Courses Taught:
Genes, Environment, and Human Behavior
Research Interests:
Using genetically informative twin-family designs, Professor Dick's research focuses on how genetic and environmental influences contribute to the development of patterns of substance use (drinking and smoking) and related behaviors, such as antisocial behavior and depression. She has studied samples of >10,000 twins from early in adolescence until young adulthood, collecting longitudinal data on health behaviors and personality traits at multiple assessments from age 12 to 25. Her group is currently studying questions such as: how important are genetic and environmental influences on various aspects of substance use and related disorders; does the importance of genetic and environmental influences change across development; how do environmental risk factors, such as parental monitoring and home atmosphere, peers, and neighborhood influences, interact with genetic predispositions? In addition, Professor Dick is involved in projects aimed at identifying specific genes contributing to these disorders and characterizing the risk associated with those genes.
Selected Publications:
Jang, K. L., Dick, DM, Wolf, H., Livesley, W. J., Paris, J. Psychosocial adversity and emotional instability: An application of gene-environment interaction models. European Journal of Personality, 2005, 19: 1-14.
Dick, DM, Nurnberger, JI, Jr. Molecular psychiatry meeting, February 2003, Lake Louise, Canada. Psychiatric Genetics 2004; 14: 183-186.
Rose, RJ,Dick, DM, Viken, RJ, Pulkinnen, L, and Kaprio, J: Genetic and environmental effects on conduct disorder, alcohol symptoms, and their covariation at age 14. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 2004; 28: 1541-1548.
Dick, DM, Viken, RJ, Kaprio, J, Pulkkinen, L, and Rose, RJ: Understanding the covariation between childhood externalizing symptoms: Genetic and environmental influences on conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2005; 33(2): 219-229.
Dick, DM, Edenberg, HJ, Xuei, X., Goate, A, Hesselbrock, V, Schuckit, M, Crowe, R, and Foroud, T: No association of the GABA-A receptor genes on chromosome 5 with alcoholism in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism sample. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics) 2005;132(1):24-28. |
