[The Signature Biobank: History and perspectives of a longitudinal project investigating the biological, psychological, and social signatures of patients visiting the emergency of the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal].

Objectives In 2008, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) published its strategic plan to structure future research aims and objectives including the development of a new method of classifying mental health disorders. This strategic plan gave rise to the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project, a framework aimed at establishing major functional domains of the human psyche ranging from normal to pathological. The Signature Consortium was created in 2009 to develop a data bank capable of contributing to the development of RDoC by identifying profiles, or Signatures, of a psychiatric population, collecting biological, psychosocial, and clinical indicators at critical moments in the care and follow-up of patients visiting the care structures of the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal (IUSMM). Here, we will briefly present the available data and outline some socio-demographic characteristics of our sample, in particular according to diagnosis. Methods By involving over 80 researchers, clinicians, staff, and the support of the IUSMM's institutional services (laboratory, IT, legal and ethics departments), this initiative has led to the creation of a unique data bank in Canada. Data for this biobank were collected during patients' visits to the IUSMM's psychiatric emergency department and during a follow-up in outpatient clinics. A control group was also created, with local recruitment of participants with no self-reported history of psychiatric hospitalization in the last 5 years, and with similar demographics to the psychiatric cohort. Psychological data (e.g., depressive, and psychotic symptoms scales) and socio-demographic data (e.g., marital status) were gathered from self-reported questionnaires. Medical and administrative data (e.g., treatment and diagnosis) were collected from treating psychiatrists and from the hospital's electronic registry (OACIS). Blood, hair, and saliva samples were also collected and analyzed to measure numerous biomarkers. Socio-demographic characteristics were compared based on primary diagnosis. Results Between 2012 and 2020, the Signature Biobank recruited 149 control participants and over 2172 psychiatric patients aged 17 to 81, of whom 2085 agreed to complete questionnaires, and 1986 donated biological samples. Thanks to these data, the Biobank has contributed to over forty research projects, 16 scientific publications in indexed international journals, permitted to validate 5 psychosocial questionnaires for psychiatric inpatients, and was used to create a composite sociocultural gender score. Globally, the participants presented a precarious socio-demographic profile. Patients diagnosed with a psychotic disorder seem to present the most disadvantaged profile regarding financial, professional, and relational dimensions. Conclusion The Signature Biobank is a unique biobank in North America studying mental health disorders by collecting bio-psycho-social data and associated biospecimens in psychiatric emergency setting. Although recruitment and data collection are completed, the Biobank continues to add biological data through sample analysis and participation in independent study projects.