The Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital of Frankfurt (Head: Prof. Dr. A. Reif) is uniquely and ideally suited to carry out translational research in psychiatry. Key research questions revolve around developmental psychiatry (in close collaboration with the Department for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Head: Prof. Dr. C.M. Freitag, and as evidenced by the recent foundation of the German Center for Developmental Psychiatry D-ZEP), precision medicine approaches in psychiatry including biomarker discovery and the identification of mechanisms underlying comorbidity, and translational psychiatry with focus on the pathophysiology of ADHD, bipolar disorder, and major depression incl. suicidality. On site, extensive psycho- and electrophysiology phenotyping methods are established and all pertinent neuroimaging techniques including 3T MRI and MEG are readily available via the nearby Brain Imaging Center (BIC), which is co-lead by Prof. Dr. A. Reif. On the other hand, the Department features a fully equipped laboratory focusing on molecular biology and animal behaviour. On site, biobanking equipment as well as high throughput genotyping and state-of-the-art molecular biology methods are available. An S2 safety level cell culture laboratory with state-of-the-art microscopy has been used to establish a method to re-program human fibroblasts to hiPSCs, which are then further differentiated into neurons. For preclinical experiments the Department features a laboratory (located at the University’s central animal housing facility) that is fully equipped for automatized behavioural assessment of mice. The facilities are run by an excellent staff of scientists with an interdisciplinary background, also including experts in bioinformatics as needed for big data analyses. Genetic manipulation of mice can either be applied by transgenic methods or by stereotaxic delivery of viral vectors (adeno-associated virus) as established on site. On the other hand, there is access to large patient samples, as the Department features >150 inpatient beds, room for 30 day-patients, and large outpatient facilities specialised for patients suffering from ADHD and affective disorders. Beyond treatment as usual, there is an extensive and elaborate clinical research framework including early recognition of psychiatric disorders, cognitive remediation, long-term follow-up of patients including neuropsychological / -imaging examinations and ambulatory assessment as performed in two multicentre clinical trials. Patient enrolment and phenotyping is already implemented in the clinical core structure of the Department and well feasible, as evidence by a substantial track record in multicentre phenotyping studies (e.g. IMpACT, ConLiGen, Panic-Net, CoCA). Furthermore, on-site expertise in clinical trials (e.g. LITHIUM, earlyCBT, BipoLife, SIMaMCI, VIP-ADHD and numerous industry sponsored trials) ensures that clinical studies will run smoothly. Moreover, there is expertise in ecological ambulatory assessment of dietary behaviour (APPetite study, within the recently funded Eat2beNice project). There is a routine for the biobanking of cognitive and fluid biomarkers including DNA, proteomic and other kind of biological samples. The Department’s expertise in serving as a core biobank and genotyping center is also evidenced by contribution to several networks on psychiatric genetics (PGC, MooDS) as well as participation in multi-site studies such as the BipoLife network and the EU-funded projects Agressotype, CoCA and MiND.
