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Virginia Willour, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry

Current Positions

  • Professor of Psychiatry

Education

  • BS in Biology, German, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
  • PhD in Genetics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
  • Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychiatric Genetics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Graduate Program Affiliations

Center, Program and Institute Affiliations

Research Interests

  • The primary goal of the laboratory is to identify genetic and epigenetic risk factors for suicidal behavior. Family, twin, and adoption studies make clear that suicidal behavior has a substantial heritable component. While there is evidence that this heritability is accounted for in part by a liability to mood disorders, other evidence suggests independent heritable components. In an effort to better understand the biological basis of this behavior, we have conducted a genome-wide association study using attempted suicide as the phenotype, an effort that identified a promising association signal on 2p25 as well as candidate genes implicating the Wnt signaling pathway and excitatory neurotransmission. These findings have prompted us to launch a large-scale whole exome sequencing project, with the goal of identifying functional variants associated with suicidal behavior on 2p25 and throughout the genome. In addition, we are currently assessing genome-wide methylation patterns in post-mortem brains of suicide completers and controls, with the goal of identifying differentially methylated candidate genes and regions associated with suicidal behavior.

Selected Publications

  • Shaffer, J.J., Willour, V., Fiedorowicz, J.G., Christensen, G.E., Long, J.D., Johnson, C.P., Schmitz, S.L., Williams, A.J., Wemmie, J., Magnotta, V.A. (2021) Distinct patterns of altered quantitative T1ρ and functional BOLD response associated with history of suicide attempts in bipolar disorder. Brain Imaging and Behavior 16 820-833. DOI: 10.1007/s11682-021-00552-2
  • Gaynor, S. C., Monson, E. T., Gaine, M. E., Chimenti, M. S., Reichman, R. D., Parsons, M., Oonthonpan, L., Zandi, P. P., Potash, J. B. & Willour, V. L. (2020). Male-specific association of the 2p25 region with suicide attempt in bipolar disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research 121 151-158. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.11.009.
  • Reichman, R. D., Gaynor, S. C., Monson, E. T., Gaine, M. E., Parsons, M. G., Zandi, P. P., Potash, J. B. & Willour, V. L. (2019). Targeted sequencing of the LRRTM gene family in suicide attempters with bipolar disorder. American journal of medical genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric genetics : the official publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics. DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32767. PMID: 31854516.
  • Hing, B., Braun, P., Cordner, Z. A., Ewald, E. R., Moody, L., McKane, M., Willour, V. L., Tamashiro, K. L. & Potash, J. B. (2018). Chronic social stress induces DNA methylation changes at an evolutionary conserved intergenic region in chromosome X. Epigenetics. DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2018.1486654. PMID: 29943663.
  • Monson, E. T., Pirooznia, M., Parla, J., Kramer, M., Goes, F. S., Gaine, M. E., Gaynor, S. C., de Klerk, K., Jancic, D., Karchin, R., McCombie, W. R., Zandi, P. P., Potash, J. B. & Willour, V. L. (2017). Assessment of whole-exome sequence data in attempted suicide within a bipolar disorder cohort. Mol Neuropsychiatry 3 (1) 1-11.
  • Gaynor, S. C., Breen, M. E., Monson, E. T., de Klerk, K., Parsons, M., DeLuca, A. P., Scheetz, T. E., Zandi, P. P., Potash, J. B. & Willour, V. L. (2016). A targeted sequencing study of glutamatergic candidate genes insuicide attempters with bipolar disorder. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet.
  • Breen, M. E., Seifuddin, F., Zandi, P. P., Potash, J. B. & Willour, V. L. (2015). Investigating the role of early childhood abuse and HPA axis genes in suicide attempters with bipolar disorder. Psychiatr Genet. PMID: 25714448.
  • Jancic, D., Seifuddin, F., Zandi, P. P., Potash, J. B. & Willour, V. L. (2012). Association study of X chromosome SNPs in attempted suicide. Psychiatry Res (2-3) 1044-1046. PMID: 22766010. PMCID: 4023562.
  • Willour, V. L., Seifuddin, F., Mahon, P. B., Jancic, D., Pirooznia, M., Steele, J., Schweizer, B., Goes, F. S., Mondimore, F. M., Mackinnon, D. F., Perlis, R. H., Lee, P. H., Huang, J., Kelsoe, J. R., Shilling, P. D., Rietschel, M., Nothen, M., Cichon, S., Gurling, H., Purcell, S., Smoller, J. W., Craddock, N., DePaulo JR, J. R., Schulze, T. G., McMahon, F. J., Zandi, P. P. & Potash, J. B. (2012). A genome-wide association study of attempted suicide. Mol psychiatry 17 (4) 433-444. DOI: 10.1038/mp.2011.4. PMID: 21423239. PMCID: 4021719.
  • Reti, I. M., Xu, J. Z., Yanofski, J., McKibben, J., Uhart, M., Cheng, Y. J., Zandi, P., Bienvenu, O. J., Samuels, J., Willour, V., Kasch-Semenza, L., Costa, P., Bandeen-Roche, K., Eaton, W. W. & Nestadt, G. (2011). Monoamine oxidase A regulates antisocial personality in whites with no history of physical abuse. Compr Psychiatry 52 (2) 188-94. PMID: 21295226.