MOLECULAR MARKERS & GENETIC PATHWAYS OF SUICIDALITY
Biological Tools to Advance Suicide Prevention and Behavioral Health

“Biological insights for the next generation of behavioral health solutions."

CATEGORY

Psychiatric Genomics • Behavioral Health • Biomarker Discovery • Neurobiology of Suicide

OPERATIONAL RELEVANCE

Suicide remains a leading cause of preventable death among military personnel and veterans. LSU Health Shreveport researchers are uncovering biological signatures that may allow early detection, monitoring, and stratification of suicide risk. These discoveries could inform predictive diagnostics and enable more effective, personalized interventions in both military and civilian mental health systems. 

TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY

Two key approaches drive this innovation:

1. Catalytic Reaction Model of Suicide: Identifies feedback loops among biological, psychological, and social variables to reveal intervention targets and improve conceptual models of suicide.
2. Functional Genomic Validation in Caenorhabditis elegans: Highlights the potential role of 19 risk genes associated with suicidality in humans. Gene knockdown in C. elegans resulted in diminished motivation (hopelessness) and exaggerated threat evaluation, providing functional behavioral phenotypes that can be used for drug screening.

These lines of research can support future diagnostic panel development and AI-based predictive modeling.

MILITARY-ALIGNED BENEFITS

• Supports early identification of individuals at elevated suicide risk
• Contributes to objective, biologically informed behavioral health assessment
• Enables precision psychiatry and personalized resilience strategies
• Strengthens force readiness and psychological health initiatives

USE SCENARIOS

• Development of predictive suicide risk screening panels
• Companion diagnostics for behavioral health treatment protocols
• Functional drug screening platforms for psychiatric intervention
• Collaboration with DoD or VA behavioral health research initiatives

TECHNOLOGY READINESS & IP

• Institutional findings supported by preclinical model data
• IP and assay development in planning
• Available for sponsored research, DoD collaboration, and co-development

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITY

We are seeking partners to:

• Advance assay development for psychiatric screening
• Validate molecular pathways in additional preclinical models
• Integrate data into predictive analytics or behavioral health platforms
• Collaborate on CRADA, SBIR/STTR, or funded behavioral health initiatives