The Ness Foundation, established by Dr (later Professor) Iain Glen, a consultant psychiatrist, is a research charity based near

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. It was founded in the 1980s and previously known as The Highland Psychiatric Research Foundation, carrying out research into diagnosing conditions such as

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wi ...

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

autism spectrum disorder The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

developmental coordination disorder Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as developmental motor coordination disorder, developmental dyspraxia or simply dyspraxia from the word 'praxis' meaning to do or act, is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaire ...

dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...

, depression and

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inappr ...

. Its principal area of research has been the relevance of

lipids Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids includ ...

in these disorders but recently this has been extended to include the role of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar worki ...

. In 1999 the Ness Foundation became an associate partner in the

University of the Highlands and Islands The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 12 colleges and research institutions spread around the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Pe ...

(UHI). Between 2001 and 2004 the Foundation was run by Dr. Brian M. Ross during which time the Foundation received support from the European Regional Development Fund and various other private and public partners. The ties between the University and the Ness Foundation grew closer with the Foundation contributing significantly to the total research output and income of UHI. Through its wholly owned commercial subsidiary Pan Diagnostics Limited the Ness Foundation is working on a diagnostic tool kit consisting of a skin patch, breath test ( which measures how well your body breaks down

Omega-3 fatty acid Omega−3 fatty acids, also called Omega-3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond, three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their che ...

) and a genetic test to enable early detection of serious mental illness. As of 2008 the

Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government with responsibility for the regulation of charities in Scotland. OSCR is the independent regulator and registrar for more than 24,000 Scottish c ...

records the Ness Foundation as being in liquidation. The work of the Foundation was, however, absorbed into UHI where it continues to make progress.

External links

Ness Foundation Website
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Kit to help diagnosis of mental illness
David Ross, ''The Herald'', May 2006
Making progress through a sticking point
article on the work of Iain Glen and the Ness Foundation, Jenny McBain, ''The Herald'', June 2006 Health charities in Scotland Mental health organisations in the United Kingdom Research institutes in Scotland Bipolar disorder researchers 1980s establishments in Scotland Organisations based in Highland (council area) Inverness Psychiatric research institutes 2008 disestablishments in Scotland {{UK-med-org-stub