Heidi Friedrichs

Date of birth
12.08.1981

Place of birth
Remscheid, Germany

EDUCATION

Heidi Friedrichs

College / University

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (10/2001 – 5/2007) University of Vienna (2/2005 – 8/2005)

Degree
Diploma in Psychology

Major Subjects
Clinical Psychology

Affiliation-Address:
Max-Planck-Institute for Experimental Medicine
Div. of Clinical Neurosciences
Hermann-Rein-Str. 3
37075 Göttingen
Germany

phone: +49-551-3899 586
e-mail:

Further Information:
www.em.mpg.de

PROJECTS / RESEARCH

Current title of PhD project: "Exploring subgroups of schizophrenia with respect to genetic and environmental risk and protective factors in the framework of the Göttingen Research Association of Schizophrenia (GRAS) data collection, a large cross-sectional study of schizophrenic patients."

Schizophrenia is a devastating disease affecting 1% of the population across cultures. Heritability among monozygotic twins of 50% points to an equal importance of genetic and exogenous/environmental factors. The exact genetic causes and biological basis of schizophrenia, however, are still largely unknown. In fact, this disease is a "mixed bag", defined by "endpoint diagnosis", based on heterogeneous clinical criteria. Since understanding and treating of schizophrenia will not improve with the current genetic approaches - not even with large studies employing tens of thousands of patients - as long as simple comparisons of patients and healthy controls are performed, we took an approach very different from the recently much popularised genome wide association studies in the field of schizophrenia genetics. We created a unique database (Göttingen Research Association for Schizophrenia - GRAS) of >1000 well-characterised living patients from all over Germany, available for follow-up. This database of as yet unprecedented detail was generated with a huge clinical effort by an invariant team of physicians and psychologists, and ultimately contains standardised phenotypic characterisation with >3000 data points per patient. Patient data include education, disease history, family history, environmental risk factors (e.g. life events, chronic social stress), comorbid disorders, neurological symptoms, cognitive functioning, psychopathology and medication. Within my PhD thesis, specifically the role of genetic and environmental risk and protective factors, influencing disease severity are explored. Investigation of candidate genes with potential influence on disease outcome, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and erythropoietin (EPO), may ultimately even lead to new treatment approaches.

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS AND GOALS

Clinical Psychology, especially Schizophrenia and PTSD

SOURCE OF FUNDING

MPIEM work contract

PUBLICATIONS

Begemann M*, Klaus S*, Papiol S, Malzahn D, Krampe H, Ribbe K, Friedrichs H, Radyushkin KA, El-Kordi A, Benseler F, Hannke K, Sperling S, Schwerdtfeger D, Thanhäuser I, Gerchen MF, Ghorbani M, Gutwinski S, Hilmes C, Leppert R, Ronnenberg A, Sowislo J, Stawicki S, Stödtke M, Szuszies C, Reim K, Riggert J, Falkai P, Bickeböller H, Nave KA, Brose N, Ehrenreich H (2009). Complexin2 gene polymorphisms modify cognitive performance in schizophrenia, submitted.

POSTER PRESENTATION

Ribbe K*, Friedrichs H*, Hilmes C, Begemann M, Gerchen MF, Ghorbani M, Gutwinski S, Hannke K, Klaus K, Krampe H, Leppert R, Mielke A, Papiol S, Sperling S, Stawicki S, Stödtke M, Sowislo J, Szuszies C, Ehrenreich H (2008). The Data Collection of GRAS (Göttingen Research Association for Schizophrenia): Multi-Center Cross-Sectional Schizophrenia Study. Robert-Sommer-Symposium, 07.-08. Nov. 2008 in Giessen, Germany