VAMI-project

The VAMI-project, led by Professors Jarmo Hietala and Raimo K. R. Salokangas, focuses on the etiology and treatment of psychotic disorders through an integrative research approach. It combines clinical research with neuroimaging, genetics, metabolomics, immunological, and microbiomics to uncover etiological mechanisms underlying psychosis. Etiology is in the very center for developing treatments that truly improve the prognosis of patients with psychotic disorders (see Figure).

The project aims to:

1. Identify markers of different modalities (e.g. clinical biological, psychological, environmental) for early detection and early interventions.
2. Develop personalized treatment strategies and to improve outcomes by tailoring interventions to individual neurobiological and clinical profiles. Machine learning approaches are also used within our international research networks. VAMI explores novel pharmacological and psychosocial therapies, bridging basic neuroscience with clinical practice. By advancing understanding of psychosis at multiple levels, the project contributes to precision psychiatry and the development of more effective, targeted treatments for severe mental disorders.

Methods

• Neuroimaging: PET and MRI techniques to study brain function and neurotransmitter systems as well as brain morphology.
• Genetics & Molecular Biology: Identify susceptibility genes and pathways.
• Clinical methods, psychology/neuropsychology, exposome mapping
• Clinical Trials: Test new pharmacological agents and integrated psychosocial interventions.

Expected Impact

• Advance understanding of psychotic disorders  at multiple levels (clinical, behavioral, neural, molecular).
• Enable precision psychiatry by integrating the study results into clinical decision-making.
• Improve quality of life and functional recovery for patients through targeted treatments.

Collaborations

The project has partnerships with national and international research networks, clinical units, and research technology developers to ensure translational impact.

E.g. Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and Helsinki University (Prof. Jaana Suvisaari and Docent Jarno Honkanen), Turku PET Center: Emotion lab, (Prof. Lauri Nummenmaa), Metabolism group (MD, PhD  Aino Latva-Rasku), the LASERI (CRYF)  project (Prof. Olli Raitakari) and several international research consortia such as PRONIA (Munich), METSY (Örebro, Sweden), SUPER-study (superfinland.fi) the STEP project (Oxford). The project has significant external funding (e.g. Academy of Finland, EU, Broad Institute)

Personnel

Principal Investigators & Leadership

Professor Jarmo Hietala (Dept. Psychiatry, UTU & Turku University Hospital)

Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Turku and Deputy Chief Physician at Turku University Hospital Psychiatry. Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology. Principal Investigator of the ’Etiology and treatment of severe mental disorders’ project and a distinguished researcher of psychotic disorders with approximately 340 scientific articles in international journals. Visiting researcher at Karolinska Institute, Department of Psychiatry in 2005-2006. The project is an active scientific postgraduate educator.

Professor, emeritus, Raimo K. R. Salokangas MD, MSc Sociology, PhD Medicine, PhD Psychology (Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku)

Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Turku, Chief Physician at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Turku University Central Hospital and the Turku University Psychiatric Clinic. Professor of Social Psychiatry at the University of Tampere. Medical Director at the Pitkäniemi Central Mental Hospital and the North-Häme Mental Health District. Chief doctor at the Kupittaa Hospital. Junior and Senior Research Fellow at the Academy of Finland. Permanent Adviser in psychiatry at the National Board of Health and National Board of Medico-legal Affairs. Visiting Worker at the MRC Social Psychiatry Unit and Visiting Colleague at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London Since 1970s, studied psychosocial outcome of psychotic, especially schizophrenic, and depressive patients and lately outcome of the patients with clinical high risk to psychosis. Principal investigator in two national study programmes of New Schizophrenic Patients and Schizophrenic Patients Discharged from Mental Hospital. Local principal investigator of two European study programmes the European Prediction of Psychosis Study (EPOS) and Personalised Prognostic Tools for Early Psychosis Management.

Research group spans from senior researchers to post-docs, clinical fellows, and doctoral students:

• • Senior researchers/Post-docs
    • Adjunct Professor Lauri Tuominen, MD, PhD (Ottawa, Canada)
    • Docent Heikki Laurikainen, MD, PhD
    • Reetta-Liina Armio, MD, PhD
    • Elina Sormunen, MD, PhD
  • Ph.D. Students
    • Maija Walta; MD
    • Ville Lumme, MD
    • Anna Avellan, PsM (Master of Psychology)
    • Willehard Haaki, MD
    • Iiro Pirhonen, MD
  • Data management
    • Tiina From, MSc (Master of Science)