
Overview
Background
John McGrath AM, MBBS, MD, PhD, FRANZCP, FAHMS
John McGrath is a psychiatrist interested in discovering the causes of serious mental disorders. He is the Director of the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and conjoint Professor at the Queensland Brain Institute His research aims to generate and evaluate nongenetic risk factors for schizophrenia. He has forged productive cross-disciplinary collaborations linking risk factor epidemiology with developmental neurobiology. For example, John and his colleagues have made discoveries linking prenatal vitamin D and later risk of mental illness in the offspring. In addition, John has supervised major systematic reviews of the epidemiology of schizophrenia. He was awarded a John Cade Fellowship by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. In 2016 he was also awarded a Neils Bohr Professorship by the Danish National Research Foundation.
Availability
- Professor John McGrath is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and Medical Science, The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
Research interests
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The association between vitamin D status and brain outcomes
In collaboration with Darryl Eyles, we are measuring early life vitamin D status and exploring if this changes the risk of later developing serious mental illness. These studies are in collaboration with colleagues in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.
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The demographic and clinical correlates of psychotic-like experiences
Using two large surveys conducted in Australia in 1997 and 2007, our group have undertaken a suite of studies designed to understand the clinical relevance of isolated psychotic-like experiences. Over recent years we have published many papers on this topic, and have made important contributions with respect to how psychotic-like experiences are associated with (a) an increased risk of later psychotic disorders (based on the MUSP study), (b) depression, anxiety and substance use disorders, (c) a family history of mental illness, (d) exposure to trauma, (e) an increased risk of suicidal ideation and behaviour, (f) general physical health, and (g) help-seeking.
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The Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP)
Our group was one of seven sites involved in the design and administration of the second Australian Survey of psychotic disorders. In collaboration with a large national team, we continue to explore key issues related to the needs of people with psychosis in Australia.
Research impacts
The Epidemiology team are interested in the frequency measures related to serious mental disorders (e.g. incidence, prevalence, mortality, recovery/remission). We are also interested in the clinical and demographic correlates of adverse mental health outcomes – some of these may be modifiable risk factors and thus important from a public health perspective. We use large, community-based surveys, and birth cohorts. Our focus has been on psychotic disorders and psychotic-like experiences in the general population. In addition, we are examining the links between early life vitamin D status and risk of later mental illness, by directly measuring vitamin D (in collaboration with Darryl Eyles and many international collaborators).
Works
Search Professor John McGrath’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Journal Article
S130. ALTERNATIVE METRICS TO QUANTIFY PREMATURE MORTALITY IN MENTAL DISORDERS. A POPULATION-BASED COHORT STUDY
Weye, Nanna, Momen, Natalie, Christensen, Maria, Iburg, Kim, Collaborators, NBP Health Metrics, McGrath, John and Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer (2020). S130. ALTERNATIVE METRICS TO QUANTIFY PREMATURE MORTALITY IN MENTAL DISORDERS. A POPULATION-BASED COHORT STUDY. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 46 (Supplement_1). doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa031.196
2020
Journal Article
O7.3. EXPLORING COMORBIDITY BETWEEN MENTAL DISORDERS AND GENERAL MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Momen, Natalie, Ripoll, Oleguer Plana, Prior, Anders and McGrath, John (2020). O7.3. EXPLORING COMORBIDITY BETWEEN MENTAL DISORDERS AND GENERAL MEDICAL CONDITIONS. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 46 (Supplement_1). doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa028.038
2020
Journal Article
O7.1. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PATTERNS OF COMORBID MENTAL DISORDERS AND MORTALITY-RELATED ESTIMATES. A NATIONWIDE, REGISTER-BASED COHORT STUDY BASED ON 7.5 MILLION INDIVIDUALS LIVING IN DENMARK
Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer, Momen, Natalie, Weye, Nanna and McGrath, John (2020). O7.1. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PATTERNS OF COMORBID MENTAL DISORDERS AND MORTALITY-RELATED ESTIMATES. A NATIONWIDE, REGISTER-BASED COHORT STUDY BASED ON 7.5 MILLION INDIVIDUALS LIVING IN DENMARK. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 46 (Supplement_1). doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa028.036
2020
Journal Article
O7.4. CHANGES IN DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY GAP IN THOSE WITH MENTAL DISORDERS BETWEEN 1995 AND 2015 IN DENMARK. A NATIONWIDE, REGISTER-BASED COHORT STUDY BASED ON 7.4 MILLION INDIVIDUALS
Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer, Weye, Nanna, Momen, Natalie, Christensen, Maria, Iburg, Kim, Laursen, Thomas Munk and McGrath, John (2020). O7.4. CHANGES IN DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY GAP IN THOSE WITH MENTAL DISORDERS BETWEEN 1995 AND 2015 IN DENMARK. A NATIONWIDE, REGISTER-BASED COHORT STUDY BASED ON 7.4 MILLION INDIVIDUALS. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 46 (Supplement_1). doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa028.039
2020
Journal Article
Conditional GWAS analysis to identify disorder-specific SNPs for psychiatric disorders
Byrne, Enda M., Zhu, Zhihong, Qi, Ting, Skene, Nathan G., Bryois, Julien, Pardinas, Antonio F., Stahl, Eli, Bipolar Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Rietschel, Marcella, Smoller, Jordan W., Owen, Michael J., Walters, James T. R., O’Donovan, Michael C., McGrath, John G., Hjerling-Leffler, Jens, Sullivan, Patrick F., Goddard, Michael E., Visscher, Peter M., Yang, Jian and Wray, Naomi R. (2020). Conditional GWAS analysis to identify disorder-specific SNPs for psychiatric disorders. Molecular Psychiatry, 26 (6), 2070-2081. doi: 10.1038/s41380-020-0705-9
2020
Journal Article
Association between mental disorders and subsequent medical conditions
Momen, Natalie C., Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer, Agerbo, Esben, Benros, Michael E., Børglum, Anders D., Christensen, Maria K., Dalsgaard, Søren, Degenhardt, Louisa, de Jonge, Peter, Debost, Jean-Christophe P. G., Fenger-Grøn, Morten, Gunn, Jane M., Iburg, Kim M., Kessing, Lars V., Kessler, Ronald C., Laursen, Thomas M., Lim, Carmen C. W., Mors, Ole, Mortensen, Preben B., Musliner, Katherine L., Nordentoft, Merete, Pedersen, Carsten B., Petersen, Liselotte V., Ribe, Anette R., Roest, Annelieke M., Saha, Sukanta, Schork, Andrew J., Scott, Kate M., Sievert, Carson ... McGrath, John J. (2020). Association between mental disorders and subsequent medical conditions. New England Journal of Medicine, 382 (18), 1721-1731. doi: 10.1056/nejmoa1915784
2020
Journal Article
Whole-genome approach discovers novel genetic and nongenetic variance components modulated by lifestyle for cardiovascular health
Zhou, Xuan, van der Werf, Julius, Carson-Chahhoud, Kristin, Ni, Guiyan, McGrath, John, Hyppönen, Elina and Lee, S Hong (2020). Whole-genome approach discovers novel genetic and nongenetic variance components modulated by lifestyle for cardiovascular health. Journal of the American Heart Association, 9 (8) e015661. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.015661
2020
Journal Article
Changes over time in the differential mortality gap in individuals with mental disorders
Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer, Weye, Nanna, Momen, Natalie C., Christensen, Maria K., Iburg, Kim M., Laursen, Thomas Munk and McGrath, John J. (2020). Changes over time in the differential mortality gap in individuals with mental disorders. JAMA Psychiatry, 77 (6), 648-650. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0334
2020
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study identifies 143 loci associated with 25 hydroxyvitamin D concentration
Revez, Joana A., Lin, Tian, Qiao, Zhen, Xue, Angli, Holtz, Yan, Zhu, Zhihong, Zeng, Jian, Wang, Huanwei, Sidorenko, Julia, Kemper, Kathryn E., Vinkhuyzen, Anna A. E., Frater, Julanne, Eyles, Darryl, Burne, Thomas H. J., Mitchell, Brittany, Martin, Nicholas G., Zhu, Gu, Visscher, Peter M., Yang, Jian, Wray, Naomi R. and McGrath, John J. (2020). Genome-wide association study identifies 143 loci associated with 25 hydroxyvitamin D concentration. Nature Communications, 11 (1) 1647, 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-15421-7
2020
Journal Article
A prospective population-based study of gestational vitamin D status and brain morphology in preadolescents
Zou, Runyu, El Marroun, Hanan, McGrath, John J., Muetzel, Ryan L., Hillegers, Manon, White, Tonya and Tiemeier, Henning (2020). A prospective population-based study of gestational vitamin D status and brain morphology in preadolescents. NeuroImage, 209 116514, 116514. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116514
2020
Conference Publication
EXPLORING COMORBIDITY BETWEEN MENTAL DISORDERS AND GENERAL MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Momen, Natalie, Ripoll, Oleguer Plana, Prior, Anders and McGrath, John (2020). EXPLORING COMORBIDITY BETWEEN MENTAL DISORDERS AND GENERAL MEDICAL CONDITIONS. Congress of the Schizophrenia-International-Research-Society (SRIS), Florence Italy, Apr 04-08, 2020. OXFORD: OXFORD UNIV PRESS.
2020
Conference Publication
ALTERNATIVE METRICS TO QUANTIFY PREMATURE MORTALITY IN MENTAL DISORDERS. A POPULATION-BASED COHORT STUDY
Weye, Nanna, Momen, Natalie, Christensen, Maria, Iburg, Kim, McGrath, John and Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer (2020). ALTERNATIVE METRICS TO QUANTIFY PREMATURE MORTALITY IN MENTAL DISORDERS. A POPULATION-BASED COHORT STUDY. Congress of the Schizophrenia-International-Research-Society (SRIS), Florence Italy, Apr 04-08, 2020. OXFORD: OXFORD UNIV PRESS.
2020
Conference Publication
CHANGES IN DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY GAP IN THOSE WITH MENTAL DISORDERS BETWEEN 1995 AND 2015 IN DENMARK. A NATIONWIDE, REGISTER-BASED COHORT STUDY BASED ON 7.4 MILLION INDIVIDUALS
Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer, Weye, Nanna, Momen, Natalie, Christensen, Maria, Iburg, Kim, Laursen, Thomas Munk and McGrath, John (2020). CHANGES IN DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY GAP IN THOSE WITH MENTAL DISORDERS BETWEEN 1995 AND 2015 IN DENMARK. A NATIONWIDE, REGISTER-BASED COHORT STUDY BASED ON 7.4 MILLION INDIVIDUALS. Congress of the Schizophrenia-International-Research-Society (SRIS), Florence Italy, Apr 04-08, 2020. OXFORD: OXFORD UNIV PRESS.
2020
Conference Publication
The economic burden of mental disorders: a systematic review
Christensen, Maria, Lim, Carmen, Saha, Sukanta, Cannon, Danielle, Presley, Finley, Iburg, Kim and McGrath, John (2020). The economic burden of mental disorders: a systematic review. Congress of the Schizophrenia-International-Research-Society (SRIS), Florence, Italy, 4-8 April 2020. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa029.713
2020
Conference Publication
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PATTERNS OF COMORBID MENTAL DISORDERS AND MORTALITY-RELATED ESTIMATES. A NATIONWIDE, REGISTER-BASED COHORT STUDY BASED ON 7.5 MILLION INDIVIDUALS LIVING IN DENMARK
Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer, Momen, Natalie, Weye, Nanna and McGrath, John (2020). ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PATTERNS OF COMORBID MENTAL DISORDERS AND MORTALITY-RELATED ESTIMATES. A NATIONWIDE, REGISTER-BASED COHORT STUDY BASED ON 7.5 MILLION INDIVIDUALS LIVING IN DENMARK. Congress of the Schizophrenia-International-Research-Society (SRIS), Florence Italy, Apr 04-08, 2020. OXFORD: OXFORD UNIV PRESS.
2020
Journal Article
Association of mental disorder in childhood and adolescence with subsequent educational achievement
Dalsgaard, Søren, McGrath, John, Østergaard, Søren Dinesen, Wray, Naomi R., Pedersen, Carsten Bøcker, Mortensen, Preben Bo and Petersen, Liselotte (2020). Association of mental disorder in childhood and adolescence with subsequent educational achievement. JAMA Psychiatry, 77 (8), 797-805. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0217
2020
Journal Article
Lillies: An R package for the estimation of excess life years lost among patients with a given disease or condition
Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer, Canudas-Romo, Vladimir, Weye, Nanna, Laursen, Thomas M., McGrath, John J. and Andersen, Per Kragh (2020). Lillies: An R package for the estimation of excess life years lost among patients with a given disease or condition. PLoS ONE, 15 (3) e0228073, e0228073. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228073
2020
Journal Article
The epidemiology of alcohol use disorders cross-nationally: findings from the World Mental Health Surveys
Glantz, Meyer D., Bharat, Chrianna, Degenhardt, Louisa, Sampson, Nancy A., Scott, Kate M., Lim, Carmen C. W., Al-Hamzawi, Ali, Alonso, Jordi, Andrade, Laura Helena, Cardoso, Graca, De Girolamo, Giovanni, Gureje, Oye, He, Yanling, Hinkov, Hristo, Karam, Elie G., Karam, Georges, Kovess-Masfety, Viviane, Lasebikan, Victor, Lee, Sing, Levinson, Daphna, McGrath, John, Medina-Mora, Maria-Elena, Mihaescu-Pintia, Constanta, Mneimneh, Zeina, Moskalewicz, Jacek, Navarro-Mateu, Fernando, Posada-Villa, José, Rapsey, Charlene, Stagnaro, Juan Carlos ... Kessler, Ronald C. (2020). The epidemiology of alcohol use disorders cross-nationally: findings from the World Mental Health Surveys. Addictive Behaviors, 102 106128, 106128. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.106128
2020
Journal Article
Pre-marital predictors of marital violence in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys
Stokes, Cara M., Alonso, Jordi, Andrade, Laura Helena, Atwoli, Lukoye, Cardoso, Graça, Chiu, Wai Tat, Dinolova, Rumyana V., Gureje, Oye, Karam, Aimee N., Karam, Elie G., Kessler, Ronald C., Chatterji, Somnath, King, Andrew, Lee, Sing, Mneimneh, Zeina, Oladeji, Bibilola D., Petukhova, Maria, Rapsey, Charlene, Sampson, Nancy A., Scott, Kate, Street, Amy, Viana, Maria Carmen, Williams, Michelle A., Aguilar-Gaxiola, Sergio, Al-Hamzawi, Ali, Al-Kaisy, Mohammed Salih, Benjet, Corina, Borges, Guilherme, Bromet, Evelyn J. ... Wojtyniak, Bogdan (2020). Pre-marital predictors of marital violence in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 55 (3), 393-405. doi: 10.1007/s00127-019-01703-z
2020
Journal Article
Polygenic risk score for bipolar disorder and school grades
Østergaard, Søren D., McGrath, John J., Mors, Ole, Mortensen, Preben B. and Petersen, Liselotte V. (2020). Polygenic risk score for bipolar disorder and school grades. Journal of Affective Disorders, 263, 555-557. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.019
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor John McGrath is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Completed supervision
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Mental Disorders and Physical Activity: Epidemiological Analyses using Australian Datasets
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor James Scott
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
The mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Harvey Whiteford
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2010
Doctor Philosophy
The antecedents of schizophrenia, a birth cohort study
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Gail Williams
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2007
Doctor Philosophy
AWARENESS OF MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF INSIGHT INTO SCHIZOPHRENIA: A COMPARISON OF PATIENTS WITH THEIR RELATIVES AND CLINICIANS
Principal Advisor
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Contrasting the Expression of Psychotic Disorders in Ethnically Different Populations
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Bryan Mowry
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
The role of adult vitamin D deficiency in cognition and brain function in mice
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Thomas Burne
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Neurochemical and neurophysiological bases of executive control
Associate Advisor
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2009
Doctor Philosophy
The effect of developmental vitamin D3 deficiency on brain development, immune function and behaviour in the adult rat
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Thomas Burne, Professor Darryl Eyles
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2009
Doctor Philosophy
The prevalence and correlates of psychotic-like experiences in the Australian community
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Graham Martin
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2005
Doctor Philosophy
Startle eyeblink modification: Associations with haloperidol, caffeine and nicotine in schizophrenia-spectrum and health individuals
Associate Advisor
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2003
Doctor Philosophy
INFORMATION PROCESSING AND PSYCHOSIS
Associate Advisor
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2003
Doctor Philosophy
THE ASSESSMENT OF THE DYSEXECUTIVE SYNDROME IN INDIVIDUALS WITH PSYCHOSIS
Associate Advisor
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2002
Doctor Philosophy
THE ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGY OF WORKING MEMORY IN SCHIZOPHRENIA
Associate Advisor
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2002
Doctor Philosophy
MOLECULAR CANDIDATES FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Bryan Mowry
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor John McGrath directly for media enquiries about:
- Brain development
- Neuroscience
- Schizophrenia
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