Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

Hunting fordepression genesA major obstacle to discovering successful treatments fordepression is the lack of scientifi c knowledge about whatmakes some people less able to cope with the pressures oflife. Our genes may hold some of the answers. A few seem toprotect us while others appear to make us more vulnerable todepression in the face of adversity.Cathy Fernandes, a British psycho-pharmacologist, took upthe challenge of fi nding out to what extent genes can play anactive role in depression. Stimulated by recent research thatfound genes can interact with the environment, she decidedto delve further into the subject. Her work could help identifynew methods for treating depression.‘We still know very little about what causes depression, whichgenes and brain systems are involved and how to successfullytreat this illness,’ says Dr Fernandes. ‘Depression is likelyinfl uenced by many different genes in different people and isclosely related to stressful life events, but some people aremuch more vulnerable to emotional stresses and adverse lifeevents than others.’Dr Fernandes received a Marie Curie Fellowship that allowedher to move from the UK to the Rudolf Magnus Institute inUtrecht, the Netherlands, to conduct studies involving mice.The aim of her research was to hunt down genes responsiblefor conferring either resilience or susceptibility to social stresses.The Marie Curie Fellowships are an important component ofthe EU’s programmes to keep European scientists active inground-breaking research within the bloc’s borders. In additionto gaining access to the resources at the Rudolf MagnusInstitute, Dr Fernandes was later able to take up a post as aResearch Councils UK Fellow at the University of London’sInstitute of Psychiatry, King’s College, after her 14 months inthe Netherlands.Mobility, resources, training‘The Marie Curie Fellowship created the opportunity to workwith a precious genetic resource – a specifi c mouse referencepopulation – only available in Europe at the Rudolf MagnusInstitute,’ she explains. ‘This mouse population is a criticalcomponent of my research, proving the “gene” factor.’ Withoutaccess to the Institute’s mouse population, Dr Fernandes wouldhave needed to consider taking her research outside of Europe.185