Where Treur mainly investigates the cause, Van der Pas tries to develop a method to determine cause and effect in a study with a lot of data. It is well known that the symptoms of serious mental illnesses, such as depression, bipolar and psychotic disorders, are profound. They also entail other health problems (comorbidities), such as (excessive) substance use and cardiovascular disease.
Mental illness: cause or effect
However, the question is whether substance use and cardiovascular disease are the result of psychiatric disorders or vice versa. After all, it could also be that substance use and cardiovascular disease increase the risk of a (more serious) mental illness. It’s up to Treur to find out. In doing so, she will use different research methods side by side.
To determine whether there is a genetic predisposition that explains substance use and cardiovascular disease as well as psychiatric disorders, or whether it is a causal relationship, Treur will use large genetic biobanks and innovative statistical methods. But also from long-term studies, in which the health of a group of people is monitored over a long period of time, such as the Helius study. Treur intends to immediately use the results of the research in practice. This will improve the treatment of people with a mental disorder.
Serious mental illness is common worldwide. It is remarkable that a disproportionate number of people of non-European descent are affected by this. It is true that many large ongoing studies mainly take place among ‘white participants’. The study populations have only recently become more diverse. Treur also wants to take different ethnicities into account in order to learn more about this problem among ethnic minorities than was previously the case.
Correlation and causation
The research into finding causal relationships in large datasets is for which Pase receives her ERC Starting Grant. Establishing causal relationships is challenging when an intervention cannot be randomly assigned to a research participant because it is unethical or practically impossible. Such as when one wants to investigate the effects of smoking, a vegetarian diet or abortion. Establishing a correlation or association is what researchers often have to deal with.
In order to reliably find causal relationships and thus extract more valuable insights from data, Van der Pas will be able to do a lot with her mathematical background to develop new methods for this purpose. She will work from multiple perspectives on causality, and will also investigate the added value of combining datasets. The Starting Grant enables her to hire two PhD students and two postdocs to carry out the research together with her.
ERC Starting Grants
Scholarships are awarded to a select number of excellent scientists by the European Research Council (ERC), part of the European Commission. This year, 408 researchers are eligible for this and an amount of 636 million euros. The grant is part of the Horizon Europe programme, which helps young scientists to start their own projects, form teams and implement their most promising ideas.
ICT&health congres 2023
On January 30, 2023, ICT&health kicks off the new healthcare year with the annual major and influential healthcare conference on healthcare transformation.
Also be present? Book your entrance ticket quickly