and how these link to genetic and epigenetic markers, in the context of development and aging. In my research I apply several approaches including methylome-wide association analyses, mixed and multi-level modelling, as well as causal inference methods such as Mendelian randomization. I also study the life-course of these associations by applying longitudinal analyses on prospectively collected data from large UK and international cohorts.

Biography

I have expert knowledge on mental health research and hands-on experience in leading large-scale collaborations, as part of my work within the ENIGMA consortium. My career has taken me to diverse research environments in the UK (MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, King’s College London), Germany (TU Dresden), the Netherlands and the US (as part of my DFG-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Georgia State University), allowing me to develop skills, which I apply now in my own research.

I use the following methods:

R programming, methylome-wide and genetic association analyses, FreeSurfer, mixed and multi-level modelling, as well as causal inference methods such as Mendelian randomization

Accepting PhD students