OCD symptoms and genetics in African American people
Phenotypic and genetic architecture of OCD in African Americans
This project looks at OCD symptoms and rare genetic changes in African American people to fill gaps in research and improve understanding of the disorder.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11327332 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will ask about your OCD symptoms, treatment history, and other health and social factors, and they will collect a blood or saliva sample for DNA sequencing. The team will use high-throughput sequencing to search for rare single-letter changes and small insertions/deletions in genes that might increase OCD risk. They will compare symptom patterns and genetic findings in African American participants with existing datasets to identify features that have been missed in prior studies. Participation may involve questionnaires, interviews, and providing a biospecimen, with some visits in person and potential options for remote sample collection.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults who self-identify as African American (of African ancestry) with OCD symptoms or a diagnosis of OCD are the ideal candidates for this work.
Not a fit: People without African ancestry or those seeking immediate changes to their clinical care are unlikely to receive direct medical benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could make genetic findings and symptom information more relevant to African American people and help guide better-targeted diagnosis and future treatments.
How similar studies have performed: Previous genetic sequencing in mainly European-ancestry groups has found risk genes for OCD, but studying African American participants is a novel and necessary step because they have been largely excluded from prior work.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Grice, Dorothy E — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Grice, Dorothy E
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.