Dissertation 24 Feb 2017: Jie Song

On Feb 24, Jie Song will defend her thesis "Bipolar disorder and lithium treatment etiologies and consequences". Her opponent is Professor Thomas G. Schulze from the University of Munich. Her supervisors are Paul Lichtenstein, Mikael Landén, Sarah E. Bergen och Arvid Sjölander.

Jie has studied bipolar disorder which is a chronic disabling psychiatric disorder marked by episodic disruptive mood swings, accompanied by disturbances in cognition and behavior. Without effective treatment, bipolar disorder can have devastating consequences, including suicide. Lithium has a unique and predominant role in the treatment of bipolar disorder, although the response varies considerably across individuals. Jie's work demonstrates the importance of genetic factors for the origins of bipolar disorder and lithium’s effects. Lithium may serve as a key in both treating and informing the underlying biology of bipolar disorder in future research.

Time and location: 09:00, Feb 24 2017 in the lecture hall Atrium, Nobels väg 12B, Karolinska Institutet, Solna