Alice Braun, PhD
Postdoctoral FellowAbout
Research
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Featured Publications
Fine-mapping genomic loci refines bipolar disorder risk genes
Koromina M, Ravi A, Panagiotaropoulou G, Schilder B, Humphrey J, Braun A, Bigdeli T, Chatzinakos C, Coombes B, Kim J, Liu X, Terao C, O’Connell K, Adams M, Adolfsson R, Alda M, Alfredsson L, Andlauer T, Andreassen O, Antoniou A, Baune B, Bengesser S, Biernacka J, Boehnke M, Bosch R, Cairns M, Carr V, Casas M, Catts S, Cichon S, Corvin A, Craddock N, Dafnas K, Dalkner N, Dannlowski U, Degenhardt F, Di Florio A, Dikeos D, Fellendorf F, Ferentinos P, Forstner A, Forty L, Frye M, Fullerton J, Gawlik M, Gizer I, Gordon-Smith K, Green M, Grigoroiu-Serbanescu M, Guzman-Parra J, Hahn T, Henskens F, Hillert J, Jablensky A, Jones L, Jones I, Jonsson L, Kelsoe J, Kircher T, Kirov G, Kittel-Schneider S, Kogevinas M, Landén M, Leboyer M, Lenger M, Lissowska J, Lochner C, Loughland C, MacIntyre D, Martin N, Maratou E, Mathews C, Mayoral F, McElroy S, McGregor N, McIntosh A, McQuillin A, Michie P, Mitchell P, Moutsatsou P, Mowry B, Müller-Myhsok B, Myers R, Nenadić I, Nievergelt C, Nöthen M, Nurnberger J, ’Donovan M, ’Donovan C, Ophoff R, Owen M, Pantelis C, Pato C, Pato M, Patrinos G, Pawlak J, Perlis R, Porichi E, Posthuma D, Ramos-Quiroga J, Reif A, Reininghaus E, Ribasés M, Rietschel M, Schall U, Schofield P, Schulze T, Scott L, Scott R, Serretti A, Smoller J, Świątkowska B, Soler Artigas M, Stein D, Streit F, Toma C, Tooney P, Vawter M, Vieta E, Vincent J, Waldman I, Weickert C, Weickert T, Witt S, Hong K, Ikeda M, Iwata N, Won H, Edenberg H, Ripke S, Raj T, Coleman J, Mullins N. Fine-mapping genomic loci refines bipolar disorder risk genes. Nature Neuroscience 2025, 28: 1393-1403. PMID: 40562893, PMCID: PMC12229890, DOI: 10.1038/s41593-025-01998-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBipolar disorder risk genesGenome-wide association studiesSNPs to genesBipolar disorderFine-mapping methodsQuantitative trait lociHeritable mental illnessBipolar disorder polygenic risk scoresEpigenomic annotationsVariant annotationDisorder polygenic risk scoresGenomic lociPolygenic risk scoresRisk lociAssociation studiesTrait lociExome sequencingRisk genesConverging linesConverging lines of evidenceLociLines of evidenceSNPsGenesFunctional consequencesGenome-wide meta-analysis of myasthenia gravis uncovers new loci and provides insights into polygenic prediction
Braun A, Shekhar S, Levey D, Straub P, Kraft J, Panagiotaropoulou G, Heilbron K, Awasthi S, Meleka Hanna R, Hoffmann S, Stein M, Lehnerer S, Mergenthaler P, Elnahas A, Topaloudi A, Koromina M, Palviainen T, Asbjornsdottir B, Stefansson H, Skuladóttir A, Jónsdóttir I, Stefansson K, Reis K, Esko T, Palotie A, Leypoldt F, Stein M, Fontanillas P, Kaprio J, Gelernter J, Davis L, Paschou P, Tannemaat M, Verschuuren J, Kuhlenbäumer G, Gregersen P, Huijbers M, Stascheit F, Meisel A, Ripke S. Genome-wide meta-analysis of myasthenia gravis uncovers new loci and provides insights into polygenic prediction. Nature Communications 2024, 15: 9839. PMID: 39537604, PMCID: PMC11560923, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53595-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPerformance of polygenic risk scoresGenome-wide significant hitsGenome-wide association studiesGenome-Wide Meta-AnalysisControls of European ancestryGenetic architecturePolygenic risk scoresSignificant hitsAssociation studiesPhenotypic variationPolygenic predictionEuropean ancestryAssociated with early-onsetHuman leukocyte antigen allelesLociEarly-onsetReplication studyNeuromuscular junctionMyasthenia gravisAutoantibody-mediated diseasesAntigen allelesAllelesAncestryDisease manifestationsLate-onset MGMapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia
Trubetskoy V, Pardiñas A, Qi T, Panagiotaropoulou G, Awasthi S, Bigdeli T, Bryois J, Chen C, Dennison C, Hall L, Lam M, Watanabe K, Frei O, Ge T, Harwood J, Koopmans F, Magnusson S, Richards A, Sidorenko J, Wu Y, Zeng J, Grove J, Kim M, Li Z, Voloudakis G, Zhang W, Adams M, Agartz I, Atkinson E, Agerbo E, Al Eissa M, Albus M, Alexander M, Alizadeh B, Alptekin K, Als T, Amin F, Arolt V, Arrojo M, Athanasiu L, Azevedo M, Bacanu S, Bass N, Begemann M, Belliveau R, Bene J, Benyamin B, Bergen S, Blasi G, Bobes J, Bonassi S, Braun A, Bressan R, Bromet E, Bruggeman R, Buckley P, Buckner R, Bybjerg-Grauholm J, Cahn W, Cairns M, Calkins M, Carr V, Castle D, Catts S, Chambert K, Chan R, Chaumette B, Cheng W, Cheung E, Chong S, Cohen D, Consoli A, Cordeiro Q, Costas J, Curtis C, Davidson M, Davis K, de Haan L, Degenhardt F, DeLisi L, Demontis D, Dickerson F, Dikeos D, Dinan T, Djurovic S, Duan J, Ducci G, Dudbridge F, Eriksson J, Fañanás L, Faraone S, Fiorentino A, Forstner A, Frank J, Freimer N, Fromer M, Frustaci A, Gadelha A, Genovese G, Gershon E, Giannitelli M, Giegling I, Giusti-Rodríguez P, Godard S, Goldstein J, González Peñas J, González-Pinto A, Gopal S, Gratten J, Green M, Greenwood T, Guillin O, Gülöksüz S, Gur R, Gur R, Gutiérrez B, Hahn E, Hakonarson H, Haroutunian V, Hartmann A, Harvey C, Hayward C, Henskens F, Herms S, Hoffmann P, Howrigan D, Ikeda M, Iyegbe C, Joa I, Julià A, Kähler A, Kam-Thong T, Kamatani Y, Karachanak-Yankova S, Kebir O, Keller M, Kelly B, Khrunin A, Kim S, Klovins J, Kondratiev N, Konte B, Kraft J, Kubo M, Kučinskas V, Kučinskiene Z, Kusumawardhani A, Kuzelova-Ptackova H, Landi S, Lazzeroni L, Lee P, Legge S, Lehrer D, Lencer R, Lerer B, Li M, Lieberman J, Light G, Limborska S, Liu C, Lönnqvist J, Loughland C, Lubinski J, Luykx J, Lynham A, Macek M, Mackinnon A, Magnusson P, Maher B, Maier W, Malaspina D, Mallet J, Marder S, Marsal S, Martin A, Martorell L, Mattheisen M, McCarley R, McDonald C, McGrath J, Medeiros H, Meier S, Melegh B, Melle I, Mesholam-Gately R, Metspalu A, Michie P, Milani L, Milanova V, Mitjans M, Molden E, Molina E, Molto M, Mondelli V, Moreno C, Morley C, Muntané G, Murphy K, Myin-Germeys I, Nenadić I, Nestadt G, Nikitina-Zake L, Noto C, Nuechterlein K, O’Brien N, O’Neill F, Oh S, Olincy A, Ota V, Pantelis C, Papadimitriou G, Parellada M, Paunio T, Pellegrino R, Periyasamy S, Perkins D, Pfuhlmann B, Pietiläinen O, Pimm J, Porteous D, Powell J, Quattrone D, Quested D, Radant A, Rampino A, Rapaport M, Rautanen A, Reichenberg A, Roe C, Roffman J, Roth J, Rothermundt M, Rutten B, Saker-Delye S, Salomaa V, Sanjuan J, Santoro M, Savitz A, Schall U, Scott R, Seidman L, Sharp S, Shi J, Siever L, Sigurdsson E, Sim K, Skarabis N, Slominsky P, So H, Sobell J, Söderman E, Stain H, Steen N, Steixner-Kumar A, Stögmann E, Stone W, Straub R, Streit F, Strengman E, Stroup T, Subramaniam M, Sugar C, Suvisaari J, Svrakic D, Swerdlow N, Szatkiewicz J, Ta T, Takahashi A, Terao C, Thibaut F, Toncheva D, Tooney P, Torretta S, Tosato S, Tura G, Turetsky B, Üçok A, Vaaler A, van Amelsvoort T, van Winkel R, Veijola J, Waddington J, Walter H, Waterreus A, Webb B, Weiser M, Williams N, Witt S, Wormley B, Wu J, Xu Z, Yolken R, Zai C, Zhou W, Zhu F, Zimprich F, Atbaşoğlu E, Ayub M, Benner C, Bertolino A, Black D, Bray N, Breen G, Buccola N, Byerley W, Chen W, Cloninger C, Crespo-Facorro B, Donohoe G, Freedman R, Galletly C, Gandal M, Gennarelli M, Hougaard D, Hwu H, Jablensky A, McCarroll S, Moran J, Mors O, Mortensen P, Müller-Myhsok B, Neil A, Nordentoft M, Pato M, Petryshen T, Pirinen M, Pulver A, Schulze T, Silverman J, Smoller J, Stahl E, Tsuang D, Vilella E, Wang S, Xu S, Adolfsson R, Arango C, Baune B, Belangero S, Børglum A, Braff D, Bramon E, Buxbaum J, Campion D, Cervilla J, Cichon S, Collier D, Corvin A, Curtis D, Forti M, Domenici E, Ehrenreich H, Escott-Price V, Esko T, Fanous A, Gareeva A, Gawlik M, Gejman P, Gill M, Glatt S, Golimbet V, Hong K, Hultman C, Hyman S, Iwata N, Jönsson E, Kahn R, Kennedy J, Khusnutdinova E, Kirov G, Knowles J, Krebs M, Laurent-Levinson C, Lee J, Lencz T, Levinson D, Li Q, Liu J, Malhotra A, Malhotra D, McIntosh A, McQuillin A, Menezes P, Morgan V, Morris D, Mowry B, Murray R, Nimgaonkar V, Nöthen M, Ophoff R, Paciga S, Palotie A, Pato C, Qin S, Rietschel M, Riley B, Rivera M, Rujescu D, Saka M, Sanders A, Schwab S, Serretti A, Sham P, Shi Y, St Clair D, Stefánsson H, Stefansson K, Tsuang M, van Os J, Vawter M, Weinberger D, Werge T, Wildenauer D, Yu X, Yue W, Holmans P, Pocklington A, Roussos P, Vassos E, Verhage M, Visscher P, Yang J, Posthuma D, Andreassen O, Kendler K, Owen M, Wray N, Daly M, Huang H, Neale B, Sullivan P, Ripke S, Walters J, O’Donovan M. Mapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia. Nature 2022, 604: 502-508. PMID: 35396580, PMCID: PMC9392466, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04434-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenomic lociTwo-stage genome-wide association studyVariant associationsDistinct genomic lociGenome-wide association studiesTranscription factor Sp4Functional genomics dataCommon variant associationsRare variant associationsCommon risk allelesSynaptic biologyGenomic dataBiological processesAssociation studiesGenesCell typesNeurodevelopmental disordersRegion variationLociFundamental processesNeuronal functionSuch variantsRisk allelesMechanistic studiesVariantsCommon and rare variant association analyses in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis identify 15 risk loci with distinct genetic architectures and neuron-specific biology
van Rheenen W, van der Spek R, Bakker M, van Vugt J, Hop P, Zwamborn R, de Klein N, Westra H, Bakker O, Deelen P, Shireby G, Hannon E, Moisse M, Baird D, Restuadi R, Dolzhenko E, Dekker A, Gawor K, Westeneng H, Tazelaar G, van Eijk K, Kooyman M, Byrne R, Doherty M, Heverin M, Al Khleifat A, Iacoangeli A, Shatunov A, Ticozzi N, Cooper-Knock J, Smith B, Gromicho M, Chandran S, Pal S, Morrison K, Shaw P, Hardy J, Orrell R, Sendtner M, Meyer T, Başak N, van der Kooi A, Ratti A, Fogh I, Gellera C, Lauria G, Corti S, Cereda C, Sproviero D, D’Alfonso S, Sorarù G, Siciliano G, Filosto M, Padovani A, Chiò A, Calvo A, Moglia C, Brunetti M, Canosa A, Grassano M, Beghi E, Pupillo E, Logroscino G, Nefussy B, Osmanovic A, Nordin A, Lerner Y, Zabari M, Gotkine M, Baloh R, Bell S, Vourc’h P, Corcia P, Couratier P, Millecamps S, Meininger V, Salachas F, Mora Pardina J, Assialioui A, Rojas-García R, Dion P, Ross J, Ludolph A, Weishaupt J, Brenner D, Freischmidt A, Bensimon G, Brice A, Durr A, Payan C, Saker-Delye S, Wood N, Topp S, Rademakers R, Tittmann L, Lieb W, Franke A, Ripke S, Braun A, Kraft J, Whiteman D, Olsen C, Uitterlinden A, Hofman A, Rietschel M, Cichon S, Nöthen M, Amouyel P, Traynor B, Singleton A, Mitne Neto M, Cauchi R, Ophoff R, Wiedau-Pazos M, Lomen-Hoerth C, van Deerlin V, Grosskreutz J, Roediger A, Gaur N, Jörk A, Barthel T, Theele E, Ilse B, Stubendorff B, Witte O, Steinbach R, Hübner C, Graff C, Brylev L, Fominykh V, Demeshonok V, Ataulina A, Rogelj B, Koritnik B, Zidar J, Ravnik-Glavač M, Glavač D, Stević Z, Drory V, Povedano M, Blair I, Kiernan M, Benyamin B, Henderson R, Furlong S, Mathers S, McCombe P, Needham M, Ngo S, Nicholson G, Pamphlett R, Rowe D, Steyn F, Williams K, Mather K, Sachdev P, Henders A, Wallace L, de Carvalho M, Pinto S, Petri S, Weber M, Rouleau G, Silani V, Curtis C, Breen G, Glass J, Brown R, Landers J, Shaw C, Andersen P, Groen E, van Es M, Pasterkamp R, Fan D, Garton F, McRae A, Davey Smith G, Gaunt T, Eberle M, Mill J, McLaughlin R, Hardiman O, Kenna K, Wray N, Tsai E, Runz H, Franke L, Al-Chalabi A, Van Damme P, van den Berg L, Veldink J. Common and rare variant association analyses in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis identify 15 risk loci with distinct genetic architectures and neuron-specific biology. Nature Genetics 2021, 53: 1636-1648. PMID: 34873335, PMCID: PMC8648564, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00973-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsExpression quantitative trait lociGenome-wide association studiesRisk lociGenetic architectureAmyotrophic lateral sclerosisVariant association analysisShort tandem repeatsWhole-genome sequencingVesicle-mediated transportQuantitative trait lociPrioritized genesTandem repeatsTrait lociAssociation studiesFatal neurodegenerative diseaseAssociation analysisNeurodegenerative spectrumLateral sclerosisLociMendelian randomization analysisCell typesNeurodegenerative diseasesRegulatory effectsLifestyle risk factorsDisease initiation
2025
Polygenic Contributions to Lithium Augmentation Outcomes in Unipolar Depression
Kraft J, Buspavanich P, Braun A, Panagiotaropoulou G, Schlattmann P, Buchbauer H, Heilbron K, Heilbronner U, Schulze T, Ripke S, Ricken R, Adli M. Polygenic Contributions to Lithium Augmentation Outcomes in Unipolar Depression. JAMA Psychiatry 2025, 82: 1137-1141. PMID: 40900576, PMCID: PMC12409645, DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.2039.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPrioritizing Parkinson’s disease risk genes in genome-wide association loci
Lange L, Cerquera-Cleves C, Schipper M, Panagiotaropoulou G, Braun A, Kraft J, Awasthi S, Bell N, Posthuma D, Ripke S, Blauwendraat C, Heilbron K. Prioritizing Parkinson’s disease risk genes in genome-wide association loci. Npj Parkinson's Disease 2025, 11: 77. PMID: 40240380, PMCID: PMC12003903, DOI: 10.1038/s41531-025-00933-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThe effect of a mindfulness based-group psychotherapy on stress parameters in schizophrenia spectrum disorders
Zierhut M, Bergmann N, Koop S, Hahne I, Kraft J, Braun A, Ta T, Bajbouj M, Thomas N, Chadwick P, Ripke S, Hahn E, Böge K. The effect of a mindfulness based-group psychotherapy on stress parameters in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. European Psychiatry 2025, 68: s338-s339. PMCID: PMC12438433, DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.720.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2024
The relationship between mindfulness and empathy with the oxytocinergic system in persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders – A proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial (OXYGEN)
Böge K, Bergmann N, Zierhut M, Hahne I, Braun A, Kraft J, Conell I, Ta T, Thomas N, Chadwick P, Ripke S, Hahn E. The relationship between mindfulness and empathy with the oxytocinergic system in persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders – A proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial (OXYGEN). International Journal Of Clinical And Health Psychology 2024, 24: 100503. PMID: 39308779, PMCID: PMC11415965, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100503.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMindfulness-based group therapySchizophrenia spectrum disordersOxytocin levelsOxytocinergic systemSpectrum disorderPost-interventionRandomized-controlled designPositive symptomsGroup therapyIntersection of mindSchizophreniaOutpatientsMindfulnessEmpathyDisordersRandomized Controlled TrialsOxytocinPositive effectPotential linkClinical parametersTauPersonsAcceptanceSymptomsEvidenceThe combination of oxytocin and mindfulness-based group therapy for empathy and negative symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders – A double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study
Zierhut M, Bergmann N, Hahne I, Wohlthan J, Kraft J, Braun A, Tam Ta T, Hellmann-Regen J, Ripke S, Bajbouj M, Hahn E, Böge K. The combination of oxytocin and mindfulness-based group therapy for empathy and negative symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders – A double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study. Journal Of Psychiatric Research 2024, 171: 222-229. PMID: 38309212, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.01.014.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMindfulness-based group therapySchizophrenia spectrum disordersNegative symptomsPlacebo-controlled pilot studyGroup therapySpectrum disorderSelf-evaluation of Negative SymptomsMultifaceted Empathy TestInterpersonal Reactivity IndexDouble-blindBenefits of oxytocinSocial cognitionEmpathy TestNegative affectDrop-out rateBetween-group differencesEmotional rangeSelf-EvaluationPilot studyANCOVA designEmpathyReactivity indexBetween-groupSchizophreniaDrop-out
2023
Study protocol of the Berlin Research Initiative for Diagnostics, Genetics and Environmental Factors in Schizophrenia (BRIDGE-S)
Braun A, Kraft J, Ripke S. Study protocol of the Berlin Research Initiative for Diagnostics, Genetics and Environmental Factors in Schizophrenia (BRIDGE-S). BMC Psychiatry 2023, 23: 31. PMID: 36635663, PMCID: PMC9835268, DOI: 10.1186/s12888-022-04447-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsStudy protocolEnvironmental factorsGene-environment interactionsGenotype-phenotype associationsStudy's main objectiveCore questionnaireDisease trajectoryMechanisms of schizophreniaHealth dataGenetic discoveriesFactors of schizophreniaPsychiatric geneticsGenetic cohortsEtiological mechanismsSchizophrenia etiologyEnvironmental exposuresSchizophrenia casesEarly interventionRisk predictionSchizophreniaNeurocognitive assessmentBiological architectureSchizophrenia riskEnvironmental contributionsCollaborative efforts
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