
Overview
Background
The objective of my research is to improve understanding of the genetic etiology and biological mechanisms underlying risk of common psychiatric disorders, particularly those with onset during childhood and adolescence. As a Senior Research Fellow at the Child Health Research Centre, I lead a number of domestic and international collaborations that evaluate the association between polygenic risk scores, environmental variables and behaviour during childhood and adolescence. My group applies innovative statistical methods to large longitudinal datasets with information from infancy through to adulthood and to evaluate genetic and environmental contributions to risk to mental health problems. In addition, our research focuses on the potential clinical utility of polygenic risk scores in psychiatry. I have contributed to major advances in understanding of the etiology of a number of psychiatric disorders, with a major focus on depression
PhD and Honours projects are available in the group. Please contact me for more information.
Availability
- Dr Enda Byrne is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
-
Genomic Technologies
-
Statistical and Computational methods
Research impacts
My research has contributed to advances in a number of fields through the identification of previously unknown genetic variants that contribute to risk to complex disorders. The identification of these variants opens up new avenues for developing drug targets to target the biological pathways in which they are found.
Works
Search Professor Enda Byrne’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Journal Article
Refining attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder genetic loci by integrating summary data from genome-wide association, gene expression and DNA methylation studies
Hammerschlag, Anke R., Byrne, Enda M., Bartels, Meike, Wray, Naomi R., Middeldorp, Christel M., eQTLGen Consortium, BIOS Consortium, Ahsan, Habibul, Alves, Isabel, Andiappan, Anand, Arindrarto, Wibowo, Awadalla, Philip, Battle, Alexis, Beutner, Frank, Bonder, Marc Jan, Boomsma, Dorret I., Christiansen, Mark, Claringbould, Annique, Deelen, Patrick, Esko, Tõnu, Favé, Marie-Julie, Franke, Lude, Frayling, Timothy, Gharib, Sina A., Gibson, Gregory, Heijmans, Bastiaan T., Hemani, Gibran, Jansen, Rick, Kähönen, Mika, Kalnapenkis, Anette ... Agbessi, Mawussé (2020). Refining attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder genetic loci by integrating summary data from genome-wide association, gene expression and DNA methylation studies. Biological Psychiatry, 88 (6), 470-479. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.05.002
2020
Journal Article
Genetic control of temperament traits across species: association of autism spectrum disorder risk genes with cattle temperament
Costilla, Roy, Kemper, Kathryn E., Byrne, Enda M., Porto-Neto, Laercio R., Carvalheiro, Roberto, Purfield, Deirdre C., Doyle, Jennifer L., Berry, Donagh P., Moore, Stephen S., Wray, Naomi R. and Hayes, Ben J. (2020). Genetic control of temperament traits across species: association of autism spectrum disorder risk genes with cattle temperament. Genetics Selection Evolution, 52 (1) 51, 51. doi: 10.1186/s12711-020-00569-z
2020
Journal Article
Cohort profile: the Australian genetics of depression study
Byrne, Enda M., Kirk, Katherine M., Medland, Sarah E., McGrath, John J., Colodro-Conde, Lucia, Parker, Richard, Cross, Simone, Sullivan, Lenore, Statham, Dixie J., Levinson, Douglas F., Licinio, Julio, Wray, Naomi R, Hickie, Ian B. and Martin, Nicholas G. (2020). Cohort profile: the Australian genetics of depression study. BMJ Open, 10 (5) e032580, e032580. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032580
2020
Other Outputs
Comorbid chronic pain and depression: Shared risk factors and differential antidepressant effectiveness
Roughan, William H., Campos, Adrián I., García-Marín, Luis M., Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel, Lupton, Michelle K., Hickie, Ian B., Medland, Sarah E., Wray, Naomi R., Byrne, Enda M., Ngo, Trung Thanh, Martin, Nicholas G. and Rentería, Miguel E. (2020). Comorbid chronic pain and depression: Shared risk factors and differential antidepressant effectiveness. doi: 10.1101/2020.05.23.20110841
2020
Journal Article
Conditional GWAS analysis to identify disorder-specific SNPs for psychiatric disorders
Byrne, Enda M., Zhu, Zhihong, Qi, Ting, Skene, Nathan G., Bryois, Julien, Pardinas, Antonio F., Stahl, Eli, Bipolar Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Rietschel, Marcella, Smoller, Jordan W., Owen, Michael J., Walters, James T. R., O’Donovan, Michael C., McGrath, John G., Hjerling-Leffler, Jens, Sullivan, Patrick F., Goddard, Michael E., Visscher, Peter M., Yang, Jian and Wray, Naomi R. (2020). Conditional GWAS analysis to identify disorder-specific SNPs for psychiatric disorders. Molecular Psychiatry, 26 (6), 2070-2081. doi: 10.1038/s41380-020-0705-9
2020
Other Outputs
Symptom-level genetic modelling identifies novel risk loci and unravels the shared genetic architecture of anxiety and depression
Thorp, Jackson G., Campos, Adrian I., Grotzinger, Andrew D., Gerring, Zachary, An, Jiyuan, Ong, Jue-Sheng, Wang, Wei, Team, 23andMe Research, Shringarpure, Suyash, Byrne, Enda M., MacGregor, Stuart, Martin, Nicholas G., Medland, Sarah E., Middeldorp, Christel M. and Derks, Eske M. (2020). Symptom-level genetic modelling identifies novel risk loci and unravels the shared genetic architecture of anxiety and depression. doi: 10.1101/2020.04.08.20057653
2020
Journal Article
Minimal phenotyping yields genome-wide association signals of low specificity for major depression
Cai, Na, Revez, Joana A., Adams, Mark J., Andlauer, Till F. M., Breen, Gerome, Byrne, Enda M., Clarke, Toni-Kim, Forstner, Andreas J., Grabe, Hans J., Hamilton, Steven P., Levinson, Douglas F., Lewis, Cathryn M., Lewis, Glyn, Martin, Nicholas G., Milaneschi, Yuri, Mors, Ole, Müller-Myhsok, Bertram, Penninx, Brenda W. J. H., Perlis, Roy H., Pistis, Giorgio, Potash, James B., Preisig, Martin, Shi, Jianxin, Smoller, Jordan W., Streit, Fabien, Tiemeier, Henning, Uher, Rudolf, Van der Auwera, Sandra, Viktorin, Alexander ... Flint, Jonathan (2020). Minimal phenotyping yields genome-wide association signals of low specificity for major depression. Nature Genetics, 52 (4), 437-447. doi: 10.1038/s41588-020-0594-5
2020
Journal Article
Association of polygenic score for major depression with response to lithium in patients with bipolar disorder
Amare, Azmeraw T., Schubert, Klaus Oliver, Hou, Liping, Clark, Scott R., Papiol, Sergi, Cearns, Micah, Heilbronner, Urs, Degenhardt, Franziska, Tekola-Ayele, Fasil, Hsu, Yi-Hsiang, Shekhtman, Tatyana, Adli, Mazda, Akula, Nirmala, Akiyama, Kazufumi, Ardau, Raffaella, Arias, Bárbara, Aubry, Jean-Michel, Backlund, Lena, Bhattacharjee, Abesh Kumar, Bellivier, Frank, Benabarre, Antonio, Bengesser, Susanne, Biernacka, Joanna M., Birner, Armin, Brichant-Petitjean, Clara, Cervantes, Pablo, Chen, Hsi-Chung, Chillotti, Caterina, Cichon, Sven ... Baune, Bernhard T. (2020). Association of polygenic score for major depression with response to lithium in patients with bipolar disorder. Molecular Psychiatry, 26 (6), 2457-2470. doi: 10.1038/s41380-020-0689-5
2020
Journal Article
Insights into the aetiology of snoring from observational and genetic investigations in the UK Biobank
Campos, Adrián I., García-Marín, Luis M., Byrne, Enda M., Martin, Nicholas G., Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel and Rentería, Miguel E. (2020). Insights into the aetiology of snoring from observational and genetic investigations in the UK Biobank. Nature Communications, 11 (1) 817, 817. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14625-1
2020
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study of dietary intake in the UK biobank study and its associations with schizophrenia and other traits
Niarchou, Maria, Byrne, Enda M., Trzaskowski, Maciej, Sidorenko, Julia, Kemper, Kathryn E., McGrath, John J., O’ Donovan, Michael C., Owen, Michael J. and Wray, Naomi R. (2020). Genome-wide association study of dietary intake in the UK biobank study and its associations with schizophrenia and other traits. Translational Psychiatry, 10 (1) 51, 1-11. doi: 10.1038/s41398-020-0688-y
2020
Journal Article
Genome-wide gene-environment analyses of major depressive disorder and reported lifetime traumatic experiences in UK Biobank
Coleman, Jonathan R. I., Peyrot, Wouter J., Purves, Kirstin L., Davis, Katrina A. S., Rayner, Christopher, Choi, Shing Wan, Hübel, Christopher, Gaspar, Héléna A., Kan, Carol, Van der Auwera, Sandra, Adams, Mark James, Lyall, Donald M., Choi, Karmel W., Dunn, Erin C., Vassos, Evangelos, Danese, Andrea, Maughan, Barbara, Grabe, Hans J., Lewis, Cathryn M., O’Reilly, Paul F., McIntosh, Andrew M., Smith, Daniel J., Wray, Naomi R., Hotopf, Matthew, Eley, Thalia C., Breen, Gerome, Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Trzaskowski, Maciej, Byrne, Enda M. ... Middeldorp, Christel M. (2020). Genome-wide gene-environment analyses of major depressive disorder and reported lifetime traumatic experiences in UK Biobank. Molecular Psychiatry, 25 (7), 1430-1446. doi: 10.1038/s41380-019-0546-6
2020
Journal Article
Nick Martin and the genetics of depression: sample size, sample size, sample size
Byrne, Enda M., Henders, Anjali K., Hickie, Ian B., Middeldorp, Christel M. and Wray, Naomi R. (2020). Nick Martin and the genetics of depression: sample size, sample size, sample size. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 23 (2), 1-3. doi: 10.1017/thg.2020.13
2019
Journal Article
Genomic relationships, novel loci, and pleiotropic mechanisms across eight psychiatric disorders
Lee, Phil H., Anttila, Verneri, Won, Hyejung, Feng, Yen-Chen A., Rosenthal, Jacob, Zhu, Zhaozhong, Tucker-Drob, Elliot M., Nivard, Michel G., Grotzinger, Andrew D., Posthuma, Danielle, Wang, Meg M.-J., Yu, Dongmei, Stahl, Eli A., Walters, Raymond K., Anney, Richard J.L., Duncan, Laramie E., Ge, Tian, Adolfsson, Rolf, Banaschewski, Tobias, Belangero, Sintia, Cook, Edwin H., Coppola, Giovanni, Derks, Eske M., Hoekstra, Pieter J., Kaprio, Jaakko, Keski-Rahkonen, Anna, Kirov, George, Kranzler, Henry R., Luykx, Jurjen J. ... Smoller, Jordan W. (2019). Genomic relationships, novel loci, and pleiotropic mechanisms across eight psychiatric disorders. Cell, 179 (7), 1469-1482.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.11.020
2019
Journal Article
Shared and specific genetic risk factors for lifetime major depression, depressive symptoms and neuroticism in three population-based twin samples
Kendler, Kenneth S., Gardner, Charles O., Neale, Michael C., Aggen, Steve, Heath, Andrew, Colodro-Conde, Lucía, Couvyduchesne, Baptiste, Byrne, Enda M., Martin, Nicholas G. and Gillespie, Nathan A. (2019). Shared and specific genetic risk factors for lifetime major depression, depressive symptoms and neuroticism in three population-based twin samples. Psychological Medicine, 49 (16), 2745-2753. doi: 10.1017/S003329171800377X
2019
Journal Article
Genetic risk scores for major psychiatric disorders and the risk of postpartum psychiatric disorders
Bauer, Anna E., Liu, Xiaoqin, Byrne, Enda M., Sullivan, Patrick F., Wray, Naomi R., Agerbo, Esben, Nyegaard, Mette, Grove, Jakob, Musliner, Katherine L., Ingstrup, Katja G., Johannsen, Benedicte M. W., Mægbæk, Merete L., Wang, Yunpeng, Nordentoft, Merete, Mors, Ole, Børglum, Anders D., Werge, Thomas, Hougaard, David M., Mortensen, Preben Bo, Munk-Olsen, Trine and Meltzer-Brody, Samantha (2019). Genetic risk scores for major psychiatric disorders and the risk of postpartum psychiatric disorders. Translational Psychiatry, 9 (1) 288, 288. doi: 10.1038/s41398-019-0629-9
2019
Journal Article
Bipolar multiplex families have an increased burden of common risk variants for psychiatric disorders
Andlauer, Till F. M., Guzman-Parra, Jose, Streit, Fabian, Strohmaier, Jana, González, Maria José, Gil Flores, Susana, Cabaleiro Fabeiro, Francisco J., del Río Noriega, Francisco, Perez, Fermin Perez, Haro González, Jesus, Orozco Diaz, Guillermo, de Diego-Otero, Yolanda, Moreno-Küstner, Berta, Auburger, Georg, Degenhardt, Franziska, Heilmann-Heimbach, Stefanie, Herms, Stefan, Hoffmann, Per, Frank, Josef, Foo, Jerome C., Treutlein, Jens, Witt, Stephanie H., Cichon, Sven, Kogevinas, Manolis, Stahl, Eli A, Breen, Gerome, Forstner, Andreas J, McQuillin, Andrew, Ripke, Stephan ... Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (2019). Bipolar multiplex families have an increased burden of common risk variants for psychiatric disorders. Molecular Psychiatry, 26 (4), 1286-1298. doi: 10.1038/s41380-019-0558-2
2019
Journal Article
The genetics of the mood disorder spectrum: Genome-wide association analyses of more than 185,000 cases and 439,000 controls
Coleman, Jonathan R.I., Gaspar, Héléna A., Bryois, Julien, Byrne, Enda M., Forstner, Andreas J., Holmans, Peter A., de Leeuw, Christiaan A., Mattheisen, Manuel, McQuillin, Andrew, Whitehead Pavlides, Jennifer M., Pers, Tune H., Ripke, Stephan, Stahl, Eli A., Steinberg, Stacy, Trubetskoy, Vassily, Trzaskowski, Maciej, Wang, Yunpeng, Abbott, Liam, Abdellaoui, Abdel, Adams, Mark J., Adolfsson, Annelie Nordin, Agerbo, Esben, Akil, Huda, Albani, Diego, Alliey-Rodriguez, Ney, Als, Thomas D., Andlauer, Till F.M., Anjorin, Adebayo, Antilla, Verneri ... Breen, Gerome (2019). The genetics of the mood disorder spectrum: Genome-wide association analyses of more than 185,000 cases and 439,000 controls. Biological Psychiatry, 88 (2), 169-184. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.10.015
2019
Other Outputs
Insights into the aetiology of snoring from observational and genetic investigations in the UK Biobank (n=408,317)
Campos, Adrián I., García-Marín, Luis M., Byrne, Enda M., Martin, Nicholas G., Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel and Rentería, Miguel E. (2019). Insights into the aetiology of snoring from observational and genetic investigations in the UK Biobank (n=408,317). doi: 10.1101/808691
2019
Journal Article
The relationship between insomnia and complex diseases-insights from genetic data
Byrne, Enda M. (2019). The relationship between insomnia and complex diseases-insights from genetic data. Genome Medicine, 11 (1) 57, 57. doi: 10.1186/s13073-019-0668-0
2019
Journal Article
Classical human leukocyte antigen alleles and C4 haplotypes are not significantly associated With depression
Glanville, Kylie P., Coleman, Jonathan R. I., Hanscombe, Ken B., Euesden, Jack, Choi, Shing Wan, Purves, Kirstin L., Breen, Gerome, Air, Tracy M., Andlauer, Till F. M., Baune, Bernhard T., Binder, Elisabeth B., Blackwood, Douglas H. R., Boomsma, Dorret I., Buttenschøn, Henriette N., Colodro-Conde, Lucía, Dannlowski, Udo, Direk, Nese, Dunn, Erin C., Forstner, Andreas J., de Geus, Eco J. C., Grabe, Hans J., Hamilton, Steven P., Jones, Ian, Jones, Lisa A., Knowles, James A., Kutalik, Zoltán, Levinson, Douglas F., Lewis, Glyn, Lind, Penelope A. ... Børglum, Anders D. (2019). Classical human leukocyte antigen alleles and C4 haplotypes are not significantly associated With depression. Biological Psychiatry, 87 (5), 419-430. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.031
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Enda Byrne is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
-
Gene Environment interactions in Mental health trajectories of Youth (Youth-GEMs)
Mental health problems are common in young people, with life-long enduring impacts on individuals, families and societies. More than 63% of mental disorders throughout the life span emerge before 24 years of age, peaking at 14.5-18 years. Adolescence and young adulthood represent a critical period that forecasts the level of mental wellbeing over lifetime and interventions early in life may be critical in preventing later mental illness.
The Child and Youth Mental Health Group is part of an Australian and European Union-funded consortium called Youth-GEMs that seeks to characterise and model trajectories of mental health in youth. In collaboration with researchers from universities in Europe, this project will combine datasets from longitudinal cohort studies from around the world to investigate the interplay between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental risk in influencing mental health across development.
This project will involve advanced data analytics and statistical inference and will involve combining and analysing different types of data including genetic, clinical and environmental data. The ultimate goal is to develop predictive tools that can be used to aid clinical decision-making in youth mental health.
We are seeking a motivated PhD scholar with a background in genetics, biomedical science, psychology, data science, machine learning or a related field to join our team and work closely with collaborators overseas on this project. There is also the possibility to spend time overseas at one of the collaborating labs.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Gene Environment interactions in Mental health trajectories of Youth
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genetics of childhood onset psychiatric symptoms, their persistence and comorbidity with other traits
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Naomi Wray
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genetics of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and associated comorbidities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Allan McRae
-
Doctor Philosophy
ELUCIDATING LIFESTYLE AND GENETIC FACTORS UNDERLYING DEPRESSION HETEROGENEITY AND TREATMENT RESPONSE
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Naomi Wray
-
Doctor Philosophy
Multi-Omic Analyses of a Clinical Trial Cohort of Young People at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Allan McRae, Professor Naomi Wray
Completed supervision
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
The Genomics of Perinatal Depression
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Naomi Wray
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Embracing Complexity in Psychiatric Genetics: Investigating Heterogeneity and Pleiotropy in Depression and Major Psychiatric Disorders
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Sarah Medland
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Sleep and Internalising Symptoms in Adolescence
Associate Advisor
Media
Enquiries
For media enquiries about Dr Enda Byrne's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team: