Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway. Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway
Adverse environmental conditions influence mental health through highly complex neurobiological pathways, moderated by an individual’s genetic susceptibility. Adequate mapping of these intricate processes requires not only a wide array of data, from genomic to neuroimaging to clinical, but also very large sample sizes in order to obtain enough statistical power to detect subtle and complex relationships. environMENTAL has brought together a highly interdisciplinary team of researchers, and through its network gained access to a unique collection of some of the largest population and clinical cohorts in the world, totalling over 1.5M individuals. The opportunities granted by this wealth of data do come with major challenges, as the many different sources ensure substantial heterogeneity in terms of data characteristics. Further, the sensitive nature of this data mandates extreme care is taken to ensure privacy is respected and the relevant data protection rules and regulations are adhered. The aim of our talk will be twofold: 1) To provide an overview of all cohorts available to environMENTAL analysists. We will thereby summarize their demographic compositions as well as the availability of the different data types relevant to reach the project objectives. 2) To present the project’s data harmonization and federation strategies, together with the available computational resources that enable optimal analysis of these complex datasets while complying with data protection laws.
