Cohen Veterans Bioscience partners with MIT, Harvard to research genetics of PTSD

Cohen Veterans Bioscience recently announced two collaborative partnerships to provide research tools for understanding underlying neurobiology and genetics of PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

To increase knowledge about genetic influences associated with PTSD, Cohen Veterans Bioscience will provide funding for DNA genotyping and access to genetics expertise at the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

“Genetic factors are critical in influencing who develops PTSD,” Magali Haas, MD, PhD, CEO and president at Cohen Veterans Bioscience, said in a press release. “Unlike some other neuro-psychiatric diseases, we do not yet know how genetic variants affect a person's risk for developing PTSD. These data can provide a mechanism to more reliably predict the risk of PTSD in different populations and afford an opportunity for preventive interventions. We are proud to partner with a world-leading genetics research institution like the Broad Institute's Stanley Center to advance the science of PTSD.”

Cohen Veterans Bioscience will also partner with McLean Hospital to develop the Cohen Veterans Bioscience Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury and Tissue Collection, which will serve as a resource for acquisition, processing, storage and distribution of postmortem brain tissue to the scientific community. The collection will be maintained at McLean’s Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center and is designated for research on the brain.

“This collection is an extraordinary exciting development that will help fill a critical need for the research community worldwide,” Kerry J. Ressler, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer at McLean Hospital, said in the release. “Thanks to this new resource, we will be able to study the brains of a diverse population — both military and civilians — who have experienced PTSD and/or [traumatic brain injury] in their lifetime with the ultimate goal of identifying better, more effective methods of treating each of these disorders.”

Researchers hope to collect at least 100 brains from affected individuals and plan to coordinate with the Leahy-Friedman National PTSD Brain Bank to maximize use of these resources, according to Ressler.