Imagine the breakthroughs in mental health that could emerge as scientists and doctors further integrate their knowledge. That’s the idea behind the new Australian Psychiatric Research Knowledge Bank (APsyK Bank). UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute Professor Thomas Burne explains how this initiative could speed up discoveries and improve mental health care for everyone.
Q: Why does psychiatry need a research knowledge bank?
A: For years, Australian discovery and clinical teams have used different models and datasets to study mental health conditions,” Professor Burne said. “Previously, it has been challenging to find and access existing preclinical and clinical data and select the most effective models for advancing research.
“The Australian-wide Consortium for Preclinical Psychiatric Research (the Consortium) has now set up APsyK Bank to integrate information from human and preclinical models with uniform data about genes, molecules, and physical traits. It combines large-scale data from human and preclinical psychiatric samples, making this knowledge more visible and accessible.
“Research teams will be able to see what’s been done before and who is involved, so they are building on previous research, rather than repeating studies.”
Q: Why are preclinical models vital in mental health research?
A: “Preclinical models (animals or cell-based models) are vital in mental health research. They allow scientists to study complex brain processes and behaviours in ways not possible in humans.
“Mental health conditions like depression or schizophrenia involve complex brain circuits and chemical signals. Preclinical models help us investigate these mechanisms at the molecular level to see how such disorders develop or test whether an intervention can help reduce symptoms.”
Q: What’s the goal of a shared resource like APsyK Bank?
A: “The CPPR introduced the establishment of the APsyK Bank in Molecular Psychiatry in a paper titled ‘Of mice, molecules and mental health: Establishment of the Consortium for Preclinical Psychiatric Research to find solutions to the translational gap.’
“As the paper title implies, ultimately, we want to close the translational gap between lab discoveries and clinical solutions that improve the lives of people living with mental health conditions.
“The APsyK Bank is a resource aimed at helping scientists to select the most effective models to investigate the biological underpinnings of mental health conditions and accelerate the development of improved and more targeted treatments.”
“It will help improve collaboration across research groups, reduce data replication, and enable identification and further exploration of common datasets across research programs.”
Q: What will the research knowledge bank include?
A: “The APsyK Bank includes current and archived datasets and tissue banks from animal and cellular models relevant to mental health disorders. It will also house clinical biospecimens and imaging data from people with mental health disorders and post-mortem tissue datasets.
Q: How is the Queensland Brain Institute team contributing to the research knowledge bank?
A: “Several QBI researchers are involved in the Consortium, which is part of Biological Psychiatry Australia. This group is a membership-based society focused on advancing biological research in psychiatry.
“Associate Professor Susannah Tye, Dr James Kesby, Heather Cruickshank (nee Macpherson), and I research mental health conditions, including depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, from their underlying mechanisms to clinical translation.”
“We have been actively involved in encouraging national collaboration in psychiatric research and participate in regular meetings to share knowledge and resources.
“As leaders in their field, QBI researchers have designed and developed various pre-clinical models that others can use to advance their research programs.”
Q: Who supported APsyK Bank’s establishment?
A: “APsyk Bank is currently supported by Bioplatforms Australia, Australian BioCommons, Phenomics Australia, and the Australian Research Data Commons. This initiative is funded by the Wellcome Trust and Bioplatforms Australia, with additional support from Federal Government infrastructure grants in progress.
Q: How can research teams get involved?
A: “I encourage research teams to review the paper and explore the knowledge bank. They can also approach any member of the Consortium for more details about getting involved. It is inclusive and has many ongoing initiatives. We all welcome collaboration to improve mental health outcomes.”
