BrainSeq: Neurogenomics to Drive Novel Target Discovery for Neuropsychiatric Disorders

We outline an ambitious project to characterize the genetic and epigenetic regulation of multiple facets of transcription in distinct brain regions across the human lifespan in samples of major neuropsychiatric disorders and controls. Initially focused on schizophrenia and mood disorders, the goal of this consortium is to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of genetic associations with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic targets. The consortium currently consists of seven pharmaceutical companies and a not-for-profit medical research institution working as a precompetitive team to generate and analyze publicly available archival brain genomic data related to neuropsychiatric illness. The BrainSeq precompetitive consortium of seven pharmaceutical companies harnesses genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenomics from multiple brain regions across the human lifespan for spatio-temporal analyses of molecular mechanisms associated with psychiatric risk loci, empowering finding therapeutic solutions for psychiatric disorders.