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
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
Conference Publication
Genetic, lifestyle and environmental risk factors for chronic pain revealed through GWAS
Lundberg, Mischa, Campos, Adrian I., Farrell, Scott F., Wang, Geng, Sterling, Michele M., Rentería, Miguel E., Ngo, Trung Thanh and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2020). Genetic, lifestyle and environmental risk factors for chronic pain revealed through GWAS. 50th Annual Meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association, Online, 26 June 2020. NEW YORK: SPRINGER.
2020
Conference Publication
Elucidating a phylogenetic switching model of sleep, vision & mental health with computational biology and complex network analyses
Ngo, Trung Thanh, Zhu, Guohun, Rentería, Miguel E. and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2020). Elucidating a phylogenetic switching model of sleep, vision & mental health with computational biology and complex network analyses. Systems & Computational Neuroscience Down Under (SCiNDU) 2020 meeting, St Lucia, QLD Australia, 29–31 January 2020.
2019
Journal Article
TwinsMX: uncovering the basis of health and disease in the Mexican population
Leon-Apodaca, Ana V., Chiu-Han, Enrique, Ortega-Mora, Ivett, Román-López, Talía V., Caballero-Sánchez, Ulises, Aldana-Assad, Oscar, Campos, Adrián I., Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel, Ruiz-Contreras, Alejandra E., Alcauter, Sarael, Rentería, Miguel E. and Medina-Rivera, Alejandra (2019). TwinsMX: uncovering the basis of health and disease in the Mexican population. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 22 (6) PII S1832427419001129, 611-616. doi: 10.1017/thg.2019.112
2019
Conference Publication
Dissecting the genetic architecture of chronic pain using CTG-VL: complex-traits genetics virtual lab
Lundberg, Mischa, Campos, Adrian, Renteria, Miguel, Trung Ngo, and Partida, Gabriel Cuellar (2019). Dissecting the genetic architecture of chronic pain using CTG-VL: complex-traits genetics virtual lab. 49th Annual Meeting of the Behavior-Genetics-Association (BGA), Stockholm Sweden, Jun 26-29, 2019. NEW YORK: SPRINGER.
2019
Journal Article
Genetic architecture of subcortical brain structures in 38,851 individuals
Satizabal, Claudia L., Adams, Hieab H. H., Hibar, Derrek P., White, Charles C., Knol, Maria J., Stein, Jason L., Scholz, Markus, Sargurupremraj, Muralidharan, Jahanshad, Neda, Roshchupkin, Gennady V., Smith, Albert V., Bis, Joshua C., Jian, Xueqiu, Luciano, Michelle, Hofer, Edith, Teumer, Alexander, van der Lee, Sven J., Yang, Jingyun, Yanek, Lisa R., Lee, Tom V., Li, Shuo, Hu, Yanhui, Koh, Jia Yu, Eicher, John D., Desrivières, Sylvane, Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro, Chauhan, Ganesh, Athanasiu, Lavinia, Rentería, Miguel E. ... Ikram, M. Arfan (2019). Genetic architecture of subcortical brain structures in 38,851 individuals. Nature Genetics, 51 (11), 1624-1636. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0511-y
2019
Journal Article
GWAS of suicide attempt in psychiatric disorders and association with major depression polygenic risk scores
Mullins, Niamh, Bigdeli, Tim B., Børglum, Anders D., Coleman, Jonathan R.I., Demontis, Ditte, Mehta, Divya, Power, Robert A., Ripke, Stephan, Stahl, Eli A., Starnawska, Anna, Anjorin, Adebayo, Corvin, Aiden, Sanders, Alan R., Forstner, Andreas J., Reif, Andreas, Koller, Anna C., Tkowska, Beata Swia, Baune, Bernhard T., Müller-Myhsok, Bertram, Penninx, Brenda W.J.H., Pato, Carlos, Zai, Clement, Rujescu, Dan, Hougaard, David M., Quested, Digby, Levinson, Douglas F., Binder, Elisabeth B., Byrne, Enda M., Agerbo, Esben ... Lewis, Cathryn M. (2019). GWAS of suicide attempt in psychiatric disorders and association with major depression polygenic risk scores. American Journal of Psychiatry, 176 (8), 651-660. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.18080957
2019
Journal Article
Twins can help us understand how genes and the environment shape us
Campos, Adrian I., Mitchell, Brittany L. and Rentería, Miguel E. (2019). Twins can help us understand how genes and the environment shape us. Frontiers for Young Minds, 7. doi: 10.3389/frym.2019.00059
2019
Journal Article
Twenty-Five and Up (25Up) Study: A New Wave of the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study
Mitchell, Brittany L., Campos, Adrian I., Rentería, Miguel E., Parker, Richard, Sullivan, Lenore, McAloney, Kerrie, Couvy-Duchesne, Baptiste, Medland, Sarah E., Gillespie, Nathan A., Scott, Jan, Zietsch, Brendan P., Lind, Penelope A., Martin, Nicholas G. and Hickie, Ian B. (2019). Twenty-Five and Up (25Up) Study: A New Wave of the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 22 (03) PII S1832427419000276, 154-163. doi: 10.1017/thg.2019.27
2019
Conference Publication
Educational attainment polygenic risk scores predict surface area of cortical regions important for language and memory
Mitchell, Brittany, Partida, Gabriel Cuellar, Grasby, Katrina, Strike, Lachlan, Thompson, Paul, Medland, Sarah, Martin, Nicholas, Wright, Margaret and Renteria, Miguel (2019). Educational attainment polygenic risk scores predict surface area of cortical regions important for language and memory. 49th Annual Meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association (BGA), Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 June, 2019. New York, NY, United States: Springer New York LLC. doi: 10.1007/s10519-019-09973-8
2019
Conference Publication
Complex-Traits Genetics Virtual Lab: A community-driven web platform for post-GWAS analyses
Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel, Lundberg, Mischa, Campos-González, Adrian I., Kho, Pik Fang, D’Urso, Shannon, Hwang, Liang-Dar, Ngo, Trung Thanh and Rentería, Miguel E. (2019). Complex-Traits Genetics Virtual Lab: A community-driven web platform for post-GWAS analyses. American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) 69th Annual Meeting, Houston, TX United States, 15–19 October 2019.
2019
Journal Article
Half the genetic variance in vitamin D concentration is shared with skin colour and sun exposure genes
Mitchell, Brittany L., Zhu, Gu, Medland, Sarah E., Renteria, Miguel. E., Eyles, Darryl W., Grasby, Katrina L., McGrath, John J. and Martin, Nicholas G. (2019). Half the genetic variance in vitamin D concentration is shared with skin colour and sun exposure genes. Behavior Genetics, 49 (4), 386-398. doi: 10.1007/s10519-019-09954-x
2019
Conference Publication
Examining the shared genetics between educational attainment and depression: results from the Australian Genetics of Depression Study
Mitchell, Brittany, Renteria, Miguel E., Byrne, Enda, Conde, Lucia Colodro, Han, Xikun, Medland, Sarah E., Wray, Naomi and Martin, Nick (2019). Examining the shared genetics between educational attainment and depression: results from the Australian Genetics of Depression Study. 27th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics, Los Angeles, United States, 26-31 October 2019. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.07.172
2019
Conference Publication
Dissecting the genetic architecture of chronic pain using CTG-VL — Complex-Traits Genetics Virtual Lab
Lundberg, Mischa, Campos, Adrian, Rentería, Miguel, Ngo, Trung and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2019). Dissecting the genetic architecture of chronic pain using CTG-VL — Complex-Traits Genetics Virtual Lab. 49th Annual Meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association, Stockholm, Sweden, 26–29 June 2019. New York, NY United States: Springer Nature. doi: 10.1007/s10519-019-09973-8
2019
Conference Publication
Assessing clinical, demographic and genetic risk factors for treatment attributed suicidality in > 20,000 Australian adults on antidepressants
Campos, Adrian, Renteria, Miguel E., Byrne, Enda, Medland, Sarah E., Wray, Naomi, Hickie, Ian B. and Martin, Nick (2019). Assessing clinical, demographic and genetic risk factors for treatment attributed suicidality in > 20,000 Australian adults on antidepressants. 27th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Los Angeles, United States, 26-31 October 2019. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.07.212
2019
Conference Publication
Precision switch medicine: transdiagnostic stratification of bipolar and related disorders with an integrated phenotyping and genetics analysis cloud platform
Ngo, Trung T. , Rentería, Miguel E. and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2019). Precision switch medicine: transdiagnostic stratification of bipolar and related disorders with an integrated phenotyping and genetics analysis cloud platform. 21st Annual ISBD Conference: Global Advances in Bipolar Disorder and Depression, International Convention Centre, Sydney, Australia, 20–23 March 2019. Hoboken, NJ, United States: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/bdi.12746
2018
Journal Article
Ethical issues in susceptibility genetic testing for late-onset neurodegenerative diseases
Manrique de Lara, Amaranta, Soto-Gómez, Liliana, Núñez-Acosta, Elisa, Saruwatari-Zavala, Garbiñe and Rentería, Miguel E. (2018). Ethical issues in susceptibility genetic testing for late-onset neurodegenerative diseases. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 180 (8), 609-621. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32699
2018
Journal Article
Neuroimaging studies of suicidal behavior and non-suicidal self-injury in psychiatric patients: a systematic review
Dominguez-Baleon, Carmen, Gutierrez-Mondragon, Luis F., Campos-Gonzalez, Adrian I. and Renteria, Miguel E. (2018). Neuroimaging studies of suicidal behavior and non-suicidal self-injury in psychiatric patients: a systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9 (OCT) 500, 500. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00500
2018
Journal Article
Testing associations between cannabis use and subcortical volumes in two large population-based samples
Gillespie, Nathan A., Neale, Michael C., Bates, Timothy C., Eyler, Lisa T., Fennema-Notestine, Christine, Vassileva, Jasmin, Lyons, Michael J., Prom-Wormley, Elizabeth C., McMahon, Katie L., Thompson, Paul M., de Zubicaray, Greig., Hickie, Ian B., McGrath, John J., Strike, Lachlan T., Rentería, Miguel E., Panizzon, Matthew S., Martin, Nicholas G., Franz, Carol E., Kremen, William S. and Wright, Margaret J. (2018). Testing associations between cannabis use and subcortical volumes in two large population-based samples. Addiction, 113 (9), 1661-1672. doi: 10.1111/add.14252
2018
Conference Publication
Advancing a neurogenomics oscillator model of bistable affective-cognitive states, behaviour and disorders
Ngo, Trung T. , Rentería, Miguel E. and Cuéllar-Partida, Gabriel (2018). Advancing a neurogenomics oscillator model of bistable affective-cognitive states, behaviour and disorders. 5th Annual Australasian Society for Social & Affective Neuroscience Conference, Brisbane QLD, Australia, 20–21 June 2018.
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Miguel Rentería is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genetic Aetiology of Cognitive and Speech-Related Features in Parkinson's Disease
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Monogenic Parkinson's disease among individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in Australia and Mexico
Principal 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
-
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
Completed supervision
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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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