https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-rss/?orgId=121317&title=Latest+News A selection of the latest research, academic, and other newsworthy developments at Lab - Psychiatry - Zhou, Hang en-us Copyright 2026 Yale School of Medicine Fri, 15 May 2026 07:21:53 Z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-66723-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-66723-7 Erectile dysfunction has complex biological and psychological causes. In a recent study published in Nature Communications, Yale authors Uri Bright, PhD; Joel Gelernter, MD; and colleagues performed cross-ancestry genome-wide association studies and identified multiple risk loci, highlighting SIM1 as a key genetic regulator of erectile function across populations. Tue, 02 Dec 2025 05:00:00 Z https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/zhou-awarded-grants-to-continue-study-of-genetics-of-alcohol-use-disorder/ https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/zhou-awarded-grants-to-continue-study-of-genetics-of-alcohol-use-disorder/ Hang Zhou, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and of biomedical informatics and data science, has been awarded two federal grants to continue his study of the genetics of alcohol use disorder. Thu, 25 Sep 2025 11:00:00 Z https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/09/16/bmjebm-2025-113913.full https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/09/16/bmjebm-2025-113913.full Daniel Levey, PhD; Hang Zhou, PhD, Joseph Deak, PhD; and Joel Gelernter, MD, are co-authors of the study, "Alcohol Use and Risk of Dementia in Diverse Populations: Evidence from Cohort, Case–Control and Mendelian Randomisation Approaches" in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. Wed, 24 Sep 2025 04:00:00 Z https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/yale-study-physical-activity-and-its-relationship-to-health-well-being-and-illness/ https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/yale-study-physical-activity-and-its-relationship-to-health-well-being-and-illness/ The benefits of exercise and its positive influence on physical and mental health are well documented, but a new Yale and VA Connecticut study sheds light on the role genetics plays for physical activity, accounting for some of the differences between individuals and showing differences in biology for physical activity at leisure versus physical activity at work and at home. Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:00:00 Z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02189-z#Sec34 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02189-z#Sec34 A genome-wide analyses in Nature Genetics identified 30 independent loci associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder, highlighting genetic overlap with other psychiatric disorders and implicating putative effector genes and cell types contributing to its etiology. Marco Galimberti, PhD, associate research scientist, is co-first author. Tue, 13 May 2025 04:00:00 Z https://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(25)00062-9/fulltext https://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(25)00062-9/fulltext Yale Department of Psychiatry researchers Lu Wang, PhD; Hang Zhou, PhD; and Joel Gelernter, MD, are co-authors of a paper in Biological Psychiatry that extends understanding of the genetic architecture of alcohol use disorder. Thu, 30 Jan 2025 05:00:00 Z https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/human-genetics-and-epigenetics-of-alcohol-use-disorder/ https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/human-genetics-and-epigenetics-of-alcohol-use-disorder/ Hang Zhou, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry, and Joel Gelernter, MD, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and professor of genetics and of neuroscience, are co-authors of a paper in The Journal of Clinical Investigation that reviews progress of human genetic and epigenetic study of alcohol use disorder and summarizes key future directions including applications of whole-genome sequencing, multi-omics and data science approaches. Thu, 15 Aug 2024 04:00:00 Z https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/ysm-va-researchers-complete-first-genome-wide-association-study-of-epiretinal-membrane/ https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/ysm-va-researchers-complete-first-genome-wide-association-study-of-epiretinal-membrane/ VA Connecticut Healthcare Center and Yale School of Medicine researchers have completed the first well-powered, genome-wide association study of epiretinal membrane, a common retinal disorder that often causes visual distortion or loss of visual acuity. The first author was Joel Gelernter, MD. Co-author was Daniel Levey, PhD. Wed, 12 Jun 2024 04:00:00 Z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-024-02548-y https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-024-02548-y Marco Galimberti, PhD, postdoctoral associate, and Joel Gelernter, MD, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Genetics and of Neuroscience, are first and senior authors, respectively, of a paper on Molecular Psychiatry that investigates the genetic architecture and causal relationships between cannabis use disorder and lifetime cannabis use with risk for developing substance use disorders and substance use traits. Fri, 05 Apr 2024 04:00:00 Z https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/vayale-researchers-lead-multi-ancestry-study-of-genetics-of-problematic-alcohol-use/ https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/vayale-researchers-lead-multi-ancestry-study-of-genetics-of-problematic-alcohol-use/ A study led by VA Connecticut Healthcare Center/Yale researchers reveals ancestries around the world possess a shared genetic architecture for problematic alcohol use – habitual heavy drinking, accompanied by harmful consequences. Hang Zhou, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and of biomedical informatics & data science at Yale School of Medicine and VA Connecticut, and Joel Gelernter, MD, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry, and professor of genetics and of neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine and VA Connecticut, were first and senior authors, respectively. Thu, 07 Dec 2023 05:00:00 Z https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/abs/positive-personality-traits-moderate-persistent-high-alcohol-consumption-determined-by-polygenic-risk-in-us-military-veterans-results-from-a-10year-populationbased-observational-cohort-study/6197F16CFBA4753B1511DE5A826C346F https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/abs/positive-personality-traits-moderate-persistent-high-alcohol-consumption-determined-by-polygenic-risk-in-us-military-veterans-results-from-a-10year-populationbased-observational-cohort-study/6197F16CFBA4753B1511DE5A826C346F Peter Na, MD, MPH, assistant professor of psychiatry, and Robert Pietrzak, PhD, MPH, professor of psychiatry and of public health, led a research team that examined the psychosocial moderators of high alcohol consumption determined by polygenic risk in military veterans. Fri, 22 Sep 2023 04:00:00 Z https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/yale-scientists-identify-genetic-risk-factors-associated-with-habitual-heavy-drinking/ https://websites4-live-prod.ysmdevs.com/lab/hang-zhou/news-article/yale-scientists-identify-genetic-risk-factors-associated-with-habitual-heavy-drinking/ A new study led by Yale scientists has identified genetic risk factors associated with habitual heavy drinking. Thu, 27 Oct 2022 04:00:00 Z