Summer School
Our annual Summer School in Brain Disorders Research is held at one of the world's leading centres on neuropsychiatric genetics and genomics.
Our four-day course takes place at the Hadyn Ellis Building, run by the team based in the Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG) at Cardiff University.
The summer school aims to provide trainees and scientists with a grounding in brain disorders research and to inspire and inform the researchers of tomorrow.
The summer school includes talks on a range of topics in psychiatry, neurology and neuroscience including:
- neuroimaging
- psychiatric epidemiology
- genetics and epigenetics
- high-throughput sequencing
- manipulation of stem cells
- phenotypic assessments
- ethics in genetic research
The summer school also includes workshops on scientific careers and academic fellowships.
Programme
An example of our programme that ran in July 2024:
Monday 8 July
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Registration and lunch |
| 13:00 | Introduction Professor James Walters and Professor George Kirov |
| 13:10 | Principles of high-throughput sequencing: sample preparation, equipment Professor Nigel Williams |
| 13:55 | High-throughput sequencing tour, part one: lab tours in small groups and coffee |
| 16:00 | High-throughput sequencing tour, part two: analysis and interpretation of sequencing data Dr Elliott Rees |
| 16:45 | Copy number variations (CNVs) in neurodevelopmental disorders Professor George Kirov |
| 17:30 | Check-in at Senghennydd Court for those with booked accommodation |
Tuesday 9 July
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | Breakfast is provided at the Hadyn Ellis Building |
| 09:00 | Using MRI to understand mental disorders Dr Xavier Caseras |
| 09:45 | Neuroimaging tour of CUBRIC and coffee Professor Neil Harrison and team |
| 11:45 | Reproductive psychiatry and the effect of gender and sex on mental health Professor Arianna Di Florio |
| 12:30 | Lunch |
| 14:00 | A developmental approach to understanding child and adolescent mental health Professor Stephan Collishaw |
| 14:45 | Coffee |
| 15:00 | Genetics of multiple sclerosis Dr Karim Kreft |
| 15:45 | Huntington's disease: translating genetics into therapies |
Wednesday 10 July
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | Breakfast is provided at the Hadyn Ellis Building |
| 09:00 | Preclinical mouse models for schizophrenia: MURIDAE and the MRC National Mouse Genetic Network Professor Anthony Isles |
| 09:45 | Emerging technologies - CRISPR-Cas9, single-cell sequencing and others Dr Yasir Syed |
| 10:30 | Making neurons from stem cells: laboratory tour and coffee Dr Yasir Syed and the team |
| 12:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00 | Parallel talks: Research careers in medicine |
| 13:45 | Drug Discovery in Psychiatry Dr Gerry Dawson, CEO of P1vital LTD |
| 14:30 | Coffee |
| 15:00 | Genetics of epilepsy Dr Rhys Thomas |
| 15:45 | Psychedelics and psychiatry Dr Mathew D Hoskins |
| 18:30 | Social meal in the city centre |
Thursday 11 July
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | Breakfast is provided at the SBARC|SPARK building |
| 09:00 | Imaging epilepsy |
| 09:45 | Measuring risk for Alzheimer’s Disease Dr Emily Simmonds |
| 10:30 | Coffee |
| 11:00 | Workshop: Social and ethical aspects of genetic testing Dr Kimberley Kendall and Professor George Kirov |
| 11:45 | Advances in the genetics of psychiatric disorders Professor James Walters |
| 12:30 | Lunch and farewell |
Speakers
The programme is delivered by experts in their respective fields.
- Professor James Walters
- Professor Nigel Williams
- Professor Arianna di Florio
- Dr Will Davies
- Dr Elliot Rees
- Dr Xavier Caseras
- Professor Anthony Isles
- Professor George Kirov
- Dr Khalid Hamandi
- Dr Kimberley Kendall
- Dr Tom Massey
Who can apply
The summer school is aimed at clinical trainees (Foundation, Core, Specialty Training) and non-clinical scientists (MSc, PhD, Post Doc) who are interested in moving into the field of neuropsychiatric genetics and genomics or those who want an introduction to brain disorders research.
We run a similar programme every year as an introduction to the research taking place at the CNGG. Applications will not be accepted for those who have previously attended.
Our summer school is free to attend. Student accommodation is provided for anyone travelling from outside Cardiff.
Unfortunately, we cannot help with travel fees.
How to apply
Applications for the 2025 summer school will open in March 2025.
It is free to attend the summer school, but please note travel expenses cannot be reimbursed.
Accommodation
Free student accommodation is available for attendees travelling from outside Cardiff.
Contact us
For more information, contact: