The Youth-GEMs project: genetic and environmental interactions underlying trajectories of youth mental health
Abstract
Most mental disorders emerge before age 24, yet the mechanisms shaping youth mental health trajectories remain poorly understood. Here, we present the Youth-GEMs consortium performing a multidisciplinary, multisite research project funded by a European Union Horizon-Staying-Healthy-2021 grant. The Youth-GEMs project (Gene Environment interactions in Mental health trajectorieS of Youth) has an integrated, developmental framework that examines how genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors dynamically interact to influence risk and resilience across adolescence and young adulthood. The project combines developmental (epi)genomic mapping of the human brain, genomic analyses of trans-syndromal phenotypes, exposome-wide environmental assessment, and Artificial Intelligence-based modelling to identify predictive and actionable markers of mental health trajectories of young people. By harmonizing multimodal data from existing population-based cohorts and by establishing the first international, trans-syndromal clinical cohort of help-seeking young people, Youth-GEMs is generating biologically informed polygenic and exposomic scores, cell-type-specific regulatory annotations, and interpretable machine-learning models. Continuous engagement with young people, clinicians, and stakeholders ensures that findings translate into tools for early detection, monitoring, and personalized intervention. Together, these efforts aim to advance mechanistic understandings of youth mental health, improve prediction of emerging illness, and support the development of evidence-based, developmentally sensitive approaches to prevention and care.
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BibTeX
@misc{rutten2026youthgems,
title = {{The Youth-GEMs project: genetic and environmental interactions underlying trajectories of youth mental health}},
author = {Bart P. F. Rutten and Sinan Guloksuz and Bochao Lin and Covadonga M. Díaz-Caneja and Ian Kelleher and Elisabeth Binder and Jonathan Mill and ESMERALDA RUIZ and Karim Lekadir and Maria Bulgheroni},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/bsc3y_v7},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/bsc3y_v7/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The Youth-GEMs project: genetic and environmental interactions underlying trajectories of youth mental health
AU - Bart P. F. Rutten
AU - Sinan Guloksuz
AU - Bochao Lin
AU - Covadonga M. Díaz-Caneja
AU - Ian Kelleher
AU - Elisabeth Binder
AU - Jonathan Mill
AU - ESMERALDA RUIZ
AU - Karim Lekadir
AU - Maria Bulgheroni
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/bsc3y_v7
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/bsc3y_v7/
AB - Most mental disorders emerge before age 24, yet the mechanisms shaping youth mental health trajectories remain poorly understood. Here, we present the Youth-GEMs consortium performing a multidisciplinary, multisite research project funded by a European Union Horizon-Staying-Healthy-2021 grant. The Youth-GEMs project (Gene Environment interactions in Mental health trajectorieS of Youth) has an integrated, developmental framework that examines how genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors dynamically interact to influence risk and resilience across adolescence and young adulthood. The project combines developmental (epi)genomic mapping of the human brain, genomic analyses of trans-syndromal phenotypes, exposome-wide environmental assessment, and Artificial Intelligence-based modelling to identify predictive and actionable markers of mental health trajectories of young people. By harmonizing multimodal data from existing population-based cohorts and by establishing the first international, trans-syndromal clinical cohort of help-seeking young people, Youth-GEMs is generating biologically informed polygenic and exposomic scores, cell-type-specific regulatory annotations, and interpretable machine-learning models. Continuous engagement with young people, clinicians, and stakeholders ensures that findings translate into tools for early detection, monitoring, and personalized intervention. Together, these efforts aim to advance mechanistic understandings of youth mental health, improve prediction of emerging illness, and support the development of evidence-based, developmentally sensitive approaches to prevention and care.
ER -