Prof. Dr. Andreas Geburtig-Chiocchetti
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy
Molecular Genetics Laboratory
University Hospital Frankfurt am Main – Goethe University
Theodor-Stern-Kai 7
Building 25A R501
D-60596 Frankfurt
+49 (0)69 6301-80658
E-Mail: andreas.chiocchetti@med.uni-frankfurt.de
Scientific Focus
At our lab, we focus on translational child psychiatry—bridging biology and clinical practice to better understand and treat neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions in children. We study disorders like autism, ADHD, and conduct disorder, along with traits such as aggression and self-injury, by linking genetic and molecular data to behavior.
Working with patient cohorts and clinical partners, we use patient specific biospecimens to uncover biomarkers and mechanisms—like gene expression in human cell models— to improve diagnosis and guide personalized interventions. Through projects like R2D2-MH, we specifically explore genetic resilience and diversity in mental health across development.
Methods
We combine wet-lab and computational approaches to model neuropsychiatric disorders at the molecular level.
On the computational side, we analyze genomic and epigenetic data, apply bioinformatics, and use machine learning to integrate multi-layered datasets—linking genes to behaviors and identifying patient subgroups.
Projects like RAISE-GENIC and R2D2-MH help us predict treatment responses and uncover mechanisms behind psychiatric risk. A translational method is generating patient specific neural cells—either in 2D cultures or 3D organoids—to study brain development in a dish. We use gene editing (e.g., CRISPR, shRNA) to manipulate specific risk variants and examine their effects omics level in conditions like autism. These models are paired with standard molecular tools like RNA sequencing, qPCR, and gene expression profiling.
Selected Publications
Silber A-S, Platte S, Kumar A, Arora S, Kadioglu D, Schmidt M, et al. Admission rates and clinical profiles of children and youth with eating disorders treated as inpatients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a German university hospital. Front Public Health. 2023;11:1281363. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1281363.
Chiocchetti AG, Yousaf A, Waltes R, Bernhard A, Martinelli A, Ackermann K, et al. The methylome in females with adolescent Conduct Disorder: Neural pathomechanisms and environmental risk factors. PLoS ONE. 2022;17:0261691. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261691.
Farrow E, Chiocchetti AG, Rogers JC, Pauli R, Raschle NM, Gonzalez-Madruga K, et al. SLC25A24 gene methylation and gray matter volume in females with and without conduct disorder: an exploratory epigenetic neuroimaging study. Transl Psychiatry. 2021;11:492.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01609-y.
Yousaf A, Waltes R, Haslinger D, Klauck SM, Duketis E, Sachse M, et al. Chiocchetti AG, Quantitative genome-wide association study of six phenotypic subdomains identifies novel genome-wide significant variants in autism spectrum disorder. Transl Psychiatry. 2020;10:215. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-00906-2.
Haslinger D, Waltes R, Yousaf A, Lindlar S, Schneider I, Lim CK, et al. Loss of the Chr16p11.2 Chiocchetti AG, ASD candidate gene QPRT leads to aberrant neuronal differentiation in the SH-SY5Y neuronal cell model. Mol Autism. 2018;9.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-018-0239-z