Peter McGuffin, who has died aged 74, demonstrated the importance of understanding so-called gene-environment interactions, how genetic and non-genetic factors work together to make people more susceptible to mental illness. . He was also one of the first to realize the potential of his DNA revolution for understanding mental illness, and his research laid the foundation for the application of genomics to psychiatry.
It was previously thought that depression could be divided into two forms. One is a result of adversity (reactive depression) and the other is a result of endogenous factors such as genetic risk (endogenous depression).
Peter, who worked at the Institute of Psychiatry in London in the 1980s, showed that this was not the case, and that a combination of adversity and genetic risk often increased the likelihood of depression.
These findings suggest that biological treatments such as antidepressants and approaches to prevention and treatment based on reducing exposure to and effects of adverse environments may be broadly applicable to depression. doing.
He also found that adversity and depression tend to run in families. In subsequent research in Cardiff, he and his wife, Anne Farmer, a prolific academic psychiatrist, said that the explanation for this is complex and that adverse events are linked to risk-prone lifestyles and excessive It was shown that the results reflect a combination of trends. – Recognize adversity and how it tends to be shared among relatives. This indicates the need for more careful analysis of gene-environment interactions.
Psychiatric diagnoses are primarily based on clinical symptoms and signs, rather than special tests such as brain scans or blood tests. Nevertheless, it was widely believed that different diagnoses identified different conditions.
Peter's research on twins in the '90s challenged this conclusion, showing that the genetic components of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder overlap, and that there are unique components to each syndrome. Ta.
He then observed similar patterns of common and specific genetic components in bipolar disorder and major depression. These findings are the first to point to the now widely held view that current diagnostic approaches do not define a clear disorder and that better ways to define severe mental illness are needed. be.
Until the 1990s, research into the causes of childhood mental illness focused primarily on social and psychological factors. Peter undertook seminal work, also using twin studies, demonstrating the need to consider biological factors, particularly genetic factors.
He showed that genes influence the development of depressive symptoms in children, but that genetic influences are particularly important in adolescence, but less important in younger children. He also conducted some of the early studies demonstrating the heritability of ADHD, paving the way for subsequent genomic studies to identify specific genetic risk factors.
Peter was born in Belfast, the eldest of three children of Martha (née Burnison) and merchant marine officer William McGuffin. In 1959 they moved to the Isle of Wight when William was appointed as his house pilot at Trinity in Southampton Harbour. From Sundown Grammar School he went on to medical school at the University of Leeds, where he met Anne. They married in 1972, the year he graduated.
During his subsequent training, he became interested in genetics, and the young doctor conducted genetic marker research for schizophrenia with Ann, suggesting a link to the HLA system, a discovery that was later confirmed by genomic research. Ta.
He completed his training as a psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital in London, won a Medical Research Council Fellowship to study genetics, and went on to become a member of the Institute of Psychiatry (now known as the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience). Research Institute and its parts) became MRC Senior Clinical Research Fellow. King's College London).
He was appointed Professor of Psychological Medicine at the University of Wales Medical School, Cardiff (now part of Cardiff University) in 1987, a position he held until 1998, when I succeeded him. During this period he laid the foundations for Cardiff to become a center of excellence in psychiatric genetics and trained several young researchers who were later to make important contributions to the field.
While in Cardiff, he was one of the founders of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics and its second president. He was quick to recognize that the application of genomics would require large-scale international cooperation, and in the 1980s and 1990s he established the European Science Foundation Program, which brought together research in psychiatric genetics across Europe. This laid the foundations for international cooperation that continues to be successful to this day.
From Cardiff he was Director of the MRC Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Center (SGDP) in London.
This was entirely appropriate, as his early research on depression was a major inspiration for the creation of this center, which aims to integrate genetics with social and developmental research. He led his SGDP with great results, developing the careers of many students and young scientists, while creating a supportive and nurturing environment in which many of their stars could shine.
SGDP expanded under his leadership, becoming internationally recognized for excellence in interdisciplinary psychiatric research, and Peter successfully secured funding for a new building to house it.
His managerial skills were recognized in 2007 when he was appointed Director of the Institute of Psychiatry, a position he held for three years, during which time he guided IOP out of financial crisis. Through all this he remained a productive researcher and in 2012 he retired as Director General of the SGDP and in 2014 as Consultant Psychiatrist. Two years later he was appointed his CBE.
He is survived by Anne and her three children, Katrina, Liam and Lucy, and five grandchildren.