This four-year doctoral project will leverage UK Biobank’s extensive cohort and multidimensional data to systematically investigate pharmacological and non-pharmacological factors influencing neurological and psychiatric disorders, including dementia, stroke, epilepsy, sleep disorders, and depression. Integrating genetic, imaging, biochemical, lifestyle, environmental, and longitudinal prescription data, the study will: 1) identify modifiable risk factors with causal relationships to disease risk using cutting-edge causal inference methods; 2) evaluate protective/risk effects of common medications (cardiovascular, psychotropic, anti-inflammatory drugs, etc.); 3) develop precision risk prediction models integrating polygenic risk, environmental exposures, and medication history. This research will provide crucial evidence for primary prevention, drug repurposing, and precision medicine strategies.
Background and Rationale
Neuropsychiatric disorders constitute a major global health burden with complex etiologies involving genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and pharmacological factors. UK Biobank’s unique integration of deep phenotyping (neuroimaging, cognitive assessments), multi-omics data, and longitudinal prescription records enables unprecedented systematic evaluation of intervention targets and causal relationships at population scale.
