Dr. John Roder

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r. John Roder is a neurobiologist and Senior Investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute. He is a Professor in the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics at the University of Toronto, and a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Neurobiology.

Dr. Roder’s ultimate goal is to discover new treatments for schizophrenia. His research focuses on the roles of molecules in the central nervous system and aims to determine new drug targets for psychiatric and affective disorders. The Roder lab is also focused on identifying new genes that contribute to learning and memory. I

In a recent groundbreaking study, Dr. Roder demonstrated for the first time in mice models that malfunction of the gene DISC 1, previously associated with schizophrenia and depression, does in fact cause symptoms of those disorders. This breakthrough received considerable media attention including the front cover of the Globe and Mail (May 3, 2007).

Dr. Roder contributes to the grants review panels for the Canadian Institutes of Heath Research and the National Institutes of Health. He conducted his postdoctoral work in Stockholm, Sweden and London, England after attaining his PhD at the University of Western Ontario. His thesis won the Collip Medal. At Queens, where he taught, he won the Basmajian award for outstanding research. He has published 275 papers, some in the leading journal.

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