Cross-Regional Mechanisms in Schizophrenia & ASD via Multi-omics in Patient-Derived hiPSC Models

Project Overview

This project establishes hiPSC lines from ethnically diverse Malaysian donors diagnosed with schizophrenia or ASD, along with matched controls. Using Australian-standard harmonisation, the project will differentiate cortical neurons and organoids for multi-omics profiling including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and high-content imaging. The objective is to identify cellular and network phenotypes associated with these neuropsychiatric conditions.

What You Will Do

You will culture patient-derived hiPSC lines and employ molecular and imaging techniques to characterise neuronal phenotypes. Integrated analyses of multi-omics datasets will map disease-relevant modules such as synaptic signalling, connectivity, and neurotransmission. Comparative analyses between Malaysian and Australian cohorts will quantify shared and population-specific disease features. AI modelling will be applied for mechanism-driven therapeutic testing.

Expected Outcomes

Expected outputs include quality-controlled donor cell lines, standard operating procedures, interoperable multi-omics datasets, and candidate biomarkers. These outputs will feed into subsequent projects focused on therapeutic development. The project will provide robust human-relevant data to power AI-based mechanistic insights and improve neuropsychiatric disorder treatments.

Why This Matters

Neurodevelopmental disorders like schizophrenia and ASD have complex etiology with diverse presentations across populations. This research bridges gaps by integrating wet-lab and computational expertise to understand ethnic and population-specific disease mechanisms. It supports equitable mental health research with potential to inform effective, personalised therapeutics for major neuropsychiatric conditions.