University of Glasgow – University news

Researchers at the University of Glasgow are embarking on two new PhD projects to better understand the impact of biological factors on suicidal behaviour.

The Canmore Trust, a suicide prevention charity, is providing £150,000 for two PhD student positions within the Faculty of Medicine, Veterinary and Life Sciences to help undertake this study, starting in 2025.

Suicidal behavior (including ideation, attempt, and death) results from a complex, multifaceted interaction of factors ranging from biological, social, and cultural factors. However, the contribution of biological factors to suicide risk and related behaviors and their interaction with other non-biological risk factors are not yet fully understood.

In one project, researchers will investigate the potential relationship between vitamin D and suicidal behavior. Seasonal and geographic patterns in suicidal behavior have long been known; An increase in suicidal behavior has been observed in northern latitudes such as Scotland and Scandinavia. This observation has led to interest in the idea that vitamin D may play a role in influencing suicidal behavior, since the main source of vitamin D is sunlight.

This new research project aims to improve understanding of the role vitamin D may play in suicidal behavior by combining and analyzing a range of biological, social and environmental data. The researchers – Dr Rona Strawbridge, Dr Claire Niedzwiedz and Dr Heather McClelland – hope that this study will help inform the development of interventions to prevent deaths by suicide, as well as increase our understanding of biological factors that may contribute to suicide risk.

Leading this project is Dr. from the University’s Faculty of Health and Welfare. Rona Strawbridge said: “This project will use big data to help us understand the biology of suicidal behaviour, particularly the role of Vitamin D and its interactions with social interactions.” , environmental and contextual factors.

The second project, a collaboration between the University of Glasgow and the University of Leeds, will investigate the relationship between the cortisol stress response and electrodermal activity in suicide risk. Researchers will seek to understand the extent to which negative life events a person experiences throughout their life are associated with both cortisol dysregulation and electrodermal activity in suicidal individuals.

To answer these questions, researchers on this project will conduct three separate studies working with groups of people with different histories of suicide to better understand cortisol and electrodermal activity in these groups.

Professor Rory O’Connor, Head of Health Psychology at the University of Glasgow, who is leading this second project, said: “Thanks to the generous support of the Canmore Trust, we will be able to further unravel the complex relationship between emotional processing and the stress response to suicide risk.”

John Gibson, Chief Executive of The Canmore Trust, said: “It is an established aim of our charity to develop research studies into the potential biological causes of suicide and we are therefore delighted to see this collaboration with the University of Glasgow begin in early 2025. We hope to expand this work further in the coming years and We hope to see its financing.”

Professor Gerry Graham, Dean of Research in the Faculty of Medicine, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow, said: “The College is proud of this extremely generous grant from the Canmore Trust, which has allowed us to work with them to implement our cutting methods in the hope of identifying new ways to prevent “We look forward to expanding this relationship in the future with advanced research capabilities to analyze the causes of suicide.”

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First published date: November 12, 2024