Current treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders are largely inadequate. At the core of this issue is a lack of understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying these disorders. How do we begin to understand the biological underpinnings of these disorders so that we can begin to identify novel patient-specific therapeutics and biomarkers? One way is by focusing on their underlying genetics. Over the past several decades, it has become apparent that neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism, have a strong genetic component. To date, hundreds of genetic variants that increase neuropsychiatric disease risk have been identified; but, a remaining challenge is understanding how these associated genes regulate behavior. Indeed, in most cases, genetic variants are present throughout the lifetime of an individual, in all cells, meaning it is not just which genes, but when during development and in which cell types do they function to regulate behaviors?

In the Campbell lab, we take a genetics-first approach, focusing on genes associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. We use high throughput behavioral and whole brain imaging approaches in the zebrafish model system to rapidly generate novel hypotheses about how and where these genes may be functioning to regulate behavior and subsequently validate and translate findings using human induced pluripotent stem cell models. Techniques in the lab include CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis, spatiotemporal gene rescue approaches, RNA sequencing, confocal imaging, and behavioral analysis. Through this work, our ultimate goal is to improve the lives of those living with these neuropsychiatric conditions.