Thais Rizzi

Short CV

7/2007- current. PhD Candidate. Functional Genomics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), FALW-VUA Dept. of Clinical Genetics, VUmc Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam (NCA) VU University (VU) and VU University medical center (VUmc), Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

02/2003 to 02/2006. Master in Biotechnology. University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil. Final project: Temporal genomic expression of the AgMNPV-2D (Baculovirus) in insect cells and its genomic web. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Paolo de Andrade Marinho Zanotto.

12/2004 to 01/2005. Internship in the laboratory of the Department of Medical Microbiology, UK Aachen. RWTH Aachen, Germany. EBV detection and analyses with the supervision of the Prof. Dr. Klaus Ritter and Dr. Michael Kleines.

12/2003 to 01/2004. Internship in the laboratory of the Department of Entomology, University of Florida. Gainesville Florida, USA. Baculovirus analyses with the supervision of the Prof. Dr. James E. Maruniak.

03/1997 to 11/2002. Bachelor in Biological Science, specialist in Microbiology, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Minas Gerais, Brazil. Final project: Expression of the early growth response gene (Egr-1) after infection with Cowpox virus. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Cláudio Antônio Bonjardim.

Publications

The ATXN1 and TRIM31 Genes Are Related to Intelligence in an ADHD Background: Evidence From a Large Collaborative Study Totaling 4,963 Subjects. Rizzi TS, Arias-Vasquez A, Rommelse N, Kuntsi J, Anney R, Asherson P, Buitelaar J, Banaschewski T, Ebstein R, Ruano D, Van der Sluis S, Markunas CA, Garrett ME, Ashley-Koch AE, Kollins SH, Anastopoulos AD, Hansell NK, Wright MJ, Montgomery GW, Martin NG, Harris SE, Davies G, Tenesa A, Porteous DJ, Starr JM, Deary IJ, St Pourcain B, Smith GD, Timpson NJ, Evans DM, Gill M, Miranda A, Mulas F, Oades RD, Roeyers H, Rothenberger A, Sergeant J, Sonuga-Barke E, Steinhausen HC, Taylor E, Faraone SV, Franke B, Posthuma D. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2010 Dec 16.

Structural and phylogenetic relationship of ORF 31 from the Anticarsia gemmatalis MNPV to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARP). de Castro Oliveira JV, de Melo FL, Romano CM, Iamarino A, Rizzi TS, Yeda FP, Hársi CM, Wolff JL, de Andrade Zanotto PM. Virus Genes. 2008 Oct;37(2):177-84.

PhD project: An integrated genomic approach to finding functional variants for human cognition.

In a population there are large intra-individual differences in IQ test scores. These differences can be due to genetic factors, environment, social interactions or a combination of these mechanisms. In the past decade, considerable progress has been made in genotyping technologies, which would allow detecting the actual genetic variants in the whole genome that account for the high heritability of intelligence. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified a number of genetic polymorphisms that are involved in common disease. In just the last 3 years, GWAS have led to hundreds of associations of common DNA variants with over 80 diseases and traits increased risk for developing psychiatric disorders. However, by only associating genotypes with clinical outcomes, little can be inferred on the disease-causing mechanisms themselves. Moreover, the effect size of genetic associations with clinical phenotypes is often small. Of all reported genetic association studies in the literature, only 4% have shown replicable association according to a 2002 search. Searching for “genetic” and “association” in Pubmed gives 69950 hits (July 2010), while adding the keywords “replicated” or “validated” results in 1318 studies. In other words, in this rough scan less than 2% of the total reported genetic associations are reports of validated genetic association. 
The field of intelligence shows no exception. Of the reported genes associated with intelligence, only three CHRM2, SNAP25 and BDNF have shown replicated association across independent samples and each of these reported DNA variants could explain less than 1%–2% of the IQ variation. Collective testing of genes involved in biological pathways has emerged as an alternative strategy for testing the combined effects of genetic variants with small effect size. The main goal of my project is to investigate how genetic variation in genome or genetic pathways influences intelligence. To this end we use an in silico/in vivo integrated approach, testing for genetic association, environment moderation effect and brain expression regulation. The most promising variants will be used within a mouse model for attention and memory, aimed at determining the biological function of the allelic variant. The focus is on cognition in general, as well as specific aspects such attention, memory and educational attainment.