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Miss Jessica Yang
Research Assistant, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences
Overview
My main interest is in reproductive mental health, with a special interest in the genetic and environmental markers of severe disorders such as postpartum psychosis. This is an incredibly rare disorder which affects only 1 in 1000 childbirths. Due to the rarity of the disorder, part of my role includes helping to set up an international consortium of researchers and clinicians who are united in their interest in postpartum psychosis. Together, we aim to better understand the between and cross-cultural differences in definitions and clinical presentations of postpartum psychosis. I am keen to continue this approach in future work to tackle the underrepresentation of minority groups and low and lower-middle income countries within research in this area.
As bipolar disorder is closely related to postpartum psychosis, I also work closely with the Bipolar Disorder Research Network and National Centre for Mental Health to try and better understand the genetic contributions and architecture of this disorder.
Publication
2023
- Yang, J. M. K. et al. 2023. Postpartum psychosis: a public involvement perspective across three continents. Archives of Women's Mental Health 26, pp. 831-837. (10.1007/s00737-023-01347-8)
- Guintivano, J. et al. 2023. Meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for postpartum depression. The American Journal of Psychiatry 180(12), pp. 884-895. (10.1176/appi.ajp.20230053)
- Vaiphei, K., Yaresheemi, S., Yang, J. M. K., Di Florio, A., Chandra, P. S. and Thippeswamy, H. 2023. Formation of a stakeholder group of women with a lived experience of Post-partum Psychoses (PP) – Experience from a perinatal psychiatry service in India. Asian Journal of Psychiatry 84, article number: 103592. (10.1016/j.ajp.2023.103592)
2021
- Di Florio, A. et al. 2021. Post-partum psychosis and its association with bipolar disorder in the UK: a case-control study using polygenic risk scores. The Lancet Psychiatry 8(12), pp. 1045-1052. (10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00253-4)
- Rule, L., Yang, J., Watkin, H., Hall, J. and Brydges, N. M. 2021. Environmental enrichment rescues survival and function of adult-born neurons following early life stress. Molecular Psychiatry 26, pp. 1898-1908. (10.1038/s41380-020-0718-4)
- Mullins, N. et al. 2021. Genome-wide association study of more than 40,000 bipolar disorder cases provides new insights into the underlying biology. Nature Genetics 53, pp. 817-829. (10.1038/s41588-021-00857-4)
2020
- Perquin, M. N., Yang, J., Teufel, C., Sumner, P., Hedge, C. and Bompas, A. 2020. Inability to improve performance with control shows limited access to inner states. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 149(2), pp. 249–274. (10.1037/xge0000641)
Articles
- Yang, J. M. K. et al. 2023. Postpartum psychosis: a public involvement perspective across three continents. Archives of Women's Mental Health 26, pp. 831-837. (10.1007/s00737-023-01347-8)
- Guintivano, J. et al. 2023. Meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for postpartum depression. The American Journal of Psychiatry 180(12), pp. 884-895. (10.1176/appi.ajp.20230053)
- Vaiphei, K., Yaresheemi, S., Yang, J. M. K., Di Florio, A., Chandra, P. S. and Thippeswamy, H. 2023. Formation of a stakeholder group of women with a lived experience of Post-partum Psychoses (PP) – Experience from a perinatal psychiatry service in India. Asian Journal of Psychiatry 84, article number: 103592. (10.1016/j.ajp.2023.103592)
- Di Florio, A. et al. 2021. Post-partum psychosis and its association with bipolar disorder in the UK: a case-control study using polygenic risk scores. The Lancet Psychiatry 8(12), pp. 1045-1052. (10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00253-4)
- Rule, L., Yang, J., Watkin, H., Hall, J. and Brydges, N. M. 2021. Environmental enrichment rescues survival and function of adult-born neurons following early life stress. Molecular Psychiatry 26, pp. 1898-1908. (10.1038/s41380-020-0718-4)
- Mullins, N. et al. 2021. Genome-wide association study of more than 40,000 bipolar disorder cases provides new insights into the underlying biology. Nature Genetics 53, pp. 817-829. (10.1038/s41588-021-00857-4)
- Perquin, M. N., Yang, J., Teufel, C., Sumner, P., Hedge, C. and Bompas, A. 2020. Inability to improve performance with control shows limited access to inner states. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 149(2), pp. 249–274. (10.1037/xge0000641)
Engagement
I believe it is imperative to involve and engage the public at all stages of healthcare research. Without public engagement and involvement, research has little meaning or impact; however, many researchers struggle to incorporate these activities into their work due to time and resource limitations and a lack of recognition for these activities. I hope that establishing a strong culture of PE&I will inspire younger generations to appreciate the importance of research and get involved, either as a career or through participation.
I have therefore taken on the role of MEDIC PE&I Champion for the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences. Alongside school-wide academic and managerial leads, we have created a 5-year action plan to embed a culture of PE&I within the school.
My specific interest in this area is increasing the diversity and inclusivity of public contributors in research. As part of this, we aim to create an easily accessible, social media based network of public contributors to make PE&I effortless for researchers and contributors. I also hope to help the school highlight the extensive PE&I activities that are already happening in the hope that researchers can be recognised for the important work they are doing.
Some PE&I activities I have been involved in include
- Supervising secondary school students during their Nuffield research placement
- Taking responsibility for social media communications and research dissemination via Twitter for the Bipolar Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium
- Actively seeking public contributors, such as healthcare professionals and individuals with lived experience, to inform the methodology of my research
