Severe Mental Illness: From Genes to Mechanisms to Therapeutics

This two-day in-person symposium on September 16 and 17, 2025, will be chaired by Dr. Steve Hyman, director of the Program in Brain Health at ӳ��ý, Dr. Kris Dickson of the Stanley Center at ӳ��ý, Dr. Zhanyan Fu of the Stanley Center at ӳ��ý, Dr. Evan Macosko of the Stanley Center at the ӳ��ý and Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Elise Robinson of Massachusetts General Hospital and associate director of Human Genetics at the Stanley Center. It will bring together scientists working on the frontiers of genetics, neurobiology, computational psychiatry, and therapeutic development for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and related neuropsychiatric disorders.

The central theme of this symposium revolves around addressing the challenges of turning human genetics findings for severe mental illnesses into biology that will inform and drive the identification of biomarkers and novel therapeutics. In this symposium, speakers will present important new findings that will have an impact on neuropsychiatric research. The program will include keynote speeches from David Altshuler, EVP and CSO of Vertex and Belinda Lennox, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford along with a wide range of other talks, panels, and a poster session.

Agenda

Chairs: Kris Dickson, Zhanyan Fu, Steve Hyman, Evan Macosko, Elise Robinson

Day 1: Tuesday, September 16, 2025

8:00 - 8:45 am Breakfast
Opening Session
8:45 - 8:55 am Welcome Steve Hyman Harvard & ӳ��ý
Keynote 1
8:55 - 9:05 am Keynote Introduction Steve Hyman Harvard & ӳ��ý
9:05 - 10:05 am Keynote David Altshuler Vertex
Session 1: Psychiatric genetics and genomics: Progress and challenges Chair: Elise Robinson
10:05 - 10:35 am TALK_TITLE Ben Neale MGH & ӳ��ý
10:35 - 11:50 am Coffee Break
10:50 - 11:20 am TALK_TITLE Elise Robinson HSPH & ӳ��ý
11:20 - 11:50 am TALK_TITLE University of Pennsylvania
11:50 - 12:20 pm TALK_TITLE Jason Buenrostro Harvard University & ӳ��ý
12:20 - 1:20 pm Lunch
Session 2: Molecular and neural mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders - driving biomarker and therapeutic discovery Chair: Zhanyan Fu
1:20 - 1:30 pm Session Introduction Zhanyan Fu ӳ��ý
1:30 - 2:00 pm Deep learning approaches to antibiotic discovery Cornell University
2:00 - 2:30 pm Deep learning approaches to antibiotic discovery MIT & Whitehead Institute
2:30 - 3:00 pm Deep learning approaches to antibiotic discovery Stanford
3:00 - 3:15 pm Coffee Break
3:15 - 3:40 pm Poster Session previews TBD
3:40 - 4:50 pm Panel discussion on genetic medicine – addressing quantitative gene defects Moderator: Evan Macosko HMS & ӳ��ý Guoping Feng MIT & ӳ��ý Voyager SFARI MIT & Whitehead Institute
4:50 - 5:00 pm Closing Remarks Evan Macosko HMS & ӳ��ý
Stanley Center Poster Session
5:00 - 7:00 pm Reception and poster session

Day 2: Wednesday, September 17, 2025

8:00 - 8:45 am Breakfast
Keynote 2
8:45 - 8:55 am Keynote Introduction Steve Hyman Harvard & ӳ��ý
8:55 - 9:55 am Keynote Oxford University
Session 3: Understanding mental illness mechanisms using human model systems and clinical cohorts Chair: Evan Macosko
9:55 - 10:00 am Session Introduction Evan Macosko HMS & ӳ��ý
10:00 - 10:30 am TALK_TITLE University of Helsinki & ӳ��ý
10:30 - 11:00 am TALK_TITLE UCLA
11:00 - 11:20 am Coffee Break 11:20 - 12:00 pm Fireside Chat with Steve Hyman
12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch
Session 4: Frontiers of mechanistic and therapeutic discovery in the central nervous system
1:00 - 1:05 pm Session Introduction Harvard University
1:05 - 1:35 pm Deep learning approaches to antibiotic discovery Mount Sinai
1:35 - 2:05 pm Deep learning approaches to antibiotic discovery Morgan Sheng MIT & ӳ��ý
2:05 - 2:25 pm Coffee Break
2:25 - 3:15 pm Panel discussion – What do we need to get industry re-engaged? Moderator: Steve Hyman Harvard & ӳ��ý Boehringer Ingelheim J&J Biogen Seaport Therapeutics
3:15 - 3:30 pm Closing Remarks Steve Hyman Harvard & ӳ��ý Seaport Therapeutics