Project Summary

Craig Olsson, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2004) of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute/University of Melbourne, using clinical and behavioral data from an extensive 10-year longitudinal study of 2,000 Australians, proposes studying the social and biological factors that contribute to psychiatric problems in young people. The study followed individuals from age 14 to age 24 and collected data about depression and anxiety, smoking, health alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, deliberate self harm, obesity, eating disorders and antisocial behaviors. Papers based on the study revealed insights into depression and drug use during late adolescence. Recently, young people and their parents were invited to provide a blood sample for research into the genetic cause of mental disorders. Dr. Olsson aims to understanding the genetic and environmental interactions of mental illness with the goal of finding new ways to prevent and treat the disease in young people.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Unipolar Depression

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