Given the known importance of both genetics and environment in brain function, and the role of neuroimaging in revealing brain dysfunction, integrating genetics with brain imaging will fundamentally change our understanding of human brain function in disease. To realize the promise of this synergy, we must develop novel analytic, statistical, and visualization techniques for this new field of Imaging Genetics. The purpose of this proposal is to request core support for the Sixth through the Eighth Annual International Imaging Genetics Conferences, focusing on the advancement of the new discipline, Imaging Genetics, and the transdisciplinary fusion that is its foundation. The International Imaging Genetics Conferences are two-day meetings which bring together national and international experts in neuroimaging, genetics, data-mining, visualization and statistics, to present their research and findings as they relate to the field of Imaging Genetics. Panel sessions are held on both days of the conference to allow for in-depth discussion of the day's talks between the audience and the speakers.These conferences are planned for each January from 2010 to 2012. This proposal will serve four aims:
Aim 1. To enhance transdisciplinary scholarship in imaging genetics by engaging a diverse group of investigators in the various relevant disciplines.
Aim 2 : To synthesize and make more accessible to investigators the current methods and issues involved in imaging genetics.
Aim 3 : To develop strategies to improve the continued dissemination of knowledge from research on imaging genetics to future students, and researchers.
Aim 4 : To provide core support for the 6th and the 8th Annual International Imaging Genetics Conferences, focusing on the advancement of the new discipline, Imaging Genetics. The objective of the International Imaging Genetics Conference is to promote the growth and maturation of the emerging field of imaging genetics. In support of this objective, the conference provides a unique opportunity for interaction among experts and students in the wide-ranging fields of neuroimaging, genetics, statistical analysis, and clinical studies. These interactions, based on the scientific presentations at the conference, provide the necessary substrate for the novel methods and findings needed by the field to develop.
Understanding genetic influences on brain function and dysfunction through the integration of neuroimaging and genetics is the goal of Imaging Genetics. Study of imaging and genetics individually has provided important revelations regarding brain dysfunction;however, the new knowledge generated by their integration holds considerable promise for improving diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. This conference proposal supports an integrative forum facilitating the understanding of the biologically complex problem of mental illness, individual differences, and the interplay among genetics, environment, and brain function.
