The Alamaya Foundation was established in 2002 to support neurobiological research in schizophrenia. Its mission lies in financing the projects conducted at the Unit for Research in Schizophrenia (URS, Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital), in Lausanne (Switzerland).

The URS works towards developing possible means to establish an early diagnosis of the disease and hence to identify new treatments as well as preventive measures.

Furthermore, scientific trials undertaken by the URS are leading to relevant progress in the understanding and treatment of other psychiatric diseases – in particular of autism and bipolar disorders (manic-depressive disorders).

On average, schizophrenia affects 1 out of 100 persons, autism affects 1 out of 100 children, and bipolar disorders between 1% and 2% of the population; schizophrenia and bipolar disorders generally appear during adolescence or in young adults. These numbers clearly indicate the important issues at stake in the fight against those diseases, which serioulsy and persistently threaten the future prospects of so many young people.