Introduction

The Schizophrenia Research Institute's vision is to find the means to prevent and cure schizophrenia.

In pursuit of this vision, our scientists conduct research in many areas of neuroscience including neuroimaging, clinical studies, brain tissue neurobiology, genetics and epidemiology. The Institute's research network encompasses 200 scientists working across many affiliated centres in New South Wales and Australia.

Because schizophrenia is fundamentally a human condition, it must be studied with the help of people with schizophrenia, their relatives and people without a history of mental illness.

How You Can Help to Find a Cure for Schizophrenia

The Schizophrenia Research Institute has two particular schizophrenia research programs to draw to your attention, each of which plays a critical role in furthering our understanding of this complex and disabling disease.

If you have schizophrenia or do not have a mental illness please consider joining one or both of the following programs.

The Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank collects and links genetic, neuroanatomical, cognitive and clinical information from people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and non-psychiatric control volunteers to support research into the genetics of schizophrenia.

Volunteers who join the Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank are also invited to consider the option of being contacted to participate in future schizophrenia research projects. In these situations, involvement in research is by invitation and can range from completing a simple questionnaire to attending a research facility and having an MRI brain scan. But these are not mandatory requirements of joining the Bank.

The 'Using our Brains' Donor Program is an Australian brain donor program that focuses on people with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Post mortem human brain tissue is an extremely valuable resource for neurobiological research into schizophrenia.

Every person who participates in our schizophrenia research programs not only helps people who are suffering from schizophrenia, but also benefits the community. The information and help provided by those involved may lead to the development of new treatments or even to a way of preventing schizophrenia.

Sooner or later, a research team is going to make a major breakthrough, and you could be a part of it - so, please consider helping one or more of our research programs.

 

Key Role in Global Genetics Study

The Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank has played a key role in a global study that investigated genetic variants associated with schizophrenia. The study replicated findings from previous genetic research and made new discoveries.