Featured Publications
Synergistic effects of common schizophrenia risk variants
Schrode N, Ho SM, Yamamuro K, Dobbyn A, Huckins L, Matos MR, Cheng E, Deans PJM, Flaherty E, Barretto N, Topol A, Alganem K, Abadali S, Gregory J, Hoelzli E, Phatnani H, Singh V, Girish D, Aronow B, Mccullumsmith R, Hoffman GE, Stahl EA, Morishita H, Sklar P, Brennand KJ. Synergistic effects of common schizophrenia risk variants. Nature Genetics 2019, 51: 1475-1485. PMID: 31548722, PMCID: PMC6778520, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-019-0497-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsChloride ChannelsCRISPR-Cas SystemsFemaleFurinGene EditingGene Expression RegulationGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansInduced Pluripotent Stem CellsMaleMonomeric Clathrin Assembly ProteinsPolymorphism, Single NucleotideQuantitative Trait LociSchizophreniaSNARE ProteinsConceptsExpression quantitative trait lociComplex genetic disorderEQTL genesCommon variantsQuantitative trait lociRisk variantsGene expression differencesPsychiatric disease riskCommon risk variantsPluripotent stem cellsSchizophrenia risk variantsGenetic disordersTrait lociGene perturbationsGenetic approachesExpression differencesGene editingStem cellsGeneralizable phenomenonSynaptic functionGenesVariantsCRISPRLociSpecific effectsNeuron-specific signatures in the chromosomal connectome associated with schizophrenia risk
Rajarajan P, Borrman T, Liao W, Schrode N, Flaherty E, Casiño C, Powell S, Yashaswini C, LaMarca EA, Kassim B, Javidfar B, Espeso-Gil S, Li A, Won H, Geschwind DH, Ho SM, MacDonald M, Hoffman GE, Roussos P, Zhang B, Hahn CG, Weng Z, Brennand KJ, Akbarian S. Neuron-specific signatures in the chromosomal connectome associated with schizophrenia risk. Science 2018, 362 PMID: 30545851, PMCID: PMC6408958, DOI: 10.1126/science.aat4311.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsBrainCells, CulturedChromatinChromatin Assembly and DisassemblyChromosomes, HumanConnectomeEpigenesis, GeneticGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenome, HumanGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMaleNeural Stem CellsNeurogenesisNeurogliaNeuronsNucleic Acid ConformationProtein Interaction MapsProteomicsRiskSchizophreniaTranscription, GeneticTranscriptomeConceptsCoordinated transcriptional regulationThree-dimensional genomeSpatial genome organizationChromosomal contact mapsNeural progenitor cellsSchizophrenia risk variantsGenome organizationChromatin remodelingChromosomal conformationTranscriptional regulationProteomic interactionsDevelopmental remodelingHeritable riskGlial differentiationRisk variantsContact mapsProgenitor cellsVariant sequencesGenesConformation changeNeuronal connectivitySchizophrenia riskSequenceNeuropsychiatric diseasesDistal targets
2024
Cross-ancestry atlas of gene, isoform, and splicing regulation in the developing human brain
Wen C, Margolis M, Dai R, Zhang P, Przytycki P, Vo D, Bhattacharya A, Matoba N, Tang M, Jiao C, Kim M, Tsai E, Hoh C, Aygün N, Walker R, Chatzinakos C, Clarke D, Pratt H, Peters M, Gerstein M, Daskalakis N, Weng Z, Jaffe A, Kleinman J, Hyde T, Weinberger D, Bray N, Sestan N, Geschwind D, Roeder K, Gusev A, Pasaniuc B, Stein J, Love M, Pollard K, Liu C, Gandal M, Akbarian S, Abyzov A, Ahituv N, Arasappan D, Almagro Armenteros J, Beliveau B, Bendl J, Berretta S, Bharadwaj R, Bicks L, Brennand K, Capauto D, Champagne F, Chatterjee T, Chatzinakos C, Chen Y, Chen H, Cheng Y, Cheng L, Chess A, Chien J, Chu Z, Clement A, Collado-Torres L, Cooper G, Crawford G, Davila-Velderrain J, Deep-Soboslay A, Deng C, DiPietro C, Dracheva S, Drusinsky S, Duan Z, Duong D, Dursun C, Eagles N, Edelstein J, Emani P, Fullard J, Galani K, Galeev T, Gaynor S, Girdhar K, Goes F, Greenleaf W, Grundman J, Guo H, Guo Q, Gupta C, Hadas Y, Hallmayer J, Han X, Haroutunian V, Hawken N, He C, Henry E, Hicks S, Ho M, Ho L, Hoffman G, Huang Y, Huuki-Myers L, Hwang A, Iatrou A, Inoue F, Jajoo A, Jensen M, Jiang L, Jin P, Jin T, Jops C, Jourdon A, Kawaguchi R, Kellis M, Kleopoulos S, Kozlenkov A, Kriegstein A, Kundaje A, Kundu S, Lee C, Lee D, Li J, Li M, Lin X, Liu S, Liu J, Liu J, Liu S, Lou S, Loupe J, Lu D, Ma S, Ma L, Mariani J, Martinowich K, Maynard K, Mazariegos S, Meng R, Myers R, Micallef C, Mikhailova T, Ming G, Mohammadi S, Monte E, Montgomery K, Moore J, Moran J, Mukamel E, Nairn A, Nemeroff C, Ni P, Norton S, Nowakowski T, Omberg L, Page S, Park S, Patowary A, Pattni R, Pertea G, Phalke N, Pinto D, Pjanic M, Pochareddy S, Pollen A, Purmann C, Qin Z, Qu P, Quintero D, Raj T, Rajagopalan A, Reach S, Reimonn T, Ressler K, Ross D, Roussos P, Rozowsky J, Ruth M, Ruzicka W, Sanders S, Schneider J, Scuderi S, Sebra R, Seyfried N, Shao Z, Shedd N, Shieh A, Shin J, Skarica M, Snijders C, Song H, State M, Steyert M, Subburaju S, Sudhof T, Snyder M, Tao R, Therrien K, Tsai L, Urban A, Vaccarino F, van Bakel H, Voloudakis G, Wamsley B, Wang T, Wang S, Wang D, Wang Y, Warrell J, Wei Y, Weimer A, Whalen S, White K, Willsey A, Won H, Wong W, Wu H, Wu F, Wuchty S, Wylie D, Xu S, Yap C, Zeng B, Zhang C, Zhang B, Zhang J, Zhang Y, Zhou X, Ziffra R, Zeier Z, Zintel T. Cross-ancestry atlas of gene, isoform, and splicing regulation in the developing human brain. Science 2024, 384: eadh0829. PMID: 38781368, DOI: 10.1126/science.adh0829.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenome-wide association studiesGenome-wide association study lociSplicing quantitative trait lociQuantitative trait lociSplicing regulationCross-ancestryTrait lociAssociation studiesRegulatory elementsCellular contextHuman brainTranscriptome regulationCoexpression networkRisk genesAutism spectrum disorderGenesCellular heterogeneityComprehensive landscapeSpectrum disorderIsoformsSplicingIncreased cellular heterogeneityLociNeuronal maturationRegulation
2023
Integrating genetics and transcriptomics to study major depressive disorder: a conceptual framework, bioinformatic approaches, and recent findings
Hicks E, Seah C, Cote A, Marchese S, Brennand K, Nestler E, Girgenti M, Huckins L. Integrating genetics and transcriptomics to study major depressive disorder: a conceptual framework, bioinformatic approaches, and recent findings. Translational Psychiatry 2023, 13: 129. PMID: 37076454, PMCID: PMC10115809, DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02412-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsBrainComputational BiologyDepressive Disorder, MajorGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansTranscriptomeConceptsBioinformatics approachTranscriptomic dataBrain transcriptomeGenome-wide analysisDynamic transcriptional landscapeBrain gene expression dataGene expression dataTranscriptional landscapeTranscriptomic studiesIntegrating GeneticExpression dataPhenotypic signaturesGenomic driversTranscriptomeMajor depressive disorderValuable resourceRecent findingsEnvironmental influencesTranscriptomicsDepressive disorderGeneticsMultiple approachesPathophysiology of depressionSignaturesDysregulation
2022
Stem Cell Models for Context-Specific Modeling in Psychiatric Disorders
Seah C, Huckins L, Brennand K. Stem Cell Models for Context-Specific Modeling in Psychiatric Disorders. Biological Psychiatry 2022, 93: 642-650. PMID: 36658083, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.09.033.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsGene Expression RegulationGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansInduced Pluripotent Stem CellsMental DisordersQuantitative Trait LociConceptsStem cell modelCell typesTarget genesGenome-wide association study (GWAS) lociExpression quantitative trait lociGenome-wide association studiesParallel reporter assaysQuantitative trait lociStem cell-derived cell typesPluripotent stem cell modelsComplex polygenic architectureContext-specific mannerPsychiatric disorder riskTrait lociRegulates transcriptionStudy lociGenetic regulationPolygenic architectureCRISPR screensCell modelCausal variantsRegulated expressionPatient-specific humanReporter assaysAssociation studiesPopulation-level variation in enhancer expression identifies disease mechanisms in the human brain
Dong P, Hoffman G, Apontes P, Bendl J, Rahman S, Fernando M, Zeng B, Vicari J, Zhang W, Girdhar K, Townsley K, Misir R, Brennand K, Haroutunian V, Voloudakis G, Fullard J, Roussos P. Population-level variation in enhancer expression identifies disease mechanisms in the human brain. Nature Genetics 2022, 54: 1493-1503. PMID: 36163279, PMCID: PMC9547946, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-022-01170-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsBrainEnhancer Elements, GeneticGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansQuantitative Trait LociRegulatory Sequences, Nucleic AcidTranscriptomeConceptsExpression quantitative trait lociPopulation-level variationTranscriptome-wide association studyQuantitative trait lociSpecific transcriptomeTrait lociTrait heritabilitySpecific transcriptionEnhancer functionGenetic mechanismsTarget genesAssociation studiesDisease locusNeuropsychiatric diseasesRisk variantsGenesRobust expressionTranscriptomeFunctional interpretationDisease mechanismsEnhancerDiseased statesLociHuman brainBrain samplesUsing Stem Cell Models to Explore the Genetics Underlying Psychiatric Disorders: Linking Risk Variants, Genes, and Biology in Brain Disease
Brennand K. Using Stem Cell Models to Explore the Genetics Underlying Psychiatric Disorders: Linking Risk Variants, Genes, and Biology in Brain Disease. American Journal Of Psychiatry 2022, 179: 322-328. PMID: 35491564, DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20220235.Commentaries, Editorials and LettersMeSH KeywordsBrain DiseasesGenome-Wide Association StudyGenomicsHumansInduced Pluripotent Stem CellsMental DisordersConceptsRisk variantsFunctional genomic studiesCell typesDiverse cell typesPatient-specific variantsStem cell modelGenomic studiesSignificant lociStem cell-based approachesGenetic studiesExciting questionsCell-based approachesEngineering strategiesGenetic profileNovel therapeutic interventionsCell modelPluripotent stem cell-based approachesVariantsComplex interplayGenetic riskCRISPRGenesLociBiologyTherapeutic interventions
2020
Parsing the Functional Impact of Noncoding Genetic Variants in the Brain Epigenome
Powell SK, O'Shea C, Brennand KJ, Akbarian S. Parsing the Functional Impact of Noncoding Genetic Variants in the Brain Epigenome. Biological Psychiatry 2020, 89: 65-75. PMID: 33131715, PMCID: PMC7718420, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.06.033.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsBrainEpigenomeEpigenomicsGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansPolymorphism, Single NucleotideConceptsGenetic variantsDisease-associated genetic variationProtein-coding lociRisk-associated genetic variantsGene regulatory lociThousands of variantsFunctional impactRare genetic variantsEpigenomic mappingRegulatory lociBrain epigenomeGenetic variationDNA sequencesNoncoding variantsGene expressionIntegrative analysisEpigenomic architectureMolecular pathwaysPsychiatric geneticsFunctional readoutRisk variantsLociVariantsHighlight findingsEpigenome
2019
Leveraging Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell–Based Models Provides Biological Context to Genome-wide Association Study Findings
Brennand KJ. Leveraging Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell–Based Models Provides Biological Context to Genome-wide Association Study Findings. Biological Psychiatry 2019, 85: 532-533. PMID: 30871689, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.01.021.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2018
Landscape of Conditional eQTL in Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Co-localization with Schizophrenia GWAS
Dobbyn A, Huckins L, Boocock J, Sloofman L, Glicksberg B, Giambartolomei C, Hoffman G, Perumal T, Girdhar K, Jiang Y, Raj T, Ruderfer D, Kramer R, Pinto D, Akbarian S, Roussos P, Domenici E, Devlin B, Sklar P, Stahl E, Sieberts S, Sklar P, Buxbaum J, Devlin B, Lewis D, Gur R, Hahn C, Hirai K, Toyoshiba H, Domenici E, Essioux L, Mangravite L, Peters M, Lehner T, Lipska B, Cicek A, Lu C, Roeder K, Xie L, Talbot K, Hemby S, Essioux L, Browne A, Chess A, Topol A, Charney A, Dobbyn A, Readhead B, Zhang B, Pinto D, Bennett D, Kavanagh D, Ruderfer D, Stahl E, Schadt E, Hoffman G, Shah H, Zhu J, Johnson J, Fullard J, Dudley J, Girdhar K, Brennand K, Sloofman L, Huckins L, Fromer M, Mahajan M, Roussos P, Akbarian S, Purcell S, Hamamsy T, Raj T, Haroutunian V, Wang Y, Gümüş Z, Senthil G, Kramer R, Logsdon B, Derry J, Dang K, Sieberts S, Perumal T, Visintainer R, Shinobu L, Sullivan P, Klei L. Landscape of Conditional eQTL in Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Co-localization with Schizophrenia GWAS. American Journal Of Human Genetics 2018, 102: 1169-1184. PMID: 29805045, PMCID: PMC5993513, DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.04.011.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsCells, CulturedEpigenesis, GeneticGenome, HumanGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansPrefrontal CortexQuantitative Trait LociSchizophreniaConceptsExpression quantitative trait lociConditional expression quantitative trait lociCommonMind ConsortiumEQTL signalsGenome-wide association study (GWAS) lociSchizophrenia GWASContext-specific regulationQuantitative trait lociCo-localization analysisGene expression levelsGWAS associationsNovel genesTrait lociStudy lociCausal genesEQTL dataFine mappingGenomic featuresGWAS statisticsGene expressionGenesGWASLociExpression levelsHuman brain samples
2016
Gene expression elucidates functional impact of polygenic risk for schizophrenia
Fromer M, Roussos P, Sieberts S, Johnson J, Kavanagh D, Perumal T, Ruderfer D, Oh E, Topol A, Shah H, Klei L, Kramer R, Pinto D, Gümüş Z, Cicek A, Dang K, Browne A, Lu C, Xie L, Readhead B, Stahl E, Xiao J, Parvizi M, Hamamsy T, Fullard J, Wang Y, Mahajan M, Derry J, Dudley J, Hemby S, Logsdon B, Talbot K, Raj T, Bennett D, De Jager P, Zhu J, Zhang B, Sullivan P, Chess A, Purcell S, Shinobu L, Mangravite L, Toyoshiba H, Gur R, Hahn C, Lewis D, Haroutunian V, Peters M, Lipska B, Buxbaum J, Schadt E, Hirai K, Roeder K, Brennand K, Katsanis N, Domenici E, Devlin B, Sklar P. Gene expression elucidates functional impact of polygenic risk for schizophrenia. Nature Neuroscience 2016, 19: 1442-1453. PMID: 27668389, PMCID: PMC5083142, DOI: 10.1038/nn.4399.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThe Pharmacogenomics of Bipolar Disorder study (PGBD): identification of genes for lithium response in a prospective sample
Oedegaard K, Alda M, Anand A, Andreassen O, Balaraman Y, Berrettini W, Bhattacharjee A, Brennand K, Burdick K, Calabrese J, Calkin C, Claasen A, Coryell W, Craig D, DeModena A, Frye M, Gage F, Gao K, Garnham J, Gershon E, Jakobsen P, Leckband S, McCarthy M, McInnis M, Maihofer A, Mertens J, Morken G, Nievergelt C, Nurnberger J, Pham S, Schoeyen H, Shekhtman T, Shilling P, Szelinger S, Tarwater B, Yao J, Zandi P, Kelsoe J. The Pharmacogenomics of Bipolar Disorder study (PGBD): identification of genes for lithium response in a prospective sample. BMC Psychiatry 2016, 16: 129. PMID: 27150464, PMCID: PMC4857276, DOI: 10.1186/s12888-016-0732-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLithium monotherapyBipolar disorderLithium responseMechanism of actionClinical managementValproic acidLithium respondersSingle nucleotide polymorphismsMethods/designThis studyCox proportional hazards modelProspective study sampleLarge prospective cohortLarge prospective studiesClinical Global ImpressionInitiation of treatmentMood-stabilizing medicationsBipolar Disorder (STEP-BD) studyProportional hazards modelResults of treatmentCommon psychiatric disordersMEq/L.Genome-wide association studiesClinical relapseProspective cohortRemitting course
2014
A Role for Noncoding Variation in Schizophrenia
Roussos P, Mitchell A, Voloudakis G, Fullard J, Pothula V, Tsang J, Stahl E, Georgakopoulos A, Ruderfer D, Charney A, Okada Y, Siminovitch K, Worthington J, Padyukov L, Klareskog L, Gregersen P, Plenge R, Raychaudhuri S, Fromer M, Purcell S, Brennand K, Robakis N, Schadt E, Akbarian S, Sklar P. A Role for Noncoding Variation in Schizophrenia. Cell Reports 2014, 9: 1417-1429. PMID: 25453756, PMCID: PMC4255904, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.10.015.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsArthritis, RheumatoidCalcium Channels, L-TypeDatabases, GeneticDNA, IntergenicEnhancer Elements, GeneticGene Expression RegulationGenetic LociGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMolecular Sequence AnnotationOrgan SpecificityPolymorphism, Single NucleotidePromoter Regions, GeneticProtein BindingRisk FactorsSchizophreniaConceptsExpression quantitative trait lociGenome-wide significant lociCommon variant lociQuantitative trait lociPluripotent stem cell-derived neuronsDistal regulatory elementsStem cell-derived neuronsPotential physical interactionsCell-derived neuronsRegulatory element sequencesPotential functional roleGenome architectureChromosomal loopingTranscriptional regulationFunctional annotationTrait lociSignificant lociNoncoding SNPsRegulatory elementsNoncoding variationsRisk lociVariant lociUnknown functionFunctional linkElement sequences