MRC INTEGRATIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY UNIT (IEU)
SEMINAR SERIES

 Tuesday, 31^st October, 2017 : 12.00 – 13.00
Room OS6, Second Floor, Oakfield House

  Dr Aysu Okbay

Post-doctoral Researcher, Complex Trait Genetics Lab, Free University Amsterdam
Core Researcher, Social Science Genetic Association Consortium (SSGAC)

  Gene discovery and polygenic prediction from a 1.1-million-person GWAS of educational attainment

   

Abstract

Genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals for educational attainment (Rietveld et al., 2013). The results of the latest GWAS for educational attainment identified 74 genome-wide significant loci for educational attainment (Okbay et al., 2016). Here, we increase our sample to ~1.1 million individuals and identify over a thousand independent genome-wide significant loci. The loci implicate genes involved in brain-development processes and neuron-to-neuron communication. In a separate analysis of the X chromosome, we discover several additional loci associated with years of education. Results from a joint analyses of educational attainment and three related cognitive phenotypes yield polygenic scores with substantially higher predictive power.

Biography

Dr. Aysu Okbay is a post-doctoral researcher at the Complex Trait Genetics Lab, Free University Amsterdam and a core researcher at the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium (SSGAC). She holds BA and MS degrees in Economics from Sabanci University, Istanbul. She received her PhD degree in Economics in 2017, from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her research focuses on exploring the molecular genetic architecture of social-science outcomes. Her recent work includes the published genome-wide association studies on educational attainment (Okbay et al., 2016, Nature) and subjective well-being (Okbay et al., 2016, Nature Genetics), conducted under the auspices of the SSGAC.

 

ALL WELCOME