[BGES Membership Roster] [BGES Meeting Rosters]

The Behavioral Genetics and Epidemiology [BGES] Study Section reviews applications on behavioral genetics and heritability studies, and behavioral epidemiologic studies. Emphasis is on the origins, multiple etiologies, natural histories, and consequences of a wide range of behaviors, psychiatric disorders, diseases, normal functioning, public health concerns, physical, mental, and substance abuse problems and the aging process as they vary across individuals, families, generation, age, sex, and populations with different predisposing or protective factors and co-morbid conditions.

Specific areas covered by BGES:

• Behavioral genetic studies of development, mental health, psychiatric disorders, risk, resilience, and risky behaviors in the context of biological, psychological, social, environmental, and cultural factors.
• Interactive effects of risk and protective factors for physical, psychiatric and/or substance use disorders, recovery, and/or sustained health, of normal and problem behaviors within the individual, family, neighborhood, and environment, as they affect different stages of human development, clinical course, or range of outcomes.
• Population-based or clinically-ascertained family, twin, and adoption studies that incorporate environmental risk factor identification and measurement.
• Heritability, familial/kinship, parental, social, and environmental influences on the phenotypic expression of genotypes.
• Behavioral epidemiology: descriptive, analytic, and genetic epidemiology in both general and specific population groups and international cross-cultural studies.
• Interactions among individual, family, group, and community factors in the general population or defined subpopulations with special needs such as the very young, the elderly, minority groups, and those at risk for drug and alcohol abuse.
• Studies of individual, familial, group, and community factors and dynamics that may predispose and/or result from natural catastrophes and traumatic events affecting a population or region [e.g., fire, hurricane, terrorism, violence, and crime.

Study sections with most closely related areas of similar science listed in rank order are:

Genetics of Health and Disease Study Section [GHD]
Community Influence on Health Behavior [CIHB]
Risk, Prevention and Intervention for Addictions Study Section [RPIA]
Psychosocial Development, Risk, and Prevention Study Section [PDRP]
Adult Psychopathology and Disorders of Aging Study Section [APDA]