My name is René Kahn, Psychiatrist and Medical Manager of the Brain division. Internationally, I have been recognised for my research on schizophrenia. During the next five years, I will be investing in the Brain key strategy program.
What does the Brain key strategy program entail?
The brain is the most interesting organ in our body, but also the most unchartered territory in medicine. The Brain key strategy program focuses on:
- ADHD
- autism
- bipolar disorders
- schizophrenia
- stroke
- ALS
The Psychiatry and Neurology departments will each assemble two groups of (potential) patients.
Neurology will focus on ALS patients and patients who have an increased risk of stroke
Psychiatry will follow one group of patients starting from birth, and one group starting from the earliest onset of puberty. ‘Our’ psychiatric disorders originate in the earliest development of the brain. Autism and ADHD start to manifest themselves at nursery school age, while schizophrenia manifests itself during puberty and adolescence.
I would also like to set up a ‘U centre’ that is accessible to everyone. It will be a kind of psychological health centre where all children, adolescents, young adults and their parents can walk in and perform tests or have a talk. It would serve a great need, and would be the first such centre in the Netherlands.
Goal/results
In 2015, the UMC Utrecht will be one of the world’s leading research institutes on genes and environmental interaction.