Looking back on my week at the CNGG Summer School 2024

Our fourteenth annual Summer School in Brain Disorders Research concluded last month, and attendee Isabella Parker, who previously studied biomedicine, shares her experience with us.

I was thrilled to have attended the Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics Summer School in Brain Disorders Research this year. Over four days, I attended a series of talks that provided a wealth of information related to the extent of neuropsychiatric and genomic research happening in Cardiff. It was so exciting to hear how utilising genomics and its related technological advances is helping to explain the causes of diseases and disorders of the human brain.

The fact that this cutting-edge research is advancing within Wales specifically, made me feel proud as a recent Cardiff University science graduate working in genomics, and hopeful of the prospects this work will bring to help treat and diagnose individuals affected by neurogenetic conditions in the future.

The impressive agenda of the summer school meant that a wide breadth of topics was covered, many of which I had little knowledge of beforehand. These included Schizophrenia, Huntington’s Disease, Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and mental health disorders.

A standout session on Measuring Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease by Dr Emily Simmonds from The Dementia Research Institute (DRI) was particularly insightful, not only due to the clear explanation of the intricate expression of genes that confer risk of Alzheimer’s, but also Dr Simmond’s conclusion that to increase the predictability of Alzheimer’s in the future, researchers need to not only to focus on the genomics of the disease in isolation, but combine this genomic knowledge with measuring other factors (e.g. biomarkers).

In addition to hearing the critical work of the Neuropsychiatric Genomics group, the organisers were kind enough to give tours around the labs where their forward-thinking research happens in real time. We were showed robotic machines in the DRI lab, and the multitude of brain imaging facilities at the state-of-the-art CUBRIC Centre. Whilst professors shared their insights of using innovative brain scanners, the inspiration in the room was palpable. Whether you were a neuropsychiatry or genomics specialist - everyone was enthralled to get a behind the scenes look of this research.

As someone at the beginning of their time working in the field of genomics, I’m wholly grateful to have experienced the summer school. It has expanded my awareness of neurological genomics and allowed me to meet inspirational research staff. I couldn’t recommend it more to anybody who has an interest in genomics or neurological research.

Summer School 2025

The CNGG’s next summer school will take place in July 2025.

The dates and details of how to apply will be finalised later this year.

If you are interested in attending, please visit the centre’s Summer School page in early February when details on how to apply will be published.