Overview
Background
I am a genetic epidemiologist specialising in the genetics of neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular focus on Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain, and other age-related conditions. I lead a dynamic team of scientists dedicated to understanding how genetic and environmental factors influence neurodegeneration, brain health, and related health outcomes. My research is interdisciplinary, integrating advanced statistical genetics, bioinformatics, and data science to unravel disease mechanisms, improve patient stratification, and identify potential therapeutic targets.
In 2020, I founded the Australian Parkinson’s Genetics Study (APGS), now the largest Parkinson’s cohort in Australia with over 10,000 participants. This landmark study has positioned Australia as a key contributor to global Parkinson’s genetics research. I am also actively involved in the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2), where I contribute to large-scale data analysis and work within the underrepresented populations working group to enhance diversity in genetic research worldwide.
Committed to training the next generation of researchers, I have supervised over 16 students, including several PhD candidates who have gone on to successful careers in academia and industry. Two of my recent PhD graduates received the Outstanding Thesis Award, and another received the AIPS Florey Next Generation Award.
I have published consistently in prominent journals, including Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, BRAIN, Biological Psychiatry, and SLEEP. To date, I have authored over 100 academic articles, which have been widely cited, and I have secured competitive funding from NHMRC, MRFF, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Shake It Up Australia Foundation, the US National Institutes of Health, and the Alzheimer’s Association. My work has been recognised with several prestigious awards, including the 2023 Al & Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship from the Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation, the 2021 Enrico Greppi International Migraine Research Award, and the 2024 Adele Green Emerging Leader Award from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. I am also a Global Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, a program by the University of California San Francisco and Trinity College Dublin, which supports my commitment to promoting brain health equity worldwide.
Availability
- Associate Professor Miguel Rentería is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Genomics, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
- Doctor of Philosophy of Genetics, The University of Queensland
- Masters (Coursework) of Public Policy, University of Oxford
Works
Search Professor Miguel Rentería’s works on UQ eSpace
2026
Journal Article
Genetic analysis of APOE reveals distinct origins and distribution of ancestry-enrichment haplotypes in the Mexican Biobank
Barberena-Jonas, Carmina, Flores-Ocampo, Victor, Ogonowski, Natalia S., Piña-Escudero, Stefanie Danielle, Mata, Ignacio F., Yokoyama, Jennifer S., García-García, Lourdes, Aguilar Salinas, Carlos Alberto, Tusié-Luna, María Teresa, Moreno-Estrada, Andrés and Rentería, Miguel E. (2026). Genetic analysis of APOE reveals distinct origins and distribution of ancestry-enrichment haplotypes in the Mexican Biobank. Genes and Diseases, 13 (1) 101542, 1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101542
2025
Journal Article
The LRRK2 p.L1795F variant causes Parkinson’s disease in the European population
Lange, Lara M., Levine, Kristin, Fox, Susan H., Marras, Connie, Ahmed, Nazish, Kuznetsov, Nicole, Vitale, Dan, Iwaki, Hirotaka, Lohmann, Katja, Marsili, Luca, Espay, Alberto J., Bauer, Peter, Beetz, Christian, Martin, Jessica, Factor, Stewart A., Higginbotham, Lenora A., Chen, Honglei, Leonard, Hampton, Nalls, Mike A., Mencacci, Niccolo E., Morris, Huw R., Singleton, Andrew B., Klein, Christine, Blauwendraat, Cornelis, Fang, Zih-Hua, Atadzhanov, Masharip, Nguyen, Toan, Nguyen, Duan, Koretsky, Mathew ... Gatto, Emilia M. (2025). The LRRK2 p.L1795F variant causes Parkinson’s disease in the European population. npj Parkinson's Disease, 11 (1) 58. doi: 10.1038/s41531-025-00896-2
2025
Journal Article
Insights into ancestral diversity in Parkinson’s disease risk: a comparative assessment of polygenic risk scores
Saffie-Awad, Paula, Grant, Spencer M., Makarious, Mary B., Elsayed, Inas, Sanyaolu, Arinola O., Crea, Peter Wild, Schumacher Schuh, Artur F., Levine, Kristin S., Vitale, Dan, Koretsky, Mathew J., Kim, Jeffrey, Peixoto Leal, Thiago, Periñán, María Teresa, Dey, Sumit, Noyce, Alastair J., Reyes-Palomares, Armando, Rodriguez-Losada, Noela, Foo, Jia Nee, Mohamed, Wael, Heilbron, Karl, Norcliffe-Kaufmann, Lucy, Wong, Corinna D., Wilton, Peter, Weldon, Catherine H., Wang, Wei, Wang, Xin, Tung, Joyce Y., Tran, Vinh, Tchakouté, Christophe Toukam ... Bandres-Ciga, Sara (2025). Insights into ancestral diversity in Parkinson’s disease risk: a comparative assessment of polygenic risk scores. npj Parkinson's Disease, 11 (1) 201. doi: 10.1038/s41531-025-00967-4
2025
Conference Publication
Polygenic scores for eating disorders as a putative predictor for suicide behaviour
Aguilar-Roldan, Aura, Ceja, Zuriel, Medland, Sarah E., Martin, Nick and Rentería, Miguel E. (2025). Polygenic scores for eating disorders as a putative predictor for suicide behaviour. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.564
2025
Conference Publication
Shared genetic risk for internalizing and externalizing disorders in mexican adolescents: the moderating effect of adversity
Martinez-Levy, Gabriela, Ceja, Zuriel, Thorp, Jackson, Rabinowits, Jill A., Hung, I-Tzu, Thomas, Nathaniel, Rentería, Miguel E., Fuentes, Carlos Cruz and Benjet, Corina (2025). Shared genetic risk for internalizing and externalizing disorders in mexican adolescents: the moderating effect of adversity. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.474
2025
Conference Publication
Polygenic risk for depression and anxiety predicts mood comorbidity in parkinson’s disease: evidence from the APGS
Ocampo, Victor Flores, Cao, Fangyuan, Ogonowski, Natalia, Diaz-Torres, Santiago and Renteria, Miguel (2025). Polygenic risk for depression and anxiety predicts mood comorbidity in parkinson’s disease: evidence from the APGS. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.318
2025
Conference Publication
Brain region-specific genetic architecture of suicidal ideation and attempt: insights from stratified LDSC, SMR, and functional enrichment analyses
Ceja, Zuriel, Edwards, Alexis, Martin, Nick, Medland, Sarah E. and Rentería, Miguel E. (2025). Brain region-specific genetic architecture of suicidal ideation and attempt: insights from stratified LDSC, SMR, and functional enrichment analyses. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.283
2025
Journal Article
Chronic Pain in Parkinson’s Disease: Prevalence, Sex Differences, Regional Anatomy and Comorbidities
Ogonowski, Natalia S., Chafota, Freddy, Cao, Fangyuan, Lim, Amanda Wei Yin, Flores‐Ocampo, Victor, Díaz‐Torres, Santiago, Ceja, Zuriel, García‐Marín, Luis M., Farrell, Scott F., Kumar, Kishore R., Alty, Jane, Mellick, George D., Ngô, Trung Thành and Rentería, Miguel E. (2025). Chronic Pain in Parkinson’s Disease: Prevalence, Sex Differences, Regional Anatomy and Comorbidities. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology acn3.70174. doi: 10.1002/acn3.70174
2025
Journal Article
Modifiable risk factors for sleep apnea: evidence from meta-analysis of traditional observational studies and two-sample Mendelian randomization
Xu, Jia Wen, Yue, Hui Jun, Huang, Yu Zhang, Wu, Hao, Su, Hui Min, Li, Mei Jiao, Deng, Xue Qing, Liang, Jing Hong, Campos, Adrian I, Rentería, Miguel E, Yang, Lin, Xu, Lin and Wang, Jiao (2025). Modifiable risk factors for sleep apnea: evidence from meta-analysis of traditional observational studies and two-sample Mendelian randomization. Epidemiologic Reviews, 47 (1) mxaf010. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxaf010
2025
Conference Publication
Acne polygenic risk score derived from genome-wide association metaregression enables prediction of severity
Du-Harpur, Xinyi, Maxwell, Jessye, Mitchell, Brittany L., Pardo, Luba M, Witkam, Willemijn C. A. M., Dand, Nick, Bartels, Meike, Betti, Michael, Boomsma, Dorret I., Dong, Xianjun, Gerring, Zachary, Finer, Sarah, Hagenbeek, Fiona A., Hottenga, Jouke Jan, Hripcsak, George, Huilaja, Laura, Hveem, Kristian, Jacobs, Benjamin, Kals, Mart, Kaufman-Cook, James, Kettunen, Johannes, Khan, Atlas, Kingo, Kulli, Kiryluk, Krzysztof, Løset, Mari, Lunter, Gerton, Lupton, Michelle, Min, Josine L., Martin, Nicholas G. ... Simpson, Michael A. (2025). Acne polygenic risk score derived from genome-wide association metaregression enables prediction of severity. 105th Annual Meeting of the British Association of Dermatologists, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 1-3 July 2025. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/bjd/ljaf085.025
2025
Journal Article
Prediction of Extraintestinal Manifestations in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Using Clinical and Genetic Variables with Machine Learning in a Latin IBD Group
Perez-Jeldres, Tamara, Reyes-Perez, Paula, Gonzalez-Hormazabal, Patricio, Avendano, Cristobal, Segovia Melero, Roberto, Azocar, Lorena, Silva, Veronica, de la Vega, Andres, Arriagada, Elizabeth, Hernandez, Elisa, Aguilar, Nataly, Pavez-Ovalle, Carolina, Hernandez-Rocha, Cristian, Candia, Roberto, Miquel, Juan Francisco, Alvarez-Lobos, Manuel, Valdes, Ivania, Medina-Rivera, Alejandra and Bustamante, Maria Leonor (2025). Prediction of Extraintestinal Manifestations in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Using Clinical and Genetic Variables with Machine Learning in a Latin IBD Group. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26 (12) 5741, 5741. doi: 10.3390/ijms26125741
2025
Journal Article
Genetic links between subcortical brain morphometry and suicide attempt risk in children and adults
Ceja, Zuriel, García‐Marín, Luis M., Hung, I‐Tzu, Medland, Sarah E., Edwards, Alexis C., Rentería, Miguel E. and Rabinowitz, Jill A. (2025). Genetic links between subcortical brain morphometry and suicide attempt risk in children and adults. Human Brain Mapping, 46 (7) e70220. doi: 10.1002/hbm.70220
2025
Journal Article
Sex differences in the diagnosis latency of Parkinson's disease in Latin America
Ramchandra, Janvi, Inca-Martinez, Miguel, Leal, Thiago Peixoto, Chaparro-Solano, Henry Mauricio, Salim, Amira, Gatto, Emilia M., Rojas, Natalia González, Da Prat, Gustavo, Micheli, Federico, Santos-Lobato, Bruno Lopes, Cardoso, Francisco E.C., Camargos, Sarah, Letro, Grace H., Braga-Neto, Pedro, Peixoto, Vitória Maria Torres, Schuh, Artur F.S., Tumas, Vitor, Brito, Manuelina M., Borges, Vanderci, Candeias da Silva, Carolina, Ferraz, Henrique B., Chana-Cuevas, Pedro, Saffie-Awad, Paula, Olguin, Patricio, Colombo, Alicia, de la Cerda, Andres, Farías, Gonzalo A., Nuñez, Juan Cristobal, Arboleda, Gonzalo ... Mata, Ignacio F. (2025). Sex differences in the diagnosis latency of Parkinson's disease in Latin America. Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 134 107344, 107344. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2025.107344
2025
Conference Publication
Identifying Common Genetic Liability for Internalizing and Externalizing Traits and Associations With Phenotypic Comorbidity Among Mexican Youth
Martínez-Levy, Gabriela, Ceja, Zuriel, Throp, Jackson G., Hung, I-Tzu, Rentería, Miguel E., Cruz Fuentes, Carlos S., Benjet, Corina and Rabinowits, Jill A. (2025). Identifying Common Genetic Liability for Internalizing and Externalizing Traits and Associations With Phenotypic Comorbidity Among Mexican Youth. 2025 SOBP Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, 24-26 April 2025. Philadelphia, PA United States: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.02.461
2025
Journal Article
Population-specific differences in pathogenic variants of genes associated with monogenic Parkinson’s disease
Flores-Ocampo, Victor, Lim, Amanda Wei-Yin, Ogonowski, Natalia S., García-Marín, Luis M., Ong, Jue-Sheng, Yeow, Dennis, Gonzaga-Jauregui, Claudia, Kumar, Kishore R. and Rentería, Miguel E. (2025). Population-specific differences in pathogenic variants of genes associated with monogenic Parkinson’s disease. Genes, 16 (4) 454, 454. doi: 10.3390/genes16040454
2025
Journal Article
Recent breakthroughs in genetic and brain structural correlates of suicidal behaviours: a short review
Ceja, Zuriel, Van Velzen, Laura S., Campos, Adrian I., Jahanshad, Neda, Medland, Sarah E., Edwards, Alexis C., Schmaal, Lianne and Rentería, Miguel E. (2025). Recent breakthroughs in genetic and brain structural correlates of suicidal behaviours: a short review. Biological Psychiatry, 97 (8), 775-785. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.09.010
2025
Journal Article
Genetic propensity for delay discounting and educational attainment in adults are associated with delay discounting in preadolescents: findings from the adolescent brain cognitive development study
Rabinowitz, Jill A., Thomas, Nathaniel, Strickland, Justin C., Meredith, John J., Hung, I‐Tzu, Cupertino, Renata B., Felton, Julia W., Gelino, Brett, Stone, Bryant, Maher, Brion S., Dick, Danielle, Yi, Richard, Flores‐Ocampo, Victor, García‐Marín, Luis M., Rentería, Miguel E., Palmer, Abraham A. and Sanchez‐Roige, Sandra (2025). Genetic propensity for delay discounting and educational attainment in adults are associated with delay discounting in preadolescents: findings from the adolescent brain cognitive development study. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 24 (2) e70020. doi: 10.1111/gbb.70020
2025
Journal Article
Speech and language biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease prediction, early diagnosis and progression
Cao, Fangyuan, Vogel, Adam P., Gharahkhani, Puya and Renteria, Miguel E. (2025). Speech and language biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease prediction, early diagnosis and progression. npj Parkinson's Disease, 11 (1) 57. doi: 10.1038/s41531-025-00913-4
2025
Journal Article
The role of lipid metabolism in acne risk: integrating blood metabolite and genetic insights
Liu, Mingjuan, Diaz-Torres, Santiago, Mitchell, Brittany L., Toledo-Flores, Deborah, Gharhakhani, Puya, Simpson, Michael A., Zhang, Hanlin, Ong, Jue-Sheng, Li, Jun and Rentería, Miguel E. (2025). The role of lipid metabolism in acne risk: integrating blood metabolite and genetic insights. Skin Health and Disease, 5 (2), 124-129. doi: 10.1093/skinhd/vzae009
2025
Journal Article
Trans-ancestry genome-wide study of depression identifies 697 associations implicating cell types and pharmacotherapies
Adams, Mark J., Streit, Fabian, Meng, Xiangrui, Awasthi, Swapnil, Adey, Brett N., Choi, Karmel W., Chundru, V. Kartik, Coleman, Jonathan R.I., Ferwerda, Bart, Foo, Jerome C., Gerring, Zachary F., Giannakopoulou, Olga, Gupta, Priya, Hall, Alisha S.M., Harder, Arvid, Howard, David M., Hübel, Christopher, Kwong, Alex S.F., Levey, Daniel F., Mitchell, Brittany L. (Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium member), Ni, Guiyan, Ota, Vanessa K., Pain, Oliver, Pathak, Gita A., Schulte, Eva C., Shen, Xueyi, Thorp, Jackson G., Walker, Alicia, Yao, Shuyang ... McIntosh, Andrew M. (2025). Trans-ancestry genome-wide study of depression identifies 697 associations implicating cell types and pharmacotherapies. Cell, 188 (3), 640-652.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.12.002
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Miguel Rentería is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Monogenic Parkinson's disease among individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in Australia and Mexico
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genetic Aetiology of Cognitive and Speech-Related Features in Parkinson's Disease
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Bridging gaps on the genetics of age-related disorder among under-represented populations
Associate Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
From Genes to Brain Networks: AI Approaches to Understanding the Genetic Foundations of Brain Functionality in Health and Disease
Associate Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the genetic aetiology of age-related diseases in diverse populations
Associate Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genetic architecture of differences in symptomatology and treatment response in major depressive disorder
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nick Martin, Honorary Professor Sarah Medland
-
Master Philosophy
Application of machine learning techniques on longitudinal fitness tracker data to augment disease risk prediction.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Quan Nguyen
Completed supervision
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Elucidating the genetic architecture of neuropsychiatric phenotypes and other complex human traits
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nick Martin
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding psychiatric disease: From aetiology to outcomes and treatment response
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nick Martin
Media
Enquiries
Contact Associate Professor Miguel Rentería directly for media enquiries about:
- Human genetics
- Parkinson's disease
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