Robert G. Mealer, M.D., Ph.D.

  • Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine

Biography

Robert Mealer, M.D., Ph.D., joined OHSU as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in September 2022. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and clinical training in the MGH/McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Program. He completed the Pam Sklar/Stanley Center Psychiatric Genetics and Neuroscience Fellowship at the Broad Institute, the MGH Translational Neuroscience Training for Clinicians Fellowship, and the Dupont Warren Fellowship at Harvard Medical School. His work focuses on schizophrenia risk genes involved in glycosylation, the process of adding carbohydrates to proteins and lipids to regulate their function. He hopes to develop new tools to diagnosis and treat individuals affected by conditions including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.S., 2005, Montana State University
    • M.D., Ph.D., 2014, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

  • Internship

    • Massachusetts General Hospital, Newton Wellesley Hospital, 2014-2015

  • Residency

    • MGH/McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Program, 2014-2018

  • Certifications

    • Board Certified, Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Areas of interest

  • Schizophrenia Genetics, Molecular Neuroscience, Protein Glycosylation

Honors and awards

  • 2016 NIMH Outstanding Resident Award
  • 2019 Society for Glycobiology Travel Award
  • 2020 American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Travel Award
  • 2021 Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry Mysell Award

Publications

Selected publications

  • Mealer, R. G., Williams, S. E., Daly, M. J., Scolnick, E. M., Cummings, R. D., Smoller, J. W. Glycobiology and schizophrenia: a biological hypothesis emerging from genomic research. Mol. Psychiatry 25, 3129–3139 (2020).
  • Mealer, R. G., Jenkins, B. G., Chen, C., Daly, M. J., Ge, T., Lehoux, S., Marquardt, T., Palmer, P. D., Park, J. H., Parsons, P. J., Sackstein, R., Williams, S. E., Cummings, R. D., Scolnick, E. M., & Smoller, J. W. The schizophrenia risk locus in SLC39A8 alters brain metal transport and plasma glycosylation. Sci. Rep. 10, 13162 (2020).
  • Mealer, R. G., Williams, S. E., Noel, M., Yang, B., D’Souza, A.K., Nakata, T., Graham, D. B., Creasey, E. A., Cetinbas, M., Sadreyev, R. I., Scolnick, E. M., Woo, C. M., Smoller, J. W., Xavier, R. J., & Cummings, R. D. The schizophrenia-associated variant in SLC39A8 alters protein glycosylation in the mouse brain. Mol. Psychiatry 27, 1405–1415 (2022).
  • Noel, M., Chasman, D. I., Mora, S., Otvos, J. D., Palmer, C. D., Parsons, P. J., Smoller, J. W., Cummings, R. D., & Mealer, R. G. The Inflammation Biomarker GlycA Reflects Plasma N-Glycan Branching. Clin. Chem. In Press (2022).
  • Williams, S. E., Noel, M., Lehoux, S., Cetinbas, M., Xavier, R. J., Sadreyev, R. I., Scolnick, E. M., Smoller, J. W., Cummings, R. D., & Mealer, R. G. Mammalian brain glycoproteins exhibit diminished glycan complexity compared to other tissues. Nat. Commun. 13, 275 (2022).

Publications