A study led by Indiana University (IU) has identified and prioritized a group of genes that could indicate the level of risk of developing schizophrenia, the brain disease which affects development and neuronal connections. According to Dr. Alexander B. Niculescu III, associate professor of psychiatry and medical neuroscience at the IU School of Medicine, they are the first to identify the genes with the best evidence for involvement in schizophrenia, which strikes about 1 percent of the population. In this study, a translational convergent functional genomics (CFG) approach was used to identify and prioritize the genes involved through integration of genome-wide association study data from other studies of schizophrenia. Researchers were able to predict the level of risk of schizophrenia in about two-thirds of cases. This discovery could lead to the application of better interventions and treatments for those showing symptoms of the disease.