Two Yale School of Medicine scientists, Scott W. Woods, MD, and Youngsun T. Cho, MD, PhD, have been awarded a five-year, $76 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for their project titled, “ProCAN: Psychosis-Risk Outcomes Compound Assessment Network,” as part of the Accelerated Medicines Partnership® – Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ). This initiative aims to identify potential interventions for young people at clinical high risk for psychosis, with the ultimate goal of preventing the onset of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.
Woods and Cho will lead the study in collaboration with investigators from 17 other research sites. The study is crucial because nearly one in five young people presenting for psychiatric care are identified as being at clinical high risk for psychosis, and approximately 20 percent of this population will go on to develop a psychotic disorder. Despite this significant public health concern, the development of effective pharmaceutical interventions has lagged.
Evaluating Drug Compounds
The Yale network will evaluate identified drug compounds for their potential to detect a signal on one or more biological, digital, cognitive, or clinical outcome measures in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. This project builds on a prior, 28-site five-year AMP SCZ observational study for which Woods has also served as contact principal investigator. The AMP program, launched in 2014, is a public-private partnership between NIH, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, biopharmaceutical companies, non-profits, and other organizations, managed by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH).
Leadership and Focus
Woods, director of Yale's PRIME Clinic for patients at clinical high risk for psychosis, will oversee the research project. His research focuses on identifying and characterizing young people at clinical high risk for psychosis and addressing their treatment and prevention needs. Cho, director of the Neuroimaging, Neurocomputation, and Neurogenetics (N3) Division in Yale's Department of Psychiatry, will focus on functional magnetic resonance imaging correlates of medication response and regulatory standards for data collection and transfer.
Collaborative Effort
Other multiple principal investigators on this research project include Carrie E. Bearden, professor at UCLA, and John M. Kane, professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
