About

Center for OCD, Anxiety, and Related Disorders (COARD)

EEG Cap

Over 30% of adults and adolescents have experienced an anxiety disorder at some time in their lives. One in every fifty adults and children have experienced symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which is among the top ten causes of disability world-wide among young adults.

The Center for OCD, Anxiety, and Related Disorders (COARD) is an interdisciplinary group of researchers and clinicians who conduct clinical and translational research in obsessive compulsive and anxiety disorders at the University of Florida. Areas of interest include, among others, understanding the genetic and environmental causes of anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs), identifying biological markers associated with the development and/or life course of these disorders, understanding the brain circuitry and neurodevelopmental abnormalities associated with the OCRDs, finding ways to reduce stigma and increase understanding of these disorders, and optimizing available treatment options for adults and children, including refining existing treatments and developing new treatments.

Researchers in COARD come from the College of Medicine, Public Health and Health Professions, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Arts and Liberal Sciences, and Communication and Journalism, and encompass multiple departments, divisions, and disciplines. Funding for this research comes from multiple sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, private non-profit foundations such as the Tourette Association of America, Jonathan D. Rosen Family Foundation and the International Obsessive Compulsive Foundation, the University of Florida, and the support of generous donors.