Over the past several years Dr Johnstone has been investigating whether copy number variants (CNVs) contribute to susceptibility in families multiply affected with schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder. Although partially effective treatments are available none are disease modifying. The relative inaccessibility of the human brain has hampered our ability to make robust connections between the genetic and cellular levels. Dr Johnstone’s research is now focused on how schizophrenia risk is conferred at a cellular level through comparative studies of neural tissue derived from individuals with and without disease-associated mutations. Her goal is to better understand the molecular pathophysiology of schizophrenia, and other neurodevelopmental disorders, using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) as in vitro models to hopefully develop more effective therapies in future.