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INFORMATION FOR

Renato Polimanti, PhD, MSc

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
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About

Titles

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Associate Professor on Term, Chronic Disease Epidemiology

Biography

Dr. Renato Polimanti is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science at the Yale School of Medicine and Associate Professor of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. He is also Associate Director for Scientific and Technical Operations of the Clinical Epidemiology Research Center at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Dr. Polimanti’s primary research interest is to apply big data analytics to molecular, clinical, and imaging data to understand the biology and the epidemiology of human traits and disease and to develop tools to improve the healthcare of diverse population groups. His ongoing studies are supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Polimanti contributed to more than 200 peer-reviewed publications including 42 as first author, 70 as senior author, and two as sole author. His group is also involved in large collaborative projects, including the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and the Million Veteran Program.

Last Updated on February 10, 2025.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Postdoctorate
Yale University School of Medicine (2016)
PhD
University of Rome "Tor Vergata" (2013)
MSc
University of Rome "Tor Vergata" (2009)
BSc
University of Rome "Tor Vergata" (2008)

Research

Overview

My research focuses on dissecting the epidemiology and biology of neuropsychiatric disorders, behavioral traits, and other complex phenotypes using molecular, clinical, and imaging data to translate Big Data Analytics into improved healthcare for diverse populations.

Main areas of research include:

Internalizing Disorders. My colleagues and I are investigating the predisposition to internalizing disorders and symptoms, integrating genetic information with multi-omics data, brain imaging phenotypes, and electronic health records. Our findings highlighted how pleiotropic mechanisms contribute to disorders across internalizing spectrum through direct, mediated, and interactive effects.

Mental and Physical Health. My group is developing and applying analytic approaches to investigate comorbidities between mental and physical health using large-scale genome-wide datasets and multi-omics information. Our studies uncovered how the interplay among different genomic features and environmental factors contributes to comorbidity risk, symptoms, and prognosis.

Social Determinants of Health. Leveraging large-scale datasets and genetically informed study designs, my colleagues and I contributed to disentangling dynamics by which social determinants of health contribute to the risk of psychiatric disorders and symptoms. Specifically, our findings highlighted how social determinants of health differentially affected mental health outcomes through direct and indirect effects.

Sex Differences. I am leading multiple studies to understand the biological processes contributing to sex differences in psychiatric disorders and other brain-related outcomes using genomic, clinical, and imaging data. These efforts uncovered how sex-specific mechanisms affecting genomic regulatory mechanisms can differentiate the predisposition to pathological conditions in females and males.

Human Evolution. My collaborators and I are developing and applying multiple analytic approaches to integrate evolutionary biology and human genetics, aiming to uncover genetic signatures of population dynamics across human phenome. Our findings highlighted how local adaptation, purifying selection, introgression from archaic humans, and assortative mating can shape the genetic architecture of complex traits in worldwide populations.

Medical Research Interests

Biological Psychiatry; Gene-Environment Interaction; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genetic Research; Genetics; Genetics, Behavioral; Genetics, Medical; Genetics, Population; Genome-Wide Association Study; Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Public Health Interests

Genetics, Genomics, Epigenetics

Research at a Glance

Publications Timeline

A big-picture view of Renato Polimanti's research output by year.
235Publications
10,607Citations

Publications

Featured Publications

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Clinical Trials

Current Trials

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

Activities

  • activity

    More than 50 international journals, also including top-impact publications such as Biological Psychiatry, Circulation, Genetics in Medicine, Genome Biology, Genome Medicine, Genome Research, Nature Communications, Nature Genetics, Nature Human Behavior, Molecular Psychiatry, Science Advances, and Schizophrenia Bulletin.

    2012 - PresentJournal ServiceReviewer
  • activity

    PLOS One

    08/01/2018 - PresentJournal ServiceAssociate Editor
  • activity

    Israel Science Foundation

    06/01/2018 - PresentPeer Review Groups and Grant Study SectionsReviewer
  • activity

    Center for Scientific Review

    07/01/2018 - PresentPeer Review Groups and Grant Study SectionsReviewer
  • activity

    Alzheimer’s Association

    2018 - PresentPeer Review Groups and Grant Study SectionsReviewer
View full list of activities

Honors

  • honor

    Pathway Research Award

    06/01/2022National AwardAlkermes
  • honor

    Rising Star Computational Psychiatry Research Award,

    12/15/2021National AwardOne Mind
  • honor

    Research Award

    01/01/2020National AwardAmyloidosis Foundation
  • honor

    Early-Career Investigator

    05/01/2019International AwardDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Million Veteran Program
  • honor

    Global ASPIRE Award

    09/25/2018International AwardPfizer inc.
View full list of honors

Get In Touch

Contacts

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