Rudolf Uher

Canada Research Chair in Early Interventions in Psychiatry

Tier 1 - 2017-11-01
Renewed: 2017-02-01, 2021-01-01
Dalhousie University
Canadian Institutes of Health Research

902-473-7209
uher@dal.ca

Coming to Canada From

King’s College London, UK

Research involves

Developing early intervention programs to reduce the risk of severe mental illness in young people at risk.

Research relevance

This research will examine the interplay of genetic and environmental factors in mental illness, and will develop interventions aimed at reducing the risk of severe mental illness in young people at familial risk.

Research summary

About one in 10 people will develop depression, bipolar disorder or psychosis between the ages of 15 and 25.  As Canada Research Chair in Early Interventions in Psychiatry, Dr. Rudolf Uher looking for ways to prevent these diseases.

Uher and his research team are finding that mental illness is predictable and may even be preventable. For example, an innovative combination of clinical interviews, speech analysis, sleep and brain measurements can identify youth who are at risk of developing mental illness—and early interventions may reduce the risk. They have also found that for those who do develop illness at a young age, personalized treatment maximizes the chance of a good outcome. Ultimately, Uher’s work will have important implications for how we can prevent and treat mental health problems in young people.