In this webinar, we will discuss the importance of global studies such as ENIGMA-BD, including how they work, recent findings, ongoing challenges, and future directions for large-scale bipolar disorder research.
The ENIGMA Bipolar Disorder Working Group (ENIGMA-BD) was founded in 2012 to advance neuroscience discoveries in bipolar disorder. ENIGMA-BD includes over 150 scientists from 50 leading research institutions, pooling data and resources to create the largest brain imaging studies of bipolar disorder ever conducted. Over the past decade, ENIGMA-BD has been mapping the subtle brain changes associated with bipolar illness, including its symptoms, treatments and other clinical factors. In this webinar we will discuss the importance of global studies such as ENIGMA-BD, including how they work, recent findings, ongoing challenges and future directions for large-scale bipolar disorder research.
Christopher R. K. Ching received his undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Philosophy from Pomona College and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UCLA. He is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine where his research uses brain imaging and genomic techniques aimed at improving diagnosis, treatment, and patient outcomes in neurodegenerative and psychiatric illness. He co-chairs The ENIGMA Bipolar Disorder Working Group, leading an international team of over 150 scientists from 50 research institutions to build the largest brain imaging studies of bipolar disorder ever conducted. As part of the core leadership of The Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium, a global network of over 2,500 researchers across 340 institutions and 45 countries, he has designed brain imaging processing and analysis pipelines implemented by teams across the world to advance our understanding of brain structure, function and genomic factors contributing to a wide range of brain illnesses.