Meet the Lab

Jonathan Flint is a British behavior geneticist and Professor in Residence in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is also a senior scientist in the Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

Jonathan Flint fundamentally advanced understanding of the genetic basis of behaviour, thereby determining the direction of research in psychiatric genetics.

1. He developed the first genome wide association strategy that identified genes and sequence variants underlying complex behavioural traits, particularly anxiety and depression, in mammals.
2. He pioneered the analysis of structural variation at telomeres as a cause of intellectual disability.
3. He identified the first robust genetic associations for major depression in humans, implying a novel origin for psychiatry’s commonest disorder.

Patrick joined Dr. Flint's lab in 2019 to gain experience in more translationally focused research areas. Previously, he completed my PhD in Dr. Kelsey Martin's lab at UCLA and also a postdoc in Dr. Weizhe Hong's lab. He is interested in understanding 1) how genetic variation relates to epigenetic and molecular features in the context of behavior, and 2) how genetic variation shapes neural circuit function and architecture in the brain to alter behavior. In his free time he likes to write, watch TV/movies, read, and complain about the American healthcare system.

Rachel is the lab manager and SRA in Flint Lab. She has a master’s degree in animal physiology and many years of working experiences in the field of neuroscience. She is currently working on developing a pathway from genetic locus to gene project. On her spare time, she enjoys the great outdoors, traveling and dancing.

Aarushi is an undergraduate student researcher majoring in psychobiology and minoring in education and entrepreneurship. Her involvement with the Flint Lab stems from her interest in the epigenetic and genetic changes responsible for the onset of certain disorders. In her free time, she loves to try random coffee shops around LA and read nonfiction books.

Shaan is an undergraduate student researcher majoring in Psychobiology. He is currently investigating genetic variations that lead to structural and potentially behavioral differences in the hippocampus. In his free time, he plays sports, is a filmmaker, and learns about animals.