Genetics
GENMOD Study
IDRAAC worked on a classroom-based intervention for PTSD, Depression and Anxiety targeting Lebanese and Syrian students attending 31 public schools in Lebanon. 

Moreover, in order to study the effectiveness of the intervention on developing resilience building strategies among students, genetic testing will be done to study the variability in response to war-related traumatic events. 

This study will advance the field of developmental psychology by investigating the molecular genetics of individual differences in Syrian refugee children’s response to acute war-related traumatic experiences and variability in response to psychological intervention of both Lebanese and Syrian children as a function of genetic factors. It will also allow to understand the interplay between mental disorders, the environment and genetic factors. 

BIOPATH Biological Pathways of Risk and Resilience in Syrian Refugee Children 
IDRAAC ran a prospective study funded by The National Institutes of Health NIH -USA and in collaboration with Queen Mary University London and Médecins du Monde which aimed at investigating the biological underpinnings of individual differences in refugee children’s response to acute war-related trauma exposure. This project studies genetic moderations of interventions related to mental health wellbeing of Syrian children and adolescents by measuring a plethora of mental health indicators, stressors, and environmental variables.  It also quite importantly aims at identifying specific gene variants in children who are more/less responsive to interventions. This project allows to understand the relationship between genetic, social, psychological and biological factors in relation to resilience.