
Overview
Background
Dr Loic Yengo is a Professor of Statistical Genomics at The University of Queensland (UQ) and Group Leader of the Statistical Genomics Laboratory within UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience. He was awarded a prestigious Snow Medical Research Fellowship in 2024 to dramatically advance the use of genomics to prevent chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, with a particular focus on increasing participation of people with diverse ancestries. After completing a PhD in applied mathematics and statistics at the University of Lille (France) in 2014, he joined UQ in 2016 for postdoctoral training in Quantitative and Statistical Genetics. Loic started his own lab in 2020 to investigate the causes and consequences of genetic variation within and between human populations. His group develops and applies novel statistical methods to analyse large volumes of genomic data. Loic’s research has contributed to improving understanding of the genetic and phenotypic consequences of non-random mating (inbreeding and assortative mating) in human populations and has led to identifying novel genetic variants associated with complex traits and diseases. Loic was named among the top 40 rising stars of research by The Australian newspaper in 2021 and received the UQ Foundation research excellence award the same year. Loic is the 2022 recipient of the Ruth Stephens Gani Medal of the Australian Academy of Science recognizing outstanding contributions to research in human genetics, and was named in Nature Medicine’s 2022 Yearbook among 11 early-career researchers “to watch”.
In 2024, he was the recipient of the American Society of Human Genetics Early Career Award and a Snow Medical Research Foundation Fellowship to accelerate the deployment of genomic risk prediction in the clinic and improve the benefit of genomic medicine in all populations.
Availability
- Professor Loic Yengo is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Université Lille 1 - Sciences et Technologies
Research impacts
The research in the Yengo Lab contributes to the discovery of genes and biological pathways involved in the etiology of multifactorial diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. The ultimate goal of our research is to better understand what genes underlie inter-individual variation in disease susceptibility and help translate that knowledge into new and personalised therapies.
Works
Search Professor Loic Yengo’s works on UQ eSpace
2016
Journal Article
New loci for body fat percentage reveal link between adiposity and cardiometabolic disease risk
Lu, Yingchang, Day, Felix R., Gustafsson, Stefan, Buchkovich, Martin L., Na, Jianbo, Bataille, Veronique, Cousminer, Diana L., Dastani, Zari, Drong, Alexander W., Esko, Tonu, Evans, David M., Falchi, Mario, Feitosa, Mary F., Ferreira, Teresa, Hedman, Asa K., Haring, Robin, Hysi, Pirro G., Iles, Mark M., Justice, Anne E., Kanoni, Stavroula, Lagou, Vasiliki, Li, Rui, Li, Xin, Locke, Adam, Lu, Chen, Magi, Reedik, Perry, John R. B., Pers, Tune H., Qi, Qibin ... Loos, Ruth J. F. (2016). New loci for body fat percentage reveal link between adiposity and cardiometabolic disease risk. Nature Communications, 7 (1) 10495, 10495-10495. doi: 10.1038/ncomms10495
2016
Journal Article
Genetic associations at 53 loci highlight cell types and biological pathways relevant for kidney function
Pattaro, Cristian, Teumer, Alexander, Gorski, Mathias, Chu, Audrey Y., Li, Man, Mijatovic, Vladan, Garnaas, Maija, Tin, Adrienne, Sorice, Rossella, Li, Yong, Taliun, Daniel, Olden, Matthias, Foster, Meredith, Yang, Qiong, Chen, Ming-Huei, Pers, Tune H., Johnson, Andrew D., Ko, Yi-An, Fuchsberger, Christian, Tayo, Bamidele, Nalls, Michael, Feitosa, Mary F., Isaacs, Aaron, Dehghan, Abbas, d'Adamo, Pio, Adeyemo, Adebowale, Dieffenbach, Aida Karina, Zonderman, Alan B., Nolte, Ilja M. ... Fox, Caroline S. (2016). Genetic associations at 53 loci highlight cell types and biological pathways relevant for kidney function. Nature Communications, 7 (1) 10023. doi: 10.1038/ncomms10023
2016
Journal Article
Genome-wide association analysis identifies three new susceptibility loci for childhood body mass index
Felix, Janine F., Bradfield, Jonathan P., Monnereau, Claire, van der Valk, Ralf J. P., Stergiakouli, Evie, Chesi, Alessandra, Gaillard, Romy, Feenstra, Bjarke, Thiering, Elisabeth, Kreiner-Moller, Eskil, Mahajan, Anubha, Pitkanen, Niina, Joro, Raimo, Cavadino, Alana, Huikari, Ville, Franks, Steve, Groen-Blokhuis, Maria M., Cousminer, Diana L., Marsh, Julie A., Lehtimaki, Terho, Curtin, John A., Vioque, Jesus, Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S., Myhre, Ronny, Price, Thomas S., Vilor-Tejedor, Natalia, Yengo, Loic, Grarup, Niels, Ntalla, Ioanna ... Jaddoe, Vincent W. V. (2016). Genome-wide association analysis identifies three new susceptibility loci for childhood body mass index. Human Molecular Genetics, 25 (2), 389-403. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddv472
2015
Journal Article
Genetic fine mapping and genomic annotation defines causal mechanisms at type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci
Gaulton, Kyle J., Ferreira, Teresa, Lee, Yeji, Raimondo, Anne, Maegi, Reedik, Reschen, Michael E., Mahajan, Anubha, Locke, Adam, Rayner, N. William, Robertson, Neil, Scott, Robert A., Prokopenko, Inga, Scott, Laura J., Green, Todd, Sparso, Thomas, Thuillier, Dorothee, Yengo, Loic, Grallert, Harald, Wahl, Simone, Franberg, Mattias, Strawbridge, Rona J., Kestler, Hans, Chheda, Himanshu, Eisele, Lewin, Gustafsson, Stefan, Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur, Thorleifsson, Gudmar, Qi, Lu, Karssen, Lennart C. ... Morris, Andrew P. (2015). Genetic fine mapping and genomic annotation defines causal mechanisms at type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci. Nature Genetics, 47 (12), 1415-1425. doi: 10.1038/ng.3437
2015
Journal Article
The kynurenine pathway is activated in human obesity and shifted toward kynurenine monooxygenase activation
Favennec, Marie, Hennart, Benjamin, Caiazzo, Robert, Leloire, Audrey, Yengo, Loic, Verbanck, Marie, Arredouani, Abdelilah, Marre, Michel, Pigeyre, Marie, Bessede, Alban, Guillemin, Gilles J., Chinetti, Giulia, Staels, Bart, Pattou, Francois, Balkau, Beverley, Allorge, Delphine, Froguel, Philippe and Poulain-Godefroy, Odile (2015). The kynurenine pathway is activated in human obesity and shifted toward kynurenine monooxygenase activation. Obesity, 23 (10), 2066-2074. doi: 10.1002/oby.21199
2015
Journal Article
The influence of age and sex on genetic associations with adult body size and shape: a large-scale genome-wide interaction study
Winkler, Thomas W., Justice, Anne E., Graff, Mariaelisa, Barata, Llilda, Feitosa, Mary F., Chu, Su, Czajkowski, Jacek, Esko, Tonu, Fall, Tove, Kilpelainen, Tuomas O., Lu, Yingchang, Magi, Reedik, Mihailov, Evelin, Pers, Tune H., Rueeger, Sina, Teumer, Alexander, Ehret, Georg B., Ferreira, Teresa, Heard-Costa, Nancy L., Karjalainen, Juha, Lagou, Vasiliki, Mahajan, Anubha, Neinast, Michael D., Prokopenko, Inga, Simino, Jeannette, Teslovich, Tanya M., Jansen, Rick, Westra, Harm-Jan, White, Charles C. ... Loos, Ruth J. F. (2015). The influence of age and sex on genetic associations with adult body size and shape: a large-scale genome-wide interaction study. PL o S Genetics, 11 (10) e1005378, 1-42. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005378
2015
Journal Article
Epigenome-wide association of DNA methylation markers in peripheral blood from Indian Asians and Europeans with incident type 2 diabetes: A nested case-control study
Chambers, John C., Loh, Marie, Lehne, Benjamin, Drong, Alexander, Kriebel, Jennifer, Motta, Valeria, Wahl, Simone, Elliott, Hannah R., Rota, Federica, Scott, William R., Zhang, Weihua, Tan, Sian-Tsung, Campanella, Gianluca, Chadeau-Hyam, Marc, Yengo, Loic, Richmond, Rebecca C., Adamowicz-Brice, Martyna, Afzal, Uzma, Bozaoglu, Kiymet, Mok, Zuan Yu, Ng, Hong Kiat, Pattou, Francois, Prokisch, Holger, Rozario, Michelle Ann, Tarantini, Letizia, Abbott, James, Ala-Korpela, Mika, Albetti, Benedetta, Ammerpohl, Ole ... Kooner, Jaspal S. (2015). Epigenome-wide association of DNA methylation markers in peripheral blood from Indian Asians and Europeans with incident type 2 diabetes: A nested case-control study. Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, 3 (7), 526-534. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(15)00127-8
2015
Journal Article
Directional dominance on stature and cognition in diverse human populations
Joshi, Peter K., Esko, Tonu, Mattsson, Hannele, Eklund, Niina, Gandin, Ilaria, Nutile, Teresa, Jackson, Anne U., Schurmann, Claudia, Smith, Albert V., Zhang, Weihua, Okada, Yukinori, Stancakova, Alena, Faul, Jessica D., Zhao, Wei, Bartz, Traci M., Concas, Maria Pina, Franceschini, Nora, Enroth, Stefan, Vitart, Veronique, Trompet, Stella, Guo, Xiuqing, Chasman, Daniel I., O'Connel, Jeffrey R., Corre, Tanguy, Nongmaithem, Suraj S., Chen, Yuning, Mangino, Massimo, Ruggiero, Daniela, Traglia, Michela ... Wilson, James F. (2015). Directional dominance on stature and cognition in diverse human populations. Nature, 523 (7561), 459-462. doi: 10.1038/nature14618
2015
Journal Article
The loss-of-function PCSK9 p.R46L genetic variant does not alter glucose homeostasis
Bonnefond, Amelie, Yengo, Loic, Le May, Cedric, Fumeron, Frederic, Marre, Michel, Balkau, Beverley, Charpentier, Guillaume, Franc, Sylvia, Froguel, Philippe and Cariou, Bertrand (2015). The loss-of-function PCSK9 p.R46L genetic variant does not alter glucose homeostasis. Diabetologia, 58 (9), 2051-2055. doi: 10.1007/s00125-015-3659-8
2015
Journal Article
New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution
Shungin, Dmitry, Winkler, Thomas W, Croteau-Chonka, Damien C, Ferreira, Teresa, Locke, Adam E, Magi, Reedik, Strawbridge, Rona J, Pers, Tune H, Fischer, Krista, Justice, Anne E, Workalemahu, Tsegaselassie, Wu, Joseph M.W, Buchkovich, Martin L, Heard-Costa, Nancy L, Roman, Tamara S, Drong, Alexander W, Song, Ci, Gustafsson, Stefan, Day, Felix R, Esko, Tonu, Fall, Tove, Kutalik, Zoltan, Luan, Jian'an, Randall, Joshua C, Scherag, Andre, Vedantam, Sailaja, Wood, Andrew R, Chen, Jin, Fehrmann, Rudolf ... Shah, Sonia (2015). New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution. Nature, 518 (7538), 187-196. doi: 10.1038/nature14132
2015
Journal Article
Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology
Locke, Adam E., Kahali, Bratati, Berndt, Sonja I., Justice, Anne E., Pers, Tune H., Day, Felix R., Powell, Corey, Vedantam, Sailaja, Buchkovich, Martin L., Yang, Jian, Croteau-Chonka, Damien C., Esko, Tonu, Fall, Tove, Ferreira, Teresa, Gustafsson, Stefan, Kutalik, Zoltán, Luan, Jian'an, Mägi, Reedik, Randall, Joshua C., Winkler, Thomas W., Wood, Andrew R., Workalemahu, Tsegaselassie, Faul, Jessica D., Smith, Jennifer A., Zhao, Jing Hua, Zhao, Wei, Chen, Jin, Fehrmann, Rudolf, Hedman, Asa K. ... Shah, Sonia (2015). Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology. Nature, 518 (7538), 197-206. doi: 10.1038/nature14177
2015
Journal Article
Beneficial effect of a high number of copies of salivary amylase AMY1 gene on obesity risk in Mexican children
Mejia-Bentez, Maria A., Bonnefond, Amelie, Yengo, Loic, Huyvaert, Marlene, Dechaume, Aurelie, Peralta-Romero, Jesus, Kluender-Kluender, Miguel, Garcia Mena, Jaime, Moustafa, Julia S. El-Sayed, Falchi, Mario, Cruz, Miguel and Froguel, Philippe (2015). Beneficial effect of a high number of copies of salivary amylase AMY1 gene on obesity risk in Mexican children. Diabetologia, 58 (2), 290-294. doi: 10.1007/s00125-014-3441-3
2014
Journal Article
Defining the role of common variation in the genomic and biological architecture of adult human height
Wood, Andrew R., Esko, Tonu, Yang, Jian, Vedantam, Sailaja, Pers, Tune H., Gustafsson, Stefan, Chu, Audrey Y., Estrada, Karol, Luan, Jian'an, Kutalik, Zoltan, Amin, Najaf, Buchkovich, Martin L., Croteau-Chonka, Damien C., Day, Felix R., Duan, Yanan, Fall, Tove, Fehrmann, Rudolf, Ferreira, Teresa, Jackson, Anne U., Karjalainen, Juha, Lo, Ken Sin, Locke, Adam E., Magi, Reedik, Mihailov, Evelin, Porcu, Evelin, Randall, Joshua C., Scherag, Andre, Vinkhuyzen, Anne A. E., Westra, Harm-Jan ... Frayling, Timothy M. (2014). Defining the role of common variation in the genomic and biological architecture of adult human height. Nature Genetics, 46 (11), 1173-1186. doi: 10.1038/ng.3097
2014
Journal Article
Type 2 diabetes-related genetic risk scores associated with variations in fasting plasma glucose and development of impaired glucose homeostasis in the prospective DESIR study
Vaxillaire, Martine, Yengo, Loic, Lobbens, Stephane, Rocheleau, Ghislain, Eury, Elodie, Lantieri, Olivier, Marre, Michel, Balkau, Beverley, Bonnefond, Amelie and Froguel, Philippe (2014). Type 2 diabetes-related genetic risk scores associated with variations in fasting plasma glucose and development of impaired glucose homeostasis in the prospective DESIR study. Diabetologia, 57 (8), 1601-1610. doi: 10.1007/s00125-014-3277-x
2014
Journal Article
Coffee and tea consumption, genotype-based CYP1A2 and NAT2 activity and colorectal cancer risk - results from the EPIC cohort study
Dik, Vincent K., Bueno-de-Mesquita, H. B(as), Van Oijen, Martijn G. H., Siersema, Peter D., Uiterwaal, Cuno S. P. M., Van Gils, Carla H., Van Duijnhoven, Fraenzel J. B., Cauchi, Stephane, Yengo, Loic, Froguel, Philippe, Overvad, Kim, Bech, Bodil H., Tjonneland, Anne, Olsen, Anja, Boutron-Ruault, Marie-Christine, Racine, Antoine, Fagherazzi, Guy, Kuehn, Tilman, Campa, Daniele, Boeing, Heiner, Aleksandrova, Krasimira, Trichopoulou, Antonia, Peppa, Eleni, Oikonomou, Eleni, Palli, Domenico, Grioni, Sara, Vineis, Paolo, Tumino, Rosaria, Panico, Salvatore ... Riboli, Elio (2014). Coffee and tea consumption, genotype-based CYP1A2 and NAT2 activity and colorectal cancer risk - results from the EPIC cohort study. International Journal of Cancer, 135 (2), 401-412. doi: 10.1002/ijc.28655
2014
Journal Article
Weight loss independent association of TCF7 L2 gene polymorphism with fasting blood glucose after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in type 2 diabetic patients
Rouskas, Konstantinos, Cauchi, Stephane, Raverdy, Violeta, Yengo, Loic, Froguel, Philippe and Pattou, Francois (2014). Weight loss independent association of TCF7 L2 gene polymorphism with fasting blood glucose after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in type 2 diabetic patients. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 10 (4), 679-683. doi: 10.1016/j.soard.2013.12.016
2014
Journal Article
Genome-wide trans-ancestry meta-analysis provides insight into the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes susceptibility
DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis (DIAGRAM) Consortium, Asian Genetic Epidemiology Network Type 2 Diabetes (AGEN-T2D) Consortium, South Asian Type 2 Diabetes (SAT2D) Consortium, Mexican American Type 2 Diabetes (MAT2D) Consortium, Type 2 Diabetes Genetic Exploration by Next-generation sequencing in multi-Ethnic Samples (T2D-GENES) Consortium, Shah, Sonia and Yengo, Loic (2014). Genome-wide trans-ancestry meta-analysis provides insight into the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes susceptibility. Nature Genetics, 46 (3), 234-246. doi: 10.1038/ng.2897
2013
Journal Article
Parental history of type 2 diabetes, TCF7L2 variant and lower insulin secretion are associated with incident hypertension. Data from the DESIR and RISC cohorts
Bonnet, Fabrice, Roussel, Ronan, Natali, Andrea, Cauchi, Stephane, Petrie, John, Laville, Martine, Yengo, Loic, Froguel, Philippe, Lange, Celine, Lantieri, Olivier, Marre, Michel, Balkau, Beverley and Ferrannini, Ele (2013). Parental history of type 2 diabetes, TCF7L2 variant and lower insulin secretion are associated with incident hypertension. Data from the DESIR and RISC cohorts. Diabetologia, 56 (11), 2414-2423. doi: 10.1007/s00125-013-3021-y
2013
Journal Article
Common variants near BDNF and SH2B1 show nominal evidence of association with snacking behavior in European populations
Robiou-du-Pont, Sebastien, Yengo, Loic, Vaillant, Emmanuel, Lobbens, Stephane, Durand, Emmanuelle, Horber, Fritz, Lantieri, Olivier, Marre, Michel, Balkau, Beverley, Froguel, Philippe and Meyre, David (2013). Common variants near BDNF and SH2B1 show nominal evidence of association with snacking behavior in European populations. Journal of Molecular Medicine, 91 (9), 1109-1115. doi: 10.1007/s00109-013-1027-z
2013
Journal Article
Association between large detectable clonal mosaicism and type 2 diabetes with vascular complications
Bonnefond, Amelie, Skrobek, Boris, Lobbens, Stephane, Eury, Elodie, Thuillier, Dorothee, Cauchi, Stephane, Lantieri, Olivier, Balkau, Beverley, Riboli, Elio, Marre, Michel, Charpentier, Guillaume, Yengo, Loic and Froguel, Philippe (2013). Association between large detectable clonal mosaicism and type 2 diabetes with vascular complications. Nature Genetics, 45 (9), 1040-1043. doi: 10.1038/ng.2700
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Loic Yengo is:
- Available for supervision
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Available projects
-
Genetic and Molecular consequences of non-random mating in humans
Short Project description. This projects aims at utilising genetic and phenotypic data from ~500,000 participants of the UK Biobank to investigate phenotypic and genetic patterns induced by non-random mating in humans. Two forms of non-random mating will be investigated: assortative mating (resemblance between spouses) and inbreeding (mating between relatives). Findings from this project have implications in the analysis and interpretation of genome-wide association studies. The project will involve advanced modelling and statistical analyses of large volumes of data (genotyped and imputed SNP data, whole-exome sequencing, gene-expression, brain-imaging derived-traits).
Candidate. Candidates with a background in quantitative/population genetics, statistics, mathematics and other quantitative fields will be considered. Programming skills (R, python, C/C++) and prior experience in analysing genetic data (e.g. GWAS) is desirable. (Note: if required, lectures on fundamental concepts of quantitative and population genetics can be taken as part of the PhD training).
The Team. The successful candidate will be doing their research within the Program in Complex Traits Genomics (PCTG) Lab co-led by Professors Jian Yang, Naomi Wray and Peter Visscher, who are internationally recognized leaders in the field of complex traits genetics and have been recently listed among the world’s top one per cent most cited researchers of their field. PCTG provides a stimulating and highly interdisciplinary environment for PhD candidates to form and develop their research.
PhD advisor. Dr Loic Yengo is a senior research officer of the Institute of Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland, Australia; and the Statistical Genetics Team leader within PCTG. He did his PhD in applied mathematics and is an expert in statistical modelling and analysis of genetic data. His research interests intersect quantitative genetics, genetic epidemiology and sociogenomics.
Expected start. First semester of 2020.
Contact. If you’re interested, please send your CV and cover letter and two references to Dr Loic Yengo: l.yengo@imb.uq.edu.au
URLs
The team PCTG: http://cnsgenomics.com/
PhD advisor: https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=iv8dxlIAAAAJ&hl=en
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the time and tissue dependent genetic architecture of complex traits
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nicole Warrington
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the time and tissue dependent genetic architecture of complex traits
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nicole Warrington
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genomic signature of non-random mating in human complex traits
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Statistical methods and application to analyses genome and trait data from large biobanks
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kathryn Kemper, Professor Peter Visscher
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Doctor Philosophy
New approaches to quantify the genetic cause of disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nathan Palpant
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Doctor Philosophy
Statistical methods and application to analyses genome and trait data from large biobanks
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kathryn Kemper
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Genomic signature of non-random mating in human complex traits
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Visscher
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Within and Across Populations Complex Traits and Diseases Prediction Using Summary Statistics from Large-scale Genome-wide Association Studies
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Visscher
Media
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