Functional Genomics Workgroup Chairs
Functional Genomics Project leads
Janitza Montalvo-Ortiz, Yale University
Cross-disorder meta-analysis of methylation-wide association studies (MWAS)
Other roles:
Plain language summary
We are a group of researchers from across the world working together to understand how genes, cells and molecules contribute to whether you develop a psychiatric disorder, what your symptoms are, and how those symptoms progress. We do this by bringing together data from many different studies in different populations across the globe and analyzing those data together. We are keen to hear from individuals with lived experience and carers interested in our research.
About Us
The PGC Functional Genomics workgroup serves as a dynamic hub for collaborative, open discovery science and scalable method development. We drive inclusive and diverse 'omics' mental health research, fostering a collective effort that transcends individual capabilities.
The PGC Functional Genomics Workgroup was founded in 2024 and is a growing group of >80 researchers over 5 continents. We are keen to hear from anyone with brain or blood ‘omic data to contribute (methylation, histone modifications, gene expression, cytometry, proteomics, metabolomics, single cell technologies etc.). We are collecting data related to all disorders and psychiatric phenotypes, working closely with other PGC groups. If you think you may be able to contribute data, please fill out our short survey here and get in touch! We are also keen to hear from anyone who would like to contribute analysis for ongoing projects.
Group membership is open and you can join our meetings without any data to contribute if you want to help drive progress in functional genomics or collaborate with us. We are particularly keen to involve more members from low- and middle-income countries, as well as early career researchers and students.
Our group’s work is project-based, and we are currently focused on 5 primary projects:
• Cross-disorder meta-analysis of methylation-wide association studies (MWAS)
• RNA and protein isoforms in the human brain
• Functional validation (e.g. MPRA, CRISPR)
• Multi-level QTL data
• Single cell data frame (brain and immune)
Primary projects form the core work of the group and members are welcome to submit additional primary project proposals. Once our data assets are more developed, members and non-members of PGC FG will also be able to submit secondary analysis proposals, sponsored by a member of the leadership team.
We are dedicated to inclusive and harassment-free collaboration - if you have any concerns about the group’s culture or an individual’s behaviour, please contact any of the group members listed above, or our dedicated Culture and Conduct Contacts, Erik Smedler and Graham Murray
Get Involved!
To get involved in analysis or data contribution please contact the respective project lead (see above), or to join our group meetings please email our research coordinator Fatima Memic indicating your area of interest.
Publications
Funders
