Andrew H. Smith, an MD/PhD student at Yale who works in a laboratory operated by a Yale Department of Psychiatry faculty member, was named a Student Award Winner at the 30th CINP World Congress in Seoul, Korea, in July.
The award encourages postgraduate students globally to participate in and experience the CINP World Congress, put on by the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Other award winners hailed from the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, and Canada.
Smith works in the Yale lab run by Joel Gelernter, MD, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Genetics and of Neuroscience. Smith and Gelernter attended the CINP World Congress.
Work in the lab focuses on genetic differences between patients that affect how they respond to addictive substances. For example, according to Smith, a patient who inherits a particular change to the genetic code might be more likely than the average person to develop addiction after initial exposure to drugs or alcohol.
We were interested in a question related to what happens after someone has already become addicted: how genetic variation might determine who has a more difficult time when they try to stop using drugs or alcohol.
Andrew H. Smith, MD/PhD student
“We were interested in a question related to what happens after someone has already become addicted: how genetic variation might determine who has a more difficult time when they try to stop using drugs or alcohol,” Smith said.
The lab presented its new and still unpublished research on genetic risk factors that predispose to more severe symptoms in addicted patients who are newly abstinent.
“By learning which specific genes harbor alterations that make abstinence more difficult for some patients, we hope to gain insight into the biological processes responsible for making cessation such a challenging experience,” he said.