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Professor Peter Visscher
Professor

Peter Visscher

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 344 37045

Overview

Background

Visscher joined the University of Queensland in 2011, where he is Professor of Quantitative Genetics. He is a Laureate Fellow of the Australian Research Council. Visscher was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2010, a Fellow of the Royal Society (London) in 2018 and a Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.

Visscher’s research is about genetic variation for complex traits (including quantitative traits and disease) in populations, with the broad aim to understand and quantify the causes and consequences of human trait variation.

Prof Peter Visscher, Prof Naomi Wray and Prof Jian Yang together comprise the Executive Team of the Program in Complex Trait Genomics (PCTG). PCTG comprises a critical mass of more than 30 post-doctoral researchers plus research assistants and students, all supported by external grant funding. Their skills lie in the ability to develop and apply statistical methods within the framework of quantitative, population and statistical genetics and to use theory to understand and predict results from data analyses. They play leading roles in the international research consortia. The focus of current research activities is in the detection and fine-mapping of loci underlying complex traits (including common disease), based upon theoretical studies and applications of methods to large datasets, in population genetics studies using theoretical approaches and high-density genetic marker data, and in systems genomics studies.

Availability

Professor Peter Visscher is:
Not available for supervision

Fields of research

Qualifications

  • Masters (Coursework) of Science, University of Edinburgh
  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh

Research impacts

Visscher's research focuses on understanding individual differences betweeen people in traits that are important for health outcomes and ageing. A better understanding of the genes that underlie variation in risk to diseases may lead to better treatments.

Works

Search Professor Peter Visscher’s works on UQ eSpace

803 works between 1987 and 2025

561 - 580 of 803 works

2008

Journal Article

The use of common mitochondrial variants to detect and characterise population structure in the Australian population: Implications for genome-wide association studies

Byrne, Enda M., Mcrae, Allan F., Zhao, Zhen-Zhen, Martin, Nicholas G., Montgomery, Grant W. and Visscher, Peter M. (2008). The use of common mitochondrial variants to detect and characterise population structure in the Australian population: Implications for genome-wide association studies. European Journal of Human Genetics, 16 (11), 1396-1403. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2008.117

The use of common mitochondrial variants to detect and characterise population structure in the Australian population: Implications for genome-wide association studies

2008

Journal Article

Do twins have lower cognitive ability than singletons?

Webbink, Dinand, Posthuma, Danielle, Boomsma, Dorret I., de Geus, Eco J. C. and Visscher, Peter M. (2008). Do twins have lower cognitive ability than singletons?. Intelligence, 36 (6), 539-547. doi: 10.1016/j.intell.2007.12.002

Do twins have lower cognitive ability than singletons?

2008

Journal Article

Predicting unobserved phenotypes for complex traits from whole-genome SNP data

Lee, Sang Hong, van der Werf, Julius H. J., Hayes, Ben J., Goddard, Michael E. and Visscher, Peter M. (2008). Predicting unobserved phenotypes for complex traits from whole-genome SNP data. PLoS Genetics, 4 (10) e1000231, e1000231. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1000231

Predicting unobserved phenotypes for complex traits from whole-genome SNP data

2008

Journal Article

Genetic influences on the difference in variability of height, weight and body mass index between Caucasian and East Asian adolescent twins

Hur, Y-M, Kaprio, J., Iacono, W. G., Boomsma, D. I., McGgue, M., Silventoinen, K., Martin, N. G., Luciano, M., Visscher, P. M., Rose, R. J., He, M., Ando, J., Ooki, S., Nonaka, K., Lin, C. C. H., Lajunen, H. R., Cornes, B. K., Bartels, M., van Beijsterveldt, C. E. M., Cherny, S. S. and Mitchell, K. (2008). Genetic influences on the difference in variability of height, weight and body mass index between Caucasian and East Asian adolescent twins. International Journal of Obesity, 32 (10), 1455-1467. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2008.144

Genetic influences on the difference in variability of height, weight and body mass index between Caucasian and East Asian adolescent twins

2008

Journal Article

A genome-wide linkage scan for age at menarche in three populations of European descent

Anderson, Carl A., Zhu, Gu, Falchi, Mario, van den Berg, Stéphanie M., Treloar, Susan A., Spector, Timothy D., Martin, Nicholas G., Boomsma, Dorret I., Visscher, Peter M. and Montgomery, Grant W. (2008). A genome-wide linkage scan for age at menarche in three populations of European descent. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism., 93 (10), 3965-3970. doi: 10.1210/jc.2007-2568

A genome-wide linkage scan for age at menarche in three populations of European descent

2008

Journal Article

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms have negligible effect on human height

Macgregor, Stuart, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Lind, Penelope A., Suchiman, H. Eka D., Willemsen, Gonneke, Slagboom, P. Eline, Montgomery, Grant W., Martin, Nicholas G., Visscher, Peter M. and Boomsma, Dorret I. (2008). Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms have negligible effect on human height. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 11 (5), 488-494. doi: 10.1375/twin.11.5.488

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms have negligible effect on human height

2008

Journal Article

Rare chromosomal deletions and duplications increase risk of schizophrenia

Stone, Jennifer L., O'Donovan, Michael C., Gurling, Hugh, Kirov, George K., Blackwood, Douglas H. R., Corvin, Aiden, Craddock, Nick J., Gill, Michael, Hultman, Christina M., Lichtenstein, Paul, McQuillin, Andrew, Pato, Carlos N., Ruderfer, Douglas M., Owen, Michael J., St Clair, David, Sullivan, Patrick F., Sklar, Pamela, Purcell, Shaun M., Scolnick, E. M., Holmans, P. A., Georgieva, L., Nikolov, I., Norton, N., Williams, H., Williams, N. M., Toncheva, D., Milanova, V., Thelander, E. F., Morris, D. W. ... Sklar, P. (2008). Rare chromosomal deletions and duplications increase risk of schizophrenia. Nature, 455 (7210), 237-241. doi: 10.1038/nature07239

Rare chromosomal deletions and duplications increase risk of schizophrenia

2008

Journal Article

Light-Dependant Biostabilisation of Sediments by Stromatolite Assemblages

Paterson, David M., Aspden, Rebecca J., Visscher, Pieter T., Consalvey, Mireille, Andres, Miriam S., Decho, Alan W., Stolz, John and Reid, R. Pamela (2008). Light-Dependant Biostabilisation of Sediments by Stromatolite Assemblages. Plos One, 3 (9) e3176. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003176

Light-Dependant Biostabilisation of Sediments by Stromatolite Assemblages

2008

Journal Article

Calculation of IBD probabilities with dense SNP or sequence data

Keith, Jonathan M., McRae, Allan, Duffy, David, Mengersen, Kerrie and Visscher, Peter M. (2008). Calculation of IBD probabilities with dense SNP or sequence data. Genetic Epidemiology, 32 (6), 513-519. doi: 10.1002/gepi.20324

Calculation of IBD probabilities with dense SNP or sequence data

2008

Journal Article

Erratum: Testing replication of a 5-SNP set for general cognitive ability in six population samples (European Journal of Human Genetics (2008) 10.1038/ejhg.2008.100)

Luciano, Michelle, Lind, Penelope A., Deary, Ian J., Payton, Antony, Posthuma, Danielle, Butcher, Lee M., Bochdanovits, Zoltan, Whalley, Lawrence J., Visscher, Peter M., Harris, Sarah E., Polderman, Tinca J.C., Davis, Oliver S.P., Wright, Margaret J., Starr, John M., de Geus, Eco J.C., Bates, Timothy C., Montgomery, Grant W., Boomsma, Dorret I., Martin, Nicholas G. and Plomin, Robert (2008). Erratum: Testing replication of a 5-SNP set for general cognitive ability in six population samples (European Journal of Human Genetics (2008) 10.1038/ejhg.2008.100). European Journal of Human Genetics, 16 (8), 1025-1025. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2008.124

Erratum: Testing replication of a 5-SNP set for general cognitive ability in six population samples (European Journal of Human Genetics (2008) 10.1038/ejhg.2008.100)

2008

Journal Article

Investigation of the relationship between smoking and appendicitis in Australian twins

Oldmeadow, Chris, Wood, Ian, Mengersen, Kerrie, Visscher, Peter M., Martin, Nicholas G. and Duffy, David L. (2008). Investigation of the relationship between smoking and appendicitis in Australian twins. Annals of Epidemiology, 18 (8), 631-636. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2008.04.004

Investigation of the relationship between smoking and appendicitis in Australian twins

2008

Journal Article

Multiple-marker mapping for selective DNA pooling within large families

Dolezal, M., Schwarzenbacher, H., Soller, M., Soelkner, J. and Visscher, P. M. (2008). Multiple-marker mapping for selective DNA pooling within large families. Journal of Dairy Science, 91 (7), 2864-2873. doi: 10.3168/jds.2007-0397

Multiple-marker mapping for selective DNA pooling within large families

2008

Journal Article

Does teenage childbearing increase smoking, drinking and body size?

Webbink, Dinand, Martin, Nicholas G. and Visscher, Peter M. (2008). Does teenage childbearing increase smoking, drinking and body size?. Journal of Health Economics, 27 (4), 888-903. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2008.02.005

Does teenage childbearing increase smoking, drinking and body size?

2008

Journal Article

Power and SNP tagging in whole mitochondrial genome association studies

McRae, Allan F., Byrne, Enda M., Zhao, Zhen Zhen, Montgomery, Grant W. and Visscher, Peter M. (2008). Power and SNP tagging in whole mitochondrial genome association studies. Genome Research, 18 (6), 911-917. doi: 10.1101/gr.074872.107

Power and SNP tagging in whole mitochondrial genome association studies

2008

Journal Article

Sizing up human height variation

Visscher, Peter M. (2008). Sizing up human height variation. Nature Genetics, 40 (5), 489-490. doi: 10.1038/ng0508-489

Sizing up human height variation

2008

Journal Article

Inspection time and cognitive abilities in twins aged 7 to 17 years: age-related changes, heritability and genetic covariance

Edmonds, Caroline J., Isaacs, Elizabeth B., Visscher, Peter M., Rogers, Mary, Lanigan, Julie, Singhal, Atul, Lucas, Alan, Gringras, Paul, Denton, Jane and Deary, Ian J. (2008). Inspection time and cognitive abilities in twins aged 7 to 17 years: age-related changes, heritability and genetic covariance. Intelligence, 36 (3), 210-225. doi: 10.1016/j.intell.2007.05.004

Inspection time and cognitive abilities in twins aged 7 to 17 years: age-related changes, heritability and genetic covariance

2008

Journal Article

Vertical distribution of methane metabolism in microbial mats of the Great Sippewissett Salt Marsh

Buckley, Daniel H., Baumgartner, Laura K. and Visscher, Pieter T. (2008). Vertical distribution of methane metabolism in microbial mats of the Great Sippewissett Salt Marsh. Environmental Microbiology, 10 (4), 967-977. doi: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01517.x

Vertical distribution of methane metabolism in microbial mats of the Great Sippewissett Salt Marsh

2008

Journal Article

A genome-wide linkage study in families with major depression and co-morbid unexplained swelling

Anderson, Carl A., Maclean, Alan, Dunnigan, Matthew G., Pelosi, Anthony J., Murray, Valerie, Mckee, Irene, McDonald, George, Burt, David W., Morrice, David R., Muir, Walter J., Visscher, Peter M. and Blackwood, Douglas H. R. (2008). A genome-wide linkage study in families with major depression and co-morbid unexplained swelling. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B-Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 147 (3), 356-362. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.30615

A genome-wide linkage study in families with major depression and co-morbid unexplained swelling

2008

Journal Article

Within-family outliers: segregating alleles or environmental effects? A linkage analysis of height from 5815 sibling pairs

Benyamin, Beben, Perola, Markus, Cornes, Belinda K., Madden, Pamela A. F., Palotie, Aarno, Nyholt, Dale R., Montgomery, Grant W., Peltonen, Leena, Martin, Nicholas G. and Visscher, Peter M. (2008). Within-family outliers: segregating alleles or environmental effects? A linkage analysis of height from 5815 sibling pairs. European Journal of Human Genetics, 16 (4), 516-524. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201992

Within-family outliers: segregating alleles or environmental effects? A linkage analysis of height from 5815 sibling pairs

2008

Journal Article

Estimation of the time of divergence between Japanese Mishima island cattle and other cattle populations using microsatellite DNA markers

Nagamine, Yoshitaka, Nirasawa, Keijiro, Takahashi, Hideaki, Sasaki, Osamu, Ishii, Kazuo, Minezawa, Mitsuru, Oda, Senichi, Visscher, Peter M. and Furukawa, Tsutomu (2008). Estimation of the time of divergence between Japanese Mishima island cattle and other cattle populations using microsatellite DNA markers. Journal of Heredity, 99 (2), 202-207. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esm129

Estimation of the time of divergence between Japanese Mishima island cattle and other cattle populations using microsatellite DNA markers

Funding

Current funding

  • 2019 - 2025
    Causes and consequence of human trait variation
    ARC Australian Laureate Fellowships
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2022 - 2025
    Genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits across populations
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2024
    Estimating the genetic and environmental architecture of psychiatric disorders (NIH Grant administered by the University of Colorado)
    University of Colorado
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2023
    Complex trait genomics
    NHMRC Program Grant
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2019
    Genetic analysis of the relationship between parental age and risk of psychiatric disorders
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2019
    Phenotypic profiling from DNA using genetic and epigenetic information
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2018
    The genetics of ageing in human populations
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2019
    Sporadic ALS Australian Systems Genomics Consortium (SALSA-SGC)
    Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2020
    Analysis of Genome-Wide Data in the Health and Retirement Study (NIH grant administered by the University of Southern California)
    University of Southern California
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2019
    1/2 A Large-Scale Schizophrenia Association Study in Sweden (NIH grant administered by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
    University of North Carolina
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2017
    Increasing the power of GxE detection by using multi-locus genome-wide predictors (NIH grant administered by Harvard Medical School)
    Harvard Medical School
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2019
    NHMRC Research Fellowship: Neurogenetics and Statistical Genomics
    NHMRC Research Fellowship
    Open grant
  • 2014
    Deciphering the genetic code of diseases
    National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2014
    Trans-ethnic and trans-omic statistical analyses to identify new ALS risk variants
    Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2018
    Estimating the Frequencies and Population Specificities of Risk Alleles (NIH grant administered by the University of Colorado)
    University of Colorado
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2016
    CAGE: Consortium for the Architecture of Gene Expression
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2015
    Estimation and partitioning of the still-missing heritability for complex disease
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2016
    Estimation of non-additive genetic variance for complex traits using genome-wide SNP and sequence data
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2016
    Exploiting SNP data in epidemiology and genetics through multivariate analysis of complex traits
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2015
    The genetic architecture and evolution of quantitative traits (ARC Discovery Project administered by the University of Melbourne)
    University of Melbourne
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2018
    Statistical and Quantitative Genetics (NIH Grant administered by the University of Washington)
    University of Washington (Seattle)
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2017
    Statistical genetic analyses of social and economic outcomes
    Stockholm School of Economics
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2017
    Belgian Medical Genomics Initiative (BeMGI)
    University of Liege
    Open grant
  • 2012
    Explaining the Dark Matter of Genome-wide Association Studies for Complex Disease
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2014
    Better Methods for Individual Risk Prediction of Complex Traits in Human Populations
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2014
    NHMRC Research Fellowship (SPRF)
    NHMRC Research Fellowship
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2017
    Theoretical Population Genetics (NIH Subcontract administered by the University of Washington)
    University of Washington (Seattle)
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2013
    Identifying eQTLs and endophenotyping known CNVs in a large Australian schizophrenia sample
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2012
    Why is most of the genetic variance for complex traits undetected by large powerful screens of common variants? (ARC Discovery Project administered by The University of Melbourne)
    University of Melbourne
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2009
    Maximising knowledge from dense SNP data using multi-locus analysis
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Professor Peter Visscher is:
Not available for supervision

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Statistical methods and application to analyses genome and trait data from large biobanks

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Kathryn Kemper, Professor Loic Yengo

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits across populations in humans

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Naomi Wray, Dr Fleur Garton, Dr Jian Zeng

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Integrating GWAS and molecular QTL data to dissect genetic architecture and improve polygenic prediction

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Jian Zeng

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

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