Projects

Cross-Population Working Group on Genes and Environment in Major Depression (POP-GEM)

Major depression (MD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, arises from the action and interaction between genetic and environmental factors, and is often comorbid with other psychiatric and medical conditions. Although recent progress has yielded modest insight into the genetic architecture of MD, most studies have been in European ancestry populations, seriously limiting our knowledge of human genomic variation, disease etiology, and precision medicine efforts. Here, we propose cross-population genetic studies of MD to advance our understanding of the genetic architecture in all populations and ensure that genetic research is broadly applicable.