Jan Haavik

Jan Haavik is a Professor at the Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, affiliated with the Center for Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Neurotargeting Research Group. His research focuses on the genetic and molecular underpinnings of neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly ADHD, OCD, and Alzheimer’s disease. He combines genomic, epigenetic, and neuroimaging approaches to elucidate disease mechanisms and improve clinical outcomes. Current projects include the DynAMoND cohort study on affect modulation in neurodevelopmental disorders and investigations into genetic overlaps between psychiatric and metabolic conditions.

He holds academic appointments at Haukeland University Hospital, bridging clinical and basic research. His work emphasizes translational applications, such as optimizing polygenic risk scores for ADHD diagnosis and guiding personalized therapies for neuropsychiatric conditions. Key contributions include identifying genetic loci associated with OCD, ADHD, and Alzheimer’s, and analyzing the impact of environmental factors like maternal diet on neurodevelopmental outcomes.

His recent publications highlight advancements in understanding dopamine pathways in ADHD, the role of copy number variants in psychiatric disorders, and the interplay between insulin resistance and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Ongoing research explores epigenetic mechanisms of treatment response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and the molecular basis of drug therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders.