The Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics was established in 1996. The Institute was formed from two closely inter-related research groups who had worked together for more than a decade.
The first of these, the Psychiatric Genetics Research Program, was directed by Kenneth Kendler, MD, in the Department of Psychiatry of the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. Faculty included Charlie Maclean, PhD, Michael Neale, PhD, Carol Prescott, PhD, among others.
The second of these groups, the Genetic Epidemiology Research Group, was headed by Lindon Eaves, DSc, in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, also in the School of Medicine at VCU. Faculty members included Linda Corey, PhD, Hermine Maes, PhD, Lenn Murrelle, PhD, and Judy Silberg, PhD.
Many eminent researchers in psychiatric and behavioral genetics gained experience at VCU, both before and since the establishment of VIPBG, and have gone on to head prestigious research groups since. Among those are Nick Martin, PhD (QIMR), Dr. Andrew Heath, DPhil. (WUSTL), John Hewitt, PhD (IBG), Patrick Sullivan, MD & Cindy Bulik, PhD (Karolinska/Chapel Hill), Edwin van den Oord, PhD (VCU), Brion Maher, PhD (Johns Hopkins), Ayman Fanous, MD (UAZ), Danielle Posthuma, PhD (VU), Matt Keller, PhD (IBG), Meike Bartels, PhD (VU), Sarah Medland, PhD (QIMR), John Hettema, MD/PhD (TAMU), Danielle Dick, PhD (Rutgers), Roseann Peterson, PhD (SUNY Downstate), Roxanne Roberson-Nay, PhD (UVA). Other have joined non-academic organizations furthering research pursuits, including Todd Webb, PhD (Geisinger) and Amanda Gentry, PhD (BeOne Medicines). VIPBG maintains strong collaborative ties with many of these renowned scientists.
Over the past 25 years, many faculty members have joined VIPBG, including Brien Riley, PhD, Ananda Amstadter, PhD, Silviu-Alin Bacanu, PhD, Kaitlin Bountress, PhD, and Tan Hoang Nguyen, PhD. These faculty expanded both substantive research foci and areas of methodological expertise. Others trained at VIPBG as graduate students – Dana Lapato, PhD, Chelsea Sawyers, PhD, Mallory Stephenson, PhD – or postdocs – Nathan Gillespie, PhD, Alexis Edwards, PhD, Ruth Brown, PhD, Christina Sheerin, PhD – and have been promoted to the rank of faculty, and developed their own independent research labs. Faculty from other VCU schools have joined, including Preetam Ghosh, PhD (Computer Science), Karen Chartier, PhD (Social Work), Patricia Kinser, PhD (Nursing), Elizabeth Prom-Wormley, PhD (Epidemiology), and Joseph McClay, PhD (Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science). We recently added new members to our faculty, including Minhui Chen, PhD, and Jared Balbona, PhD.
The institute remains indebted to the vision of Dr. Lindon J Eaves, who became emeritus professor, was celebrated at a Festschrift held in Edinburg, Scotland. He continues to be an inspiration to so many of us and a driving force to continue to focus on the important questions about the causes of variation in human complex traits.
