معرفی
Francis O'Neill is a Clinical Associate Professor at Queen's University Belfast, affiliated with the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences and the Centre for Public Health. He specializes in psychiatric genetics, particularly schizophrenia, and has contributed to major international collaborations. His work includes high-impact publications in Nature Communications and the American Journal of Human Genetics. O'Neill holds an MD from Queen's University and has held roles such as Director of Research at Mater Hospital Trust and Visiting Scientist at MIT. He is an Associate/Acting Deputy Editor of the British Journal of Psychiatry and has received multiple awards, including the Merck Research Prize and Richard Havelock Charles Scholarship. His research focuses on genetic risk factors, treatment resistance, and innovative therapies like art therapy. He also contributes to medical education and has organized international conferences.
Educations:
- MB BCh (1984), Queen's University Belfast
- MD (1992), Queen's University Belfast
- European Certificate on Anxiety Disorders (2001)
Research Interests: O'Neill's work centers on schizophrenia genetics, psychiatric epidemiology, and translational research. He explores genetic liability profiles, somatic mutations, and clinical predictors of treatment resistance. His recent studies investigate brain cell interactions and genomic loci across psychiatric disorders. He advocates for personalized medicine policies and has pioneered art therapy trials.
Key Projects:
- STRATA: Predicting antipsychotic treatment resistance (2014-2019)
- World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (organizing committee, 2016-2018)
Grants & Awards:
- NIHR-funded trials
- Fellowships from Royal College of Psychiatrists (FRCPsych)
- Multiple research medals and scholarships
Labs/Teams: Collaborates with the Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and the Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network. Leads research in genetic stratification and clinical prediction models.
