Psychiatry is internationally recognised as a world-class clinical research and teaching centre. We focus on the mechanisms underlying the development of major psychiatric disorders, especially psychosis. In psychiatric genetics, we take part in international genome wide association studies and focus on analyses of candidate genes including DISC-1, GRIK-4, ABCA13 and NPA33. We also have a major focus on the functional genetics of psychiatric illness and have investigated the effects of variation in genes such as NRG1 and DISC1 on brain structure and function, as well as their programming during development. We have demonstrated, for the first time, that structural and functional MRI changes precede the onset of psychosis and could be used as a diagnostic aid. We have also demonstrated that it is possible to separate, using imaging, autism from learning disability in people of matched IQ. We have made substantial progress in the discovery of genes, including DISC-1, associated with psychosis and have played a leading role in understanding how genetic variation alters brain structure and function and risk for mental illness.