Close
Lunch Hour Lecture | Genes, Depression, and Diversity
11 March 2025, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm
This talk will discuss whether genetics can help predict who might develop depression, and why it’s crucial to include people from diverse ancestral backgrounds in this research.
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
UCL Events
About the online lecture:
Genes, Depression, and Diversity: Can DNA unlock the biology of mental illness?
Depression is one of the biggest health challenges we face today, yet we still don’t understand its biological causes. Thanks to advances in genetics, scientists can now study DNA from hundreds of thousands of people to uncover genetic risk factors for depression. For years, these studies struggled to find clear answers. But in a major global effort, we analysed data from nearly 700,000 people with depression and identified 630 regions in the genome linked to the disorder. In this talk, I’ll explain what we’ve learned, whether genetics can help predict who might develop depression, and why it’s crucial to include people from diverse ancestral backgrounds in this research.
About the Speaker
Professor Karoline Kuchenbaecker
Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at UCL
Karoline is Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at University College London where she leads the “Diversity in Genomics” group. Her research focusses on the genetic and environmental risk factors for diseases by leveraging the unique characteristics of diverse populations. She has led the first globally and ancestrally diverse research studies of the genetics of depression and is the PI of the ERC-funded DIVERGE study which has recruited 13,000 participants, most with clinical major depressive disorder, in Pakistan. She has developed methodological standards for diverse samples as well as innovative methods to empower locus discovery and to assess transferability of genetic risk factors. As Scientific Lead for Diverse Data at Genomics England she is supporting a Programme to ensure equitable research and application of genomic medicine across minoritised communities in England. Karoline is co-director of the UCL Human Genomics (UCLhg) Centre and co-founder of the London Genetics Network (LGN).