IEU Seminar: Thalia Eley

11 October 2019, 12.00 PM - 11 October 2019, 1.00 PM

Room OS6, Second Floor, Oakfield House

MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) Seminar Series

Title: Big data approach to human fear conditioning: Combining smartphone and genomic data

Abstract:

We have developed a smartphone app (FLARe) which remotely delivers a fear conditioning task and which we are keen to share with collaborators worldwide. We are planning to make the tool open source and the data will be shared via a centralised database that pools anonymised data.

In this talk I will first describe the app, including how it has been validated, which aspects are flexible, and why it is suitable for different clinical and non-clinical populations and age-ranges. I will then present two large studies in which we will have begun collecting fear conditioning data using the app. The first of these is the Twins Early Development Study, a longitudinal study of over 7,000 pairs of twins born in England and Wales between 1994-1996. I will present initial fear conditioning data from 500 pairs of twins who have taken part in the study. Finally, I will present the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study, which we launched in September 2018. Over 20,000 individuals with lifetime diagnoses of an anxiety or depressive disorder, have already signed up for the study and will be invited to complete the FLARe app.

Biography:

Prof Eley runs the Emotional Development Intervention and Treatment Lab (EDIT Lab) at KCL. She is interested in the reasons why people differ in how they respond to life's experiences, particularly how genetic factors are involved in the development of emotional symptoms. At present her group is exploring two major themes.

First, they are analysing and recruiting very large samples in order to explore genetic influences on anxiety, depression and treatment outcomes. With her close colleague Dr Gerome Breen she has recently launched a major new initiative called the Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) study, which forms part of the National BioResource for Mental Health. You can see them talking about the study here, and can watch an animation about the study here.

Second, she is really interested in why anxiety and depression run in families, and whether this is due to sharing home life or whether it is due to sharing genes. Prof Eley is Deputy Director and Director Elect of the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS), which is the largest longitudinal twin birth cohort in the UK. As the twins reach their mid-twenties her team are particularly excited about recruiting the next generation into the Children of TEDS (CoTEDS) Study.

All welcome