Research summary
Accurately diagnosing and treating patients with mental disorders is challenging. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, mental health disorders present the greatest global burden of all diseases. Dr. Bo Cao, Canada Research Chair in Computational Psychiatry, is trying to develop tools to predict the diagnosis and treatment outcomes of mental disorders.
He and his research team are using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to investigate the biological mechanisms that correspond to mental health disorders over patients’ lifespans and in relation to their sex and gender identity. Ultimately, their research could transform how we diagnose and treat mental disorders as well as lead to new markers for preventing or treating them.