What Can Precision Medicine Offer for the Future of Psychiatry?

Jordan Smoller, MD, is a psychiatrist, epidemiologist and geneticist whose research focus has been understanding the genetic and environmental determinants of psychiatric disorders across the lifespan and using big data to advance precision mental health including improved methods to reduce risk and enhance resilience. 

Dr. Smoller earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude at Harvard University and his medical degree at Harvard Medical School.  After completing residency training in psychiatry at McLean Hospital, he received masters and doctoral degrees in epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. 

Dr. Smoller is the Massachusetts General Hospital Trustees Endowed Chair in Psychiatric Neuroscience, professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. He is associate chief for research in the Mass General Department of Psychiatry, director of the Center for Precision Psychiatry, and director of the Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit in the Mass General Center for Genomic Medicine. Dr. Smoller is a Tepper Family MGH Research Scholar and also serves as director of the Omics Unit of the Mass General Division of Clinical Research and co-director of the Mass General Brigham Biobank. He is director of the Mass General Brigham Training Program in Precision and Genomic Medicine, an associate member of the Broad Institute, co-chair of the Cross-Disorder Workgroup of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, and president of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics. 

He has played a leading role in national and international efforts to advance precision medicine. He is a Principal Investigator (PI) in the eMERGE (Electronic Medical Records and Genomics) network, founding PI of the PsycheMERGE Consortium and lead PI of the New England Precision Medicine Consortium as part of the NIH All of Us Research Program and co-Chair of the All of Us Science Committee. Dr. Smoller is an author of more than 400 scientific publications and is also the author of The Other Side of Normal (HarperCollins/William Morrow, 2012).
 

Objectives:

1. Describe the goals of precision medicine.
2. Summarize unmet needs in mental healthcare where precision medicine approaches may provide benefit.
3. Summarize examples of how big data and genomics may enable precision medicine approaches in psychiatry.

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1credit AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Continuing Education Units (1) will be available for Social Workers and affiliated reciprocal agencies. Illinois Board License number 159-000112.

The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.  The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This event is 1 credit hour continuing education.

No member of the planning committee for this activity have reported a relevant relationship with a commercial interest.  There is no conflict of interest and nothing to disclose.

Jordan Smoller, MD, ScD has disclosed providing consultant to services to Sensorium Therapeutics, Inc and receiving research support from Biogen, Inc