NAMI Ask the Expert: New Horizons in Schizophrenia Research OD041

An on-demand video and transcript of the presentation are available here [opens in new tab].

About The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. They are an alliance of more than 650 local Affiliates and 49 State organizations who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education to people with mental illness and their loved ones. Through awareness, advocacy and education, NAMI is committed to building stronger communities and a better future for everyone affected by mental illness.

Course Summary

Practice Level: Intermediate

This course, based on the Ask the Expert webinar series by NAMI, reviews emerging directions in schizophrenia research with an emphasis on addressing clinical and biological heterogeneity to improve early detection and treatment development. The presentation explains research frameworks that support transdiagnostic measurement, “biotyping,” and the use of multimodal data to identify actionable targets. The training also summarizes evidence from large psychosis-risk cohorts and describes how validated risk calculators and biomarker qualification pathways can strengthen clinical trials and regulatory decision-making. Finally, the course outlines the goals and structure of the AMP Schizophrenia program and how open-science, large-scale longitudinal datasets can accelerate discovery and inform both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic care models.

The course, with an intended audience of social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and counselors, then provides an evidence-informed framework for interpreting psychosis-risk research, biomarkers, and early-intervention implications that support coordinated, recovery-oriented services for individuals and families affected by schizophrenia-spectrum conditions. 

Course Format

This course contains a participant guide, practice test, and on-demand video. When you’re ready, purchase the course by clicking the “Add To Cart” or “Enroll” button. This will let you take the test, complete the course evaluation and receive your certificate for CE credits.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the clinical high-risk (CHR) framework for psychosis and its relevance to early identification.
2. Identify key biomarker modalities used in schizophrenia research.
3. Explain how large-scale research consortia use harmonized, longitudinal data to support prediction tools and treatment-target discovery. 

Course Syllabus

• Schizophrenia heterogeneity and the RDoC framework for transdiagnostic measurement and “biotyping”
• Clinical high risk for psychosis: prodromal indicators, cohort findings (e.g., NAPLS/HARMONY), and risk calculators
• Biomarkers for psychosis risk and outcomes: EEG, imaging, cognition, inflammatory/plasticity signals, and multi-modal integration
• AMP Schizophrenia: program goals, regulatory relevance, open-science infrastructure, and implications for pharmacologic and psychosocial intervention development

Current References

Addington, J., Liu, L., Braun, A., Auther, A., Calkins, M. E., Cornblatt, B. A., Corcoran, C. M., Fusar-Poli, P., Kerr, M. J., Mourgues-Codern, C. V., Nunez, A. R., Oliver, D., Strauss, G. P., Walsh, B. C., Alameda, L. K., Arango, C., Breitborde, N. J. K., Broome, M. R., Cadenhead, K. S., … Yung, A. R. (2025). Sample ascertainment and clinical outcome measures in the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia Program. Schizophrenia, 11, Article 54. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-025-00556-7[opens in new tab]

Allott, K. A., Calkins, M. E., Clark, S. R., Gur, R. C., Harms, M. P., Perkins, D. O., Ruparel, K., Stone, W. S., Torous, J., Yung, A. R., Zoupou, E., Mittal, V. A., Shah, J. L., Wolf, D. H., Cecchi, G., Kapur, T., Kubicki, M., Lewandowski, K. E., Bearden, C. E., … Bouix, S. (2025). Enabling FAIR data stewardship in complex international multi-site studies: Data operations for the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia Program. Schizophrenia, 11, Article 55.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-025-00560-x[opens in new tab]

Allott, K., Yassin, W., Alameda, L., Billah, T., Borders, O., Buccilli, K., Carrión, R. E., Castillo-Passi, R. I., Cho, K. I. K., Chin, K., Coleman, M. J., Colton, B.-L., Corral, S., Dwyer, D., Gundersen, K. B., Gur, R. C., Hoftman, G. D., Jacobs, G. R., Kelly, S., … Verma, S. K. (2025). Cognitive assessment in the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia Program: Harmonization priorities and strategies in a diverse international sample. Schizophrenia, 11, Article 49. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-025-00578-1[opens in new tab]

Cannon, T. D., Yu, C., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K. S., Cornblatt, B. A., Heinssen, R., Jeffries, C. D., Mathalon, D. H., McGlashan, T. H., Perkins, D. O., Seidman, L. J., Tsuang, M. T., Walker, E. F., Woods, S. W., & Kattan, M. W. (2016). An individualized risk calculator for research in prodromal psychosis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(10), 980–988. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15070890[opens in new tab]

Carrión, R. E., Cornblatt, B. A., Burton, C. Z., Tso, I. F., Auther, A. M., Adelsheim, S., Calkins, R., Sale, T. G., Taylor, S. F., McFarlane, W. R., & others. (2016). Personalized prediction of psychosis: External validation of the NAPLS-2 psychosis risk calculator with the EDIPPP project. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(10), 989–996. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15121565[opens in new tab]

Clementz, B. A., Parker, D. A., Trotti, R. L., McDowell, J. E., Keedy, S. K., Keshavan, M. S., Pearlson, G. D., Gershon, E. S., Ivleva, E. I., Huang, L.-Y., Hill, S. K., Sweeney, J. A., Thomas, O., Hudgens-Haney, M., Gibbons, R. D., & Tamminga, C. A. (2022). Psychosis biotypes: Replication and validation from the B-SNIP Consortium. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 48(1), 56–68. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbab090[opens in new tab]

George, M. S., Lisanby, S. H., Avery, D., McDonald, W. M., Durkalski, V., Pavlicova, M., Anderson, B., Nahas, Z., Bulow, P., Zarkowski, P., Holtzheimer, P. E., Schwartz, T., & Sackeim, H. A. (2010). Daily left prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy for major depressive disorder: A sham-controlled randomized trial. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67(5), 507–516. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.46[opens in new tab]

Lisanby, S. H., Husain, M. M., Rosenquist, P. B., Maixner, D., Gutierrez, R., Krystal, A., Gilmer, W., Marangell, L. B., Aaronson, S., Daskalakis, Z. J., Canterbury, R., Richelson, E., Sackeim, H. A., & George, M. S. (2009). Daily left prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the acute treatment of major depression: Clinical predictors of outcome in a multisite, randomized controlled clinical trial. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34(2), 522–534. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2008.118[opens in new tab]

Nelson, B., Shenton, M. E., Woods, S. W., & the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ). (2025). Pathways to prevention: The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ) Program. Schizophrenia, 11, Article 62. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-025-00605-1[opens in new tab]

Perkins, D. O., Jeffries, C. D., Clark, S. R., Upthegrove, R., Wannan, C. M. J., Wray, N. R., Li, Q. S., Do, K. Q., Walker, E., Amminger, G. P., Anticevic, A., Cotter, D., Ellman, L. M., Mongan, D., Phassouliotis, C., Barbee, J., Roth, S., Billah, T., Corcoran, C., … Woods, S. W. (2025). Body fluid biomarkers and psychosis risk in The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia Program: Design considerations. Schizophrenia, 11, Article 78.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-025-00610-4[opens in new tab]

Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. (2014). Biological insights from 108 schizophrenia-associated genetic loci. Nature, 511(7510), 421–427.https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13595[opens in new tab] 

Instructors

Sarah Hollingsworth “Holly” Lisanby, MD, Director of the Division of Translational Research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) 

Sarah Hollingsworth “Holly” Lisanby, MD, is the Director of the Division of Translational Research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) which funds research supporting the discovery of preventions, treatments, and cures for mental illness across the lifespan. Dr. Lisanby is well known for her pioneering research leading to the FDA approval of novel devices for the treatment of depression (including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)) and on novel devices in development (including Magnetic Seizure Therapy).

She is an internationally renowned physician, psychiatrist, researcher, leader, and innovator of neuromodulation technologies to study and treat psychiatric disorders. She was the first woman to become Chair of the Department of Psychiatry of Duke University. A prolific author with over 280 scientific publications, she has received national and international recognition for her innovations in the treatment of schizophrenia and depression.

Nicole Errickson, LCSW

Nicole is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Georgia. She brings over 19 years experience in the social work field, primarily working in school systems as a school social worker and with the McKinney-Vento grant. Over her career, Nicole has had several opportunities to help develop and execute professional development events. Nicole has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of South Alabama and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Alabama.

Accreditation Approval Statements

CE4Less.com is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CE4Less.com maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

CE4Less.com, provider #1115, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 8/8/24-8/8/27.

Social workers completing this course receive 1 clinical continuing education credits.

We are committed to providing our learners with unbiased information. CE4Less never accepts commercial support and our authors have no significant financial or other conflicts of interest pertaining to the material.