Navigation

Navigation
Contact Information

Tel   (919) 843-6475
Fax  (919) 843-4682

120 Mason Farm Road

CB#7264

5000 D, Genetic Medicine Bldg.,
UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7264

Directions & Parking

You are here: Home > Faculty Group Leaders > Patrick F. Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP
Document Actions

Patrick F. Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP

Patrick F. Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP

Professor

 

 

 

Research Interests


The Sullivan lab aims to understand the genetic and epidemiological basis of a number of important public-health problems. These disorders are etiologically heterogeneous and exhibit complex patterns of inheritance. Developing an understanding of these disorders requires the integration of findings from multiple investigative approaches such as epidemiology, linkage analysis, and association studies. The lab applies these methods to several research areas:

Schizophrenia

This is a chronic and debilitating mental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the human population. Although it is clear that genetics plays a role in schizophrenia, specific genes that have a causal role in the disease have yet to be identified. The Sullivan lab is conducting a series of studies to elucidate its etiology. In addition, pharmacogenetic studies are underway to determine the mechanism of action of antipsychotic drugs that are currently used to treat some of the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Smoking Behavior

Tobacco use is one of the major public health problems throughout the world. Led by Dr. Helena Furberg, PhD, the Sullivan lab is interested in identifying genetic influences on smoking behavior, particularly nicotine dependence, as well as the genetic epidemiology of smoking cessation. The lab conducts association studies for smoking behavior and is currently conducting a large twin study of smoking cessation.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

CFS is an uncommon but clearly debilitating disorder that remains controversial despite many years of study. Standard methods of genetic epidemiology have yielded little information about the etiology of CFS. The Sullivan lab has put significant effort toward using novel microarray and proteomic approaches to identify useful etiological hypotheses for this complex disease.

 


Publications:


 


Lab Members

  • A. Helena Furberg
Research Assistant Professor Email
  • Molly Losh, PhD
Assistant Professor Email
  • Jim Crowley, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow Email
  • Youfang Liu, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow Email
  • Yunjung Kim, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow Email
  • Jennifer Dackor. PhD
Lab Manager Email
  • Thomas Konneker
Technician Email
  • Cory Quackenbush
Technician Email

 


Contact Information

Room 5097, Genetic Medicine Bldg., CB 7264
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7264

Office: 919.966.3358
Lab: 919.966.7548
Fax: 919.966.3630

Email: Patrick F. Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP

Lab Website: http://sullivanlab.unc.edu

Site-wide Actions
Personal tools