Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank

Project Summary

The Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank is a national collaboration that is developing a research bank with comprehensive cross-referenced data from a large sample of volunteers with schizophrenia and individuals with psychiatric illness. The bank will provide researchers with access to data linking genetic, neuroanatomical, cognitive and clinical information in a large cohort.

The ASRB will comprise a large sample of schizophrenia probands (N=1000 initially) and their first degree relatives (N=2 per proband) with linked clinical, cognitive, neuroanatomical and genetic data. The data will be available to Australian researchers to study the genetic underpinnings of this disease and its subtypes, leading to improved treatments and preventative strategies.

The CRRMH is currently collecting blood samples for the study through the Survey of High Impact Psychosis project.

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Investigators

Chief Investigators

• Carr, V

• Schall, U

• Scott, R

• Jablensky, A

• Mowry, B

• Michie, P

• Catts, S

Associate Investigators

• Badcock, J

• Budd, B

• De Zubicary, G

• Henskens, F

• Lewin, T

• Loughland, C

• Rasser, P

• Stain, H

• Tooney, P

• Morgan, V

Collaborating Organisations

• Schizophrenia Research Institute (Lead agency)

• University of Newcastle (Genetics)

• Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research

• Univeristy of Western Australia (Psychiatry)

• University of Queensland

• Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research

• University of Newcastle (Psychology)

• University of Newcastle (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)

• University of Newcastle (Biomedical Science)

• University of Melbourne

Time frame

2006 to 2011

Publications

Abstracts

• Loughland, C., Carr, V., Michie, P., Stain, H., Badcock, J., Jablensky, A., Draganic, D., Lewin, T. J., Schall, U., Scott, R., Mowry, B., Catts, S., Henskens, F., Pantelis. The national recruitment and assessment of people with schizophrenia: The ASRB experience. Abstracts of the 2007 Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research Conference. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 2007; 41(Suppl.2):A464.

Conference Presentations

Oral

• Maloney E, McCabe K, Bridge J, Stain HJ, Loughland C, Carr V. Childhood adversity in schizophrenia: Neurocognitive and clinical correlates from the Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank (ASRB).  International Congress on Schizophrenia Research; 2-6 April; Colorado Springs, America2011.

• Loughland, C., Carr, V., Michie, P., Stain, H., Badcock, J., Jablensky, A., Draganic, D., Lewin, T. J., Schall, U., Scott, R., Mowry, B., Catts, S., Henskens, F., Pantelis. The national recruitment and assessment of people with schizophrenia: The ASRB experience. Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research Conference, Melbourne, VIC, December 2007.