David Braff, MD

Fall 2006

Archived Profiles

David Braff, M.D. is a Professor of Psychiatry, and the Director of the Schizophrenia Program at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. He is Director of Clinical Neurosciences Unit at the VA VISN 22 Mental Illness, Research and Clinical Center (MIRECC) program. He trained at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Braff has published over 200 articles, related reviews and book chapters and is among the top ½ of 1% of most highly cited psychiatric researchers. Dr. Braff has been dedicated to mentoring young scientists and understanding and treating schizophrenia patients and their families for over 30 years and says "They are about the most courageous people I've ever met".

David Braff is married and has two grown children. When not working he enjoys walks through the Torrey Pines nature preserve, spending time with his family, jazz, and watching his favorite films over and over again.

How long have you been studying schizophrenia?

My interest in schizophrenia began in the late 1970's when I started treating patients and studied prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits in schizophrenia patients in my mentor's (Dr. Noch Callaway) laboratory at UCSF. This work showed that persons with schizophrenia did not "gate" or process sensory information normally. I continued my research in the identification of neural substrate and neural circuit deficits in various psychiatric disorders with an emphasis on schizophrenia using neurocognitive, neurophysiological and imaging methods.

When did you become interested in the genetics of schizophrenia?

My research focusing on attentional dysregulation as an endophenotype in family/genetic studies led me to investigate the specific genetic architecture and it's deficits in schizophrenia patients.

What are "endophenotypes"?

Endophenotypes are laboratory based measurable variations underlying the presentation of a disease or disorder and they are present in patients and their clinically unaffected relatives, reflecting the genetic burden of schizophrenia, hypertension, diabetes and other complex, genetic human disorders. The variations could be neurophysiological, biochemical, neurodevelopmental, neuroanatomical, cognitive, or neuropsychological in nature. Scientists compare endophenotypes to gain an understanding of the genes that contribute to the disorder.

How can the study of genetics lead to improved treatment for schizophrenia?

My colleagues and I have used translational human and model organism and genomic research to identify new antipsychotic compound targets and to assess the efficacy of antipsychotic medications that can improve the real world functional outcome of schizophrenia patients.

What is COGS?

COGS stands for the "Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia" which is funded by the National Institute of Mental health (NIMH) to explore the genetic architecture of schizophrenia through the use of endophenotypes. Through the efforts of the COGS we hope to understand the genetics of schizophrenia and be able to foster the development of new, third generation medications that are selected for their molecular level "restorative" and therapeutic properties. These compounds can then be used early in the course of the disorder (even for prevention), hopefully with minimal side effects.