msodhi@uab.edu 
Civitan International Research Center, 590C
1720 7th Ave. South
Birmingham, Al 35294
Phone: 205-996-6229
Education:
• 1991 Bachelor of Pharmacy, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, UK
• 1992 Pharmacy registration, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, London, UK
• 1993 Master of Science (Neuroscience), Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, UK
• 2000 PhD (Genetics), Institute of Psychiatry/Maudsley Hospital, University of London, UK
• 2003 Postdoctoral training, Dept of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Academic Appointments at UAB:
• Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UAB
• Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology, UAB
Current funding:
• National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award: The impact of post-transcriptional and epigenetic factors on the psychopathology of schizophrenia
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Young Investigator Award: The impact of RNA editing on suicide risk
Research focus:
• The contribution of genetic, epigenetic and post-transcriptional variation to the etiologies of major psychiatric disorders and suicide
• The pharmacogenetics of schizophrenia and mood disorders
Mental disorders, including suicide, account for over 15 percent of the burden of disease in the United States are the leading cause of disability in North Americans aged 15-44 years. Family history is the most robust predictor for developing schizophrenia, depression or committing suicide. Therefore investigating genetic variation in patients and their families could lead to the identification of the causes of these devastating disorders. Environmental stress is also likely to influence this genetic vulnerability by modulating the expression or activity of genes, through epigenetic and post-transcriptional processes, such as DNA methylation and RNA editing.
The serotonin system has been shown to be important in the regulation of mood and suicidality, and in addition, proteins activated by serotonin, such as the serotonin2 receptor subtypes, are blocked by several antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs. Therefore serotonin2 receptors are a major focus of research in my laboratory. We study genetic and transcriptional variation of these proteins in patients with mood disorders and schizophrenia. In a study being funded by the AFSP, genetic analyses are being performed on postmortem brain tissue from 450 psychiatric patients in collaboration with the NIMH. Of these patients, approximately 60% committed suicide. The aims of this research include the discovery of genetic variation and RNA editing changes predicting vulnerability to suicide.
Genetic studies indicate that polymorphisms (common mutations) within the serotonin2A receptor gene are increased in psychiatric patients who have lower levels of anxiety, and that these patients display greater improvements in depressed mood after treatment. Collaborations with investigators at Vanderbilt University, the University of Cincinnati and the Maudsley Hospital (University of London, UK) have been developed to expand these studies.
In summary, our investigations aim to identify biological causes of psychiatric disorders and suicide, leading to better predictors of risk, diagnostic markers (biomarkers) and with the greater understanding of the pathology of these disorders, could lead to the development of improved treatments.
Publications:
Sodhi MS, Wood KH, Meador-Woodruff J (2008). Role of glutamate in schizophrenia: integrating excitatory avenues of research. Exp Review Neurother 8(9), 1389-1406.
Sodhi MS, Simmons M, Wood KH, McCullumsmith RE, Haroutunian V, Meador-Woodruff, J. Thalamic expression of GABA receptors in schizophrenia. (in preparation).
Sodhi MS, Hazelwood, L, Li, C, Jayathilake K, Airey D, Sanders-Bush E, Meltzer HY. Genetic variation of the serotonin2A receptor predicts anxiety and improvement in depressed mood in schizophrenia (submitted).
Hackler E, Airey D, Shannon C, Sodhi MS, Sanders-Bush E (2006): 5-HT2C receptor RNA editing in the amygdala of inbred strains: implications for anxiety and fear. Neurosci Res 55(1):96-104.
Sodhi MS, Airey D, Lambert W, Burnet PWJ, Harrison PJ and Sanders-Bush E. (2005) A rapid new assay to detect RNA editing reveals antipsychotic-induced changes in serotonin-2C transcripts. Mol Pharmacol 68: 711-719.
Sodhi MS and Sanders-Bush E. (2004) Serotonin and disorders of brain development. Int Rev Neurobiol.59: 111-174.
Pooley, E, Fairburn C, Cooper Z, Sodhi MS, Harrison, PJ. (2004) A 5-HT2C receptor promoter polymorphism (HTR2C - 759C/T) is associated with obesity in women, and with resistance to weight loss in heterozygotes. Am J Med Genet (Neuropsychiat Genet). 126B: 124-7.
Tunbridge, E., Burnet PWJ, Sodhi MS, Harrison PJ (2004). "Catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) and proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) mRNAs in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression." Synapse 51(2):112-8.
Sodhi MS, Burnet PJ, Makoff AJ and Harrison PJ.(2001): Reduced mRNA editing of the human 5-HT2C receptor in schizophrenia. Molecular Psychiatry, 6 (4), 373-9.
Arranz MJ, Munro J, Birkett J, Bolonna A, Mancama D, Sodhi MS, et al. (2000): Pharmacogenetic prediction of clozapine response. Lancet 355: 1615 - 1616.
Sodhi MS and Murrray RM (1997): Future therapies for schizophrenia. Exp Opin Ther Patents 7(2):151-165.
Arranz MJ, Erdmann J, Kirov G, Rietschel M, Sodhi MS, et al (1997). 5-HT2A receptor and bipolar affective disorder: Association studies in affected patients. Neurosci Lett 224 (2): 95-98.
Collier D, Arranz M, Sham P, Battersby S, Gill P, Aitchison KJ, Sodhi MS, et al. (1996): The serotonin transporter is a potential susceptibility factor for bipolar affective disorder. NeuroReport 7:1675-1679.
Arranz MJ, Collier DA, Munro J, Sham P, Kirov G, Sodhi MS, Roberts GW, Price J and Kerwin RW (1996): Analysis of a structural polymorphism in the 5-HT2A receptor and clinical response to clozapine. Neuroscience Letters 217:177-178.
Sodhi MS, Arranz MJ, Curtis DA, Sham PC, Ball DM, Roberts GW, Price J, Collier DA and Kerwin RW (1995): Association between clozapine response and allelic variation in the 5-HT2C receptor gene. NeuroReport 7: 369-375.
Arranz MJ, Collier D, Sodhi MS, Ball DM, Roberts GW, Price J, Sham P and Kerwin RW. (1995): Association between clozapine response and allelic variation in the 5-HT2A receptor gene. Lancet, 346: 281-282.