Shanghai key laboratory of psychotic disorder (referred as "Key laboratory" below) was established with the sanction of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission in September 2013, and passed the evaluation and acceptance by the Commission in September 2015. Key laboratory is one of the important basic research platform of Shanghai Mental Health Center (SMHC). Laboratory Chief, Professor Yifeng Xu; executive director, Professor Donghong Cui;  director of Academic committee, National academician Lin He. Key laboratory has an experimental building of 6000 square meters in Minhang branch with several platforms including molecular biology platform; cell biology platform; animal behavior platform;  in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology platform; confocal imaging platform; optical genetic platform; metabonomic and proteome platform; human brain electrophysiology and MRI platform; and sample bank platform ,etc. Each platform is equipped with advanced instrumentation and managed by professional researchers. With the support of Shanghai Mental Health Center and Shenkang Hospital Management Center, Key laboratory has already been equiped with instrumentation of more than thirty million yuan. Key laboratory has not only undertaken the scientific research tasks of the departments and research groups in SMHC, but also provided technical services to the affiliated hospitals of Shanghai Jiao-Tong University and scientific research institutes throughout the city.

  Since 2016, key laboratories have been in the upstream level in terms of scientific research annual output compared with more than 20 similar municipal key laboratories in the Jiaotong University system. In the past three years, researchers of Key laboratory published papers in journals with high impact factor including Nat Genet, Nat Neurosci, Nat Commun, JAMA Psychiatry, Cell Res, J Clin Invest, Am J Psychiatry, Mol Psychiatry, Sci Adv, Lan. Cet Psychiatry et al; have been awarded national-level projects, including major national science and technology projects, key projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the International (Regional) Cooperation Fund of the Foundation Committee and also fundings of Excellent Youth Science Project, Shanghai Leading Talents, Shanghai Excellent Discipline Leaders, Shanghai Science and Technology Youth Star, Shanghai Sailing Program and so on.  In the past three years, members of key laboratories have obtained national projects including major national science and technology projects, key projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology, National Natural Science Foundation of China, international (regional) cooperation funds of the Foundation Committee, etc. There are also many people who have received the Fund for Excellent Youth Science Project, Shanghai Leading Talents, Shanghai Excellent Discipline Leaders, Shanghai Science and Technology Youth Star, Shanghai Sailing Plan and so on.

In 2016, 110 SCI/EI papers were published or participated in by members of key laboratory research groups, including 2 papers with more than 10 influencing factors; 77 research projects, including 24 national-level projects with total contract funds of more than 430 million yuan; more than 70 graduate students trained; 5 publishing monographs; 1 patent application/authorization; and 3 large-scale academic conferences sponsored/hosted.

In 2017, more than 80 SCI/EI papers were published or participated in by members of key laboratory research groups, including 8 papers with more than 10 influencing factors; 105 research projects, including 28 national-level projects with a total contract fund of more than 660 million yuan; more than 80 graduate students trained; 9 publications; 5 applications/authorized patents; 1 third-class award for scientific and technological progress in Shanghai; and 1 sponsor/undertake large-scale universities. There were 8 technical meetings.

  In 2018, 120 SCI/EI papers were published or participated in by members of key laboratory research groups, including more than 10 papers with impact factors; 98 research projects, including 29 national projects with total contract funds of 116 million yuan; more than 90 graduate students trained; 3 publishing monographs; 6 applications/authorized patents; and 4 large-scale academic conferences sponsored/hosted.

At present, the research teams of the Key Laboratory also cooperate with many foreign universities and scientific research institutions, such as Yale University, Harvard Medical College, University of Minnesota, University of Michigan, Memorial University of Canada, King's College of  England and so on.

At present, there are 88 fixed personnel in key laboratory, including academic leaders, 9; researchers, 64; technicians, 24. Among the fixed personnel, 57% of them have doctoral degree or above, 47% have senior title, and 75% are 30-45 years old. At the same time, the laboratory also employs 14 visiting professors at home and abroad. The research team of Key laboratory trends to be younger, with higher educational and more overseas background, which makes the team "high-grade, precision and advanced". At present, Key laboratory has formed a scientific research team which centers on research and technological personnel and graduate students. The medium to long-term objectives of Key laboratory is “ to take the national medium and long-term scientific and technological development plan as the index, to keep in line with the major requirements of national development and the frontiers of brain science development, to concentrate upon mental disorders; to refine research directions; and to carry out fundamental and clinical applied studies”. All the members of Key laboratory are working hard to achieve the objectives in near future.

  The 985 Psychiatric Biological Sample Bank Platform of the Key Laboratory has also signed cooperation agreements with 13 psychiatric hospitals in China to jointly build the largest psychiatric biological sample bank in China. Biological sample bank adopts informatization, standardization and standardization management mode. Sice 2016, the number of biological smaple bank stock has increased by 25% annually. By the end of 2018, the total number of samples was 60,000, with 3,950 donors. Donors include healthy individuals and patients with schizophrenia, dementia, material dependence, depression, mania, bipolar disorder and other mental disorders. The samples include plasma, serum, erythrocyte, blood clot, DNA, RNA, urine and so on. In order to ensure the standardization of clinical sample collection, a team of clinical specialists has been set up since the second half of 2015. The clinical specialists are assistant head nurses in the ward. The clinical specialists are regularly trained in the sample bank. The main contents of the training include the evaluation of various psychiatric scales, the selection of donors, the signing of informed consent and so on. The sample bank also formulates corresponding CRF tables according to different diseases. A complete and effective sample includes informed consent, general information, corresponding scale information and unique ID coding. The Biological Sample Bank passed the ethical review by the Ethics Committee of the College in 2016, and then applied for and passed the follow-up ethical review by the Ethics Committee of the College every year.