So today I finished a grant proposal to the National Institute of Health to try to find genes for post traumatic stress disorder. I am working with an American psychiatrist who has been doing humanitarian aid in Armenia since the 1988 Spitak earthquake. He has helped set up a few clinics, and we are sampling from there. I do the study design and the statistical genetic analyses. PTSD symptoms in our sample appear to be about 50% genetic, and with funding to increase our sample and do a genome scan we can probably find susceptibility genes. This will allow us to develop better drugs that will help treat and prevent PTSD.
Less PTSD would make the world a better place. Wish I didn't have to wait till June to find out if they will fund me.