- Overview
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My research (which depends critically on the collaborative contributions of many laboratory co-investigators and other clinician-scientists) aims to identify the major genetic alterations that confer risk of major psychiatric disorders (particularly schizophrenia and related psychotic illnesses) and neurodevelopmental disorders, with the hope of using this information to develop precision medicine (i.e., individualized treatment based on a mechanistic understanding of disease causation) for psychiatric illness that fails to respond to existing treatments. My main research focus is the MAGERS project (detailed below); however, I also do case-based research in adolescents and adults living with neurodevelopmental problems (such as autism spectrum disorders and learning/intellectual disabilities), which mainly involves screening using gene chip technology for potentially causative alterations in chromosomes, and the genes they impact, that might help us identify new strategies to improve cognitive and behavioral functioning of affected individuals.
- Publications
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Virtual twins for model-informed precision dosing of clozapine in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia
CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology
Sam Mostafa and Reza Rafizadeh and Thomas M. Polasek and Chad A. Bousman and Amin Rostami-Hodjegan and Robert Stowe and Prescilla Carrion and Leslie J. Sheffield and Carl M. J. Kirkpatrick
DOI: 10.1002/psp4.13093
03/2024SETD1A variant-associated psychosis: A systematic review of the clinical literature and description of two new cases
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2023.110888
2024A 1p31.3 deletion encompassing the nuclear factor 1A gene presenting as possible temporal lobe epilepsy in association with schizoaffective disorder
Neurocase
Mark A. Colijn and Monica Hrynchak and Chantelle T. Hrazdil and Veerle Willaeys and Randall F. White and Robert M. Stowe
DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2022.2132869
10/2022ASSESSING THE UTILITY OF PHARMACOGENETIC TESTING IN A COHORT WITH TREATMENT-RESISTANT SCHIZOPHRENIA OR SCHIZOAFFECTIVE DISORDER
European Neuropsychopharmacology
Natasha Verzosa and Hilary Williams and Reza Rafizadeh and Ankita Narang and Prescilla Carrion and Ric Procyshyn and Randall White and Guillaume Poirier-Morency and Sanja Rogic and Andrew Mungall and Patrick Sullivan and William Honer and Paul Pavlidis and Robert Stowe and Chad Bousman
DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2022.07.282
10/2022Subjective cognitive functioning, depressive symptoms, and objective cognitive functioning in people with treatment-resistant psychosis
Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
Daniah Zumrawi and Brianne L. Glazier and Olga Leonova and Mahesh Menon and Ric Procyshyn and Randall White and Robert Stowe and William G. Honer and Ivan J. Torres
DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2022.2108389
08/2022Progressive neurocognitive decline in schizophrenia: A diagnostic dilemma for clinicians
Schizophrenia Research
Mark Ainsley Colijn and Ivan J. Torres and Mahesh Menon and Andrew Howard and William G. Honer and Robert M. Stowe
DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.01.027
03/2022Whole-genome sequencing analysis of clozapine-induced myocarditis
Pharmacogenomics Journal
Narang, A. and Lacaze, P. and Ronaldson, K.J. and McNeil, J.J. and Jayaram, M. and Thomas, N. and Sellmer, R. and Crockford, D.N. and Stowe, R. and Greenway, S.C. and Pantelis, C. and Bousman, C.A.
DOI: 10.1038/s41397-022-00271-x
2022Review and Consensus on Pharmacogenomic Testing in Psychiatry
Pharmacopsychiatry
Bousman, C.A. and Bengesser, S.A. and Aitchison, K.J. and Amare, A.T. and Aschauer, H. and Baune, B.T. and Asl, B.B. and Bishop, J.R. and Burmeister, M. and Chaumette, B. and Chen, L.-S. and Cordner, Z.A. and Deckert, J. and Degenhardt, F. and Delisi, L.E. and Folkersen, L. and Kennedy, J.L. and Klein, T.E. and McClay, J.L. and McMahon, F.J. and Musil, R. and Saccone, N.L. and Sangkuhl, K. and Stowe, R.M. and Tan, E.-C. and Tiwari, A.K. and Zai, C.C. and Zai, G. and Zhang, J. and Gaedigk, A. and Müller, D.J.
DOI: 10.1055/a-1288-1061
2021Whole-genome sequencing analysis of clozapine-induced myocarditis
medRxiv
Narang, A. and Lacaze, P. and Ronaldson, K.J. and McNeil, J.J. and Jayaram, M. and Thomas, N. and Sellmer, R. and Crockford, D. and Stowe, R. and Greenway, S.C. and Pantelis, C. and Bousman, C.A.
DOI: 10.1101/2021.07.26.21261157
2021First Whole Transcriptome RNAseq on CHD8 Haploinsufficient Patient and Meta-Analyses Across Cellular Models Uncovers Likely Key Pathophysiological Target Genes
Cureus
Heba Yasin and Robert Stowe and Chi Kin Wong and Puthen Veettil Jithesh and Farah R Zahir
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.11571
11/2020Treatment-resistant psychotic symptoms and early-onset dementia: A case report of the 3q29 deletion syndrome
Schizophrenia Research
Matthew K. Harner and Maya Lichtenstein and Martilias Farrell and Tyler E. Dietterich and Dawn M. Filmyer and Lisa M. Bruno and Tamara F. Biondi and James J. Crowley and Gabriel L{\'{a}}zaro-Mu{\~{n}}oz and Robert Stowe and Rita A. Shaughnessy and Jonathan S. Berg and Jin Szatkiewicz and Patrick F. Sullivan and Richard C. Josiassen}, title = {Treatment-resistant psychotic symptoms and early-onset dementia: A case report of the 3q29 deletion syndrome}, journal = {Schizophrenia Research
DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.08.012
09/2020Clinical and biochemical footprints of inherited metabolic diseases. III. Psychiatric presentations.
Molecular genetics and metabolism
Horvath GA and Stowe RM and Ferreira CR and Blau N
DOI: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2020.02.007
PubMed: 32122747
02/2020Preliminary examination of the validity of the NIH toolbox cognition battery in treatment-resistant psychosis
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Cassetta, B.D. and Menon, M. and Carrion, P.B. and Pearce, H. and DeGraaf, A. and Leonova, O. and White, R.F. and Stowe, R.M. and Honer, W.G. and Woodward, T.S. and Torres, I.J.
DOI: 10.1080/13854046.2019.1694072
2020A distinct neurodevelopmental syndrome with intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, characteristic facies, and macrocephaly is caused by defects in CHD8
Journal of Human Genetics
Heba Yasin and William T. Gibson and Sylvie Langlois and Robert M. Stowe and Erica S. Tsang and Leora Lee and Jenny Poon and Grant Tran and Christine Tyson and Chi Kin Wong and Marco A. Marra and Jan M. Friedman and Farah R. Zahir
DOI: 10.1038/s10038-019-0561-0
04/2019SA115THE UBC MAGERS STUDY OF SEVERELY TREATMENT-RESISTANT PSYCHOSIS: CHROMOSOMAL MICROARRAY FINDINGS IN THE FIRST 25 CASES
European Neuropsychopharmacology
Robert Stowe and Monica Hrynchak and Agata Minor and Christine Tyson and Prescilla Carrion and Ashley DeGraaf and Pedram Laghaei and Olga Leonova and Mahesh Menon and Ivan Torres and Veerle Willaeys and Randall White and Clara Westwell-Roper and Clare Beasley and William Honer
DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.08.337
2019F104CHROMOSOMAL MICROARRAYS IMPLICATE GENES REGULATING DENDRITOGENESIS – POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR PRECISION MEDICINE IN BIPOLAR DISORDER AND SCHIZOPHRENIA
European Neuropsychopharmacology
Robert Stowe and Pedram Laghaei and Prescilla Carrion and Agata Minor and Christine Tyson and Ashley DeGraaf and William Honer and Patrick MacLeod and Harish Neelekant and Randall White and Monica Hrynchak
DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.08.184
2019Liver Transplant Can Resolve Severe Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Wilson Disease: A Case Report
Experimental and Clinical Transplantation
DOI: 10.6002/ect.2016.0053
10/2018Developmental Delay, Treatment-Resistant Psychosis, and Early-Onset Dementia in a Man With 22q11 Deletion Syndrome and Huntington’s Disease
American Journal of Psychiatry
Martilias Farrell and Maya Lichtenstein and James J. Crowley and Dawn M. Filmyer and Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz and Rita A. Shaughnessy and Ian R. Mackenzie and Veronica Hirsch-Reinshagen and Robert Stowe and James P. Evans and Jonathan S. Berg and Jin Szatkiewicz and Richard C. Josiassen and Patrick F. Sullivan
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17060638
05/2018Improved strength on 5-hydroxytryptophan and carbidopa in spinal cord atrophy
Journal of the Neurological Sciences
Gabriella A. Horvath and Lorelyn Meisner and Kathryn Selby and Robert Stowe and Bruce Carleton
DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2017.04.047
07/2017Secondary obsessive-compulsive disorder associated with pallidal lesions
Casebook of Neuropsychiatry
2013Psychosis and cognitive impairment in an adolescent
Casebook of Neuropsychiatry
2013Dementia syndrome of depression
Casebook of Neuropsychiatry
2013Left hemispatial neglect
Casebook of Neuropsychiatry
2013Knife in the Head: German social realism meets Cinema Verité
Senses of Cinema [online journal]
2011A case of persistent visual hallucinations of faces following LSD abuse: A functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging study
Neurocase
DOI: 10.1080/13554790903329141
03/2010Serious neurological complications of valproate therapy
BC Mental Health & Addiction Services Psychopharmacology Newsletter
2007Classification images of two right hemisphere patients: A window into the attentional mechanisms of spatial neglect
Brain Research
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2006.01.033
03/2006Neuropsichiatria I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria
Masson
DOI: 10.1007/s10072-004-0359-4
12/2004Funzioni neuropsicologiche ed esame dello stato mentale
Neuropsichiatria: I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria, 2nd ed.
2004Alterazioni della personalità associate a lesioni cerebrali
Neuropsichiatria: I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria, 2nd ed.
2004Neuropsichiatria dei disturbi psicotici
Neuropsichiatria: I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria, 2nd ed
2004Neuropsichiatria dei disturbi d’ansia
Neuropsichiatria: I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria, 2nd ed.
2004Neuropsichiatria dell’aggressività
Neuropsichiatria: I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria, 2nd ed.
2004Principi generali di valutazione e diagnosi Neuropsichiatria
Neuropsichiatria: I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria, 2nd ed.
2004Current concepts of the pathophysiology of catatonia
Canadian Psychiatric Association Bulletin
02/2002Post-traumatic stress disorder
Encyclopedia of the Life Sciences
2002Accuracy of four clinical diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative dementias
Neurology
DOI: 10.1212/wnl.53.6.1292
10/1999I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria. Basi neurobiologiche e sindromi cliniche [The neurology and psychiatry of behavioral disorders: Neurobiological basis and clinical syndromes]
Italian Journal of Neurological Sciences
Blundo, C. and Stowe, R.
1999Poststroke Depression and Anxiety: Different Assessment Methods Result in Variations in Incidence and Severity Estimates
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
DOI: 10.1076/jcen.20.5.723.1117
10/1998Psychosis as a presentation of physical disease in adolescence: a case of Niemann-Pick disease, type C.
Developmental medicine and child neurology
PubMed: 9489503
02/1998Psychosis as a presentation of physical disease in adolescence: A case of Niemann-Pick disease, type C
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
Campo, J.V. and Stowe, R. and Slomka, G. and Byler, D. and Gracious, B.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1998.tb15374.x
1998Assessment Methods in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry
Neuropsychology
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4899-1950-2_20
1998Neuropsichiatria dei disturbi d'ansia
I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria: basi neurobiologiche e sindromi cliniche
1998Neuropsichiatria dell’aggressività
I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria: basi neurobiologiche e sindromi cliniche
1998Principi di valutazione dei disturbi neuropsicologici e neuropsichiatrici
I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria: basi neurobiologiche e sindromi cliniche
1998I disturbi del comportamento tra neurologia e psichiatria: basi neurobiologiche e sindromi cliniche
Masson
1998Phonological Dyslexia: Loss of a Reading-specific Component of the Cognitive Architecture?
Cognitive Neuropsychology
DOI: 10.1080/026432996381836
09/1996Impulse control
Handbook of Aggressive and Destructive Behavior in Psychiatric Patients
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4615-2403-8
1994Tardive dyskinesia associated with use of metoclopramide in a child
The Journal of Pediatrics
DOI: 10.1016/s0022-3476(05)80357-9
12/1992Tardive dyskinesia associated with use of metoclopramide in a child
The Journal of Pediatrics
Putnam, P.E. and Orenstein, S.R. and Wessel, H.B. and Stowe, R.M.
DOI: 10.1016/S0022-3476(05)80357-9
1992The comportmental learning disabilities of early frontal lobe damage
Brain
Price, B.H. and Daffner, K.R. and Stowe, R.M. and Mesulam, M.M.
DOI: 10.1093/brain/113.5.1383
1990Syringomyelia
Current Therapy in Neurological Disease
1986 - Research
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MAGERS (Metabolic and Genetic Explorations in Refractory Schizophrenia)
The MAGERS (Metabolic and Genetic Explorations in Refractory Schizophrenia) study (Robert Stowe, P.I., Precilla Carrion, Co-Project Lead) is a multi-layered clinical. "-omics", and genetic counselling research project, recruiting inpatient participants from the tertiary provincial BC Psychosis Unit at UBC Hospital suffering from highly treatment-resistant schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Detailed clinical phenotyping includes M.I.N.I psychiatric interviews and multidisciplinary consensus DSM-5 diagnosis, structured birth and childhood trauma histories, neurocognitive assessments, and neurological and dysmorphological examinations.
At entry, intensive biochemical screening for inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) associated with psychosis are performed in the BCCH Biochemical Genetics Laboratory (Dr. Graham Sinclair) and in laboratories at three other hospitals, and chromosomal microarrays are performed in the Royal Colombian Hospital Cytogenetics Laboratory. Clinically actionable results of these procedures are returned to care providers, and to patient, families, and through psychiatric genetic counselling (the impact of which is also being assessed as a research outcome.
Whole blood, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, serum, plasma, and urine on participants are collected and stored under the direction of co-investigators at the BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, UBC campus, University of Victoria, and the University of Alberta, for batch small-molecule metabolomics, proteomics, immunophenotyping; and DNA and RNA extraction for whole genome and RNA sequencing. Analyses conducted and BCCHRI by MAGERS co-investigators include cytokine and inflammatory marker profiling (Dr. Clare Beasley); epigenetic analyses (whole genome methylation and GWAS chip genotyping, Dr. Michael Kobor); qPCR validation of small chromosomal variants (Dr. Colin Ross); and bioinformatics (Drs. Sara Mostafavi and Wyeth Wasserman).
A cross-validation approach, intensive phenotyping-genotype correlation, and novel bioinformatics tools will be employed for variant prioritization, with the aim of identifying potent genomic risk variants indexing key mechanistic derangements driving psychosis in affected individuals, and indexing tractable treatment targets (such as ion channels, neurotransmitter systems, and synaptic and dendritic function and plasticity, and major cellular and immunomodulatory pathways) that can be used to develop precision medicine for psychosis that fails to respond to existing treatment approaches.
Research Group MembersCourtney Cook, Genetic Counsellor, MSc.
Hilary Williams, Study Coordinator & Clinical Research Assistant, BSc
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Achievement Awards and the Clinical & Translational Research Seed Grant
BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute is pleased to congratulate the recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Achievement Awards and the Clinical & Translational Research Seed Grant. These programs, generously funded by the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, play a pivotal role in acknowledging and nurturing excellence within our research community.
