Pharmacogenetic Biomarker Discovery, Personalized Medicine, and Clinical Test Commercialization in Neuropsychiatry – Year two

Pharmacotherapy is one of the primary treatments for psychiatric disorders. Given the variation in individual response, and the current trial-and-error treatment, a more personalized approach is needed. The Mitacs Elevate postdoctoral fellow project involves the use of pharmacogenetic testing to personalize medication prescriptions for patients, and the commercialization of pharmacogenetic testing. A main component of the postdoctoral fellow work is the Individualized Medicine: Pharmacogenetics Assessment and Clinical Treatment (IMPACT) project, a partnership between the University of Toronto CAMH hospital and Assurex Health Ltd. The goal of IMPACT is to increase the success rate of drug response and adherence, and to limit risk of side effects from medications. IMPACT aims to improve response through providing guidance (GeneSight test) to physicians for choosing medications based on a patients genetic makeup. The academic/industry partnership goals are to continuously refine the validity and utility of the test and commercialize the test in Canada.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jim Kennedy

Student:

Julie-Anne Tanner

Partner:

Assurex Health

Discipline:

Psychology

Sector:

Medical devices

University:

Program: