Overview
Background
Naomi Wray is the Michael Davys Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. She holds an appointment at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) within the University of Queensland. She joined UQ Queensland Brain Institute in 2011 moving to the IMB in 2015. She was Head of the Centre for Population & Disease Genomics within IMB 2018-2023. Her Oxford appointment started in 2023.
Her research focuses on development and application of quantitative genetics and genomics methodologies across complex diseases, disorders and traits, but particularly psychiatric-related traits.
She is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Leadership Fellow, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science. In 2020 she was awarded the NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn Award for Leadership in Basic Science and the 2021 International Society of Psychiatric Genetics Ming Tsuang Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a Clarivate Highly Cited researcher.
She was Director of the Program in Complex Trait Genomics (PCTG) funded as an NHMRC Program Grant 2017-2022. She plays a key role in the International Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and established the sporadic ALS Australia systems genomics consortium (SALSA) funded by the MND Research Australia IceBucket Challenge and FightMND. She is a co-investigator on the Australian Genetics of Depression Study (AGDS) and is currently launching the AGDS-Cello project focussed on establishing a cell line resource from participants with a detailed history of anti-depressant use and response measures. She is part of an NHMRC Synergy (2023-2027) "Rhythms and blues: Personalising care for body clock dysfunction in mood disorders".
She is secretary of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, and is on the editorial advisory boards of JAMA Psychiatry, Neuron, Royal Society Open and Research Directions: Depression.
Availability
- Professor Naomi Wray is:
- Not available for supervision
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh
Research interests
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Genetics of complex genetic traits, disease and disorders
Quantitative genetics methodology Genetics of Psychiatric Disorder Genetics of Motor Neurone Disease Genetics of Cognitive Ageing Systems Genomics
Works
Search Professor Naomi Wray’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
Population-representative inference for primary and secondary outcomes in extended case-cohort designs
Wimberley, Theresa, Plana-Ripoll, Oleguer, Pedersen, Carsten B., Pedersen, Marianne G., Dreier, Julie W., Christensen, Jakob, Horsdal, Henriette Thisted, Astrup, Aske, Thompson, Wesley K., Helenius, Dorte, McGrath, John J., Wray, Naomi R., Petersen, Liselotte Vogdrup, Vilhjálmsson, Bjarni, Mortensen, Preben B. and Agerbo, Esben (2025). Population-representative inference for primary and secondary outcomes in extended case-cohort designs. Discover public health, 22 (1) 599. doi: 10.1186/s12982-025-00888-w
2025
Journal Article
Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses incorporating SNP-by-psychosocial interactions identify novel loci for serum lipids
Bentley, Amy R., Brown, Michael R., Musani, Solomon K., Schwander, Karen L., Winkler, Thomas W., Sims, Mario, Kilpeläinen, Tuomas O., Aschard, Hugues, Bartz, Traci M., Bielak, Lawrence F., Chai, Jin-Fang, Chitrala, Kumaraswamy Naidu, Franceschini, Nora, Graff, Mariaelisa, Guo, Xiuqing, Hartwig, Fernando P., Horimoto, Andrea R.V.R., Lim, Elise, Liu, Yongmei, Manning, Alisa K., Nolte, Ilja M., Noordam, Raymond, Richard, Melissa A., Smith, Albert V., Sung, Yun Ju, Vojinovic, Dina, Wang, Rujia, Wang, Yujie, Feitosa, Mary F. ... Fox, Ervin R. (2025). Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses incorporating SNP-by-psychosocial interactions identify novel loci for serum lipids. Translational Psychiatry, 15 (1) 207, 1. doi: 10.1038/s41398-025-03418-z
2025
Journal Article
Epigenetic profiles of tissue informative CpGs inform ALS disease status and progression
Caggiano, Christa, Morselli, Marco, Qian, Xiaoyu, Celona, Barbara, Thompson, Michael J., Wani, Shivangi, Tosevska, Anela, Taraszka, Kodi, Heuer, Galen, Ngo, Shyuan T., Steyn, Frederick J., Nestor, Peter J., Wallace, Leanne, Mccombe, Pamela, Heggie, Susan, Thorpe, Kathryn, Mcelligott, Caitlin, English, Gemyka, Henders, Anjali, Henderson, Robert, Lomen-Hoerth, Catherine, Wray, Naomi R., Mcrae, Allan F., Pellegrini, Matteo, Garton, Fleur C. and Zaitlen, Noah (2025). Epigenetic profiles of tissue informative CpGs inform ALS disease status and progression. Genome Medicine, 17 (1) 115. doi: 10.1186/s13073-025-01542-5
2025
Conference Publication
Refined mitochondrial DNA copy number (MTDNA-CN) calling and analysis pipeline reveals nuclear genetic regulation of MTDNA-CN in blood and its lack of association with mood disorders
Wang, Xiaotong, McGrath, Isabelle, Li, Ang and Wray, Naomi (2025). Refined mitochondrial DNA copy number (MTDNA-CN) calling and analysis pipeline reveals nuclear genetic regulation of MTDNA-CN in blood and its lack of association with mood disorders. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.402
2025
Conference Publication
Multi-ancestry conditional and joint analysis (MANC-COJO) of GWAS summary statistics
Wang, Xiaotong, Wang, Yong, Visscher, Peter, Wray, Naomi and Yengo, Loic (2025). Multi-ancestry conditional and joint analysis (MANC-COJO) of GWAS summary statistics. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.136
2025
Conference Publication
BENCHMARKING METHODS INTEGRATING GWAS AND SINGLE-CELL TRANSCRIPTOMIC DATA FOR MAPPING TRAIT-CELL TYPE ASSOCIATIONS
Li, Ang, Wray, Naomi and Zeng, Jian (2025). BENCHMARKING METHODS INTEGRATING GWAS AND SINGLE-CELL TRANSCRIPTOMIC DATA FOR MAPPING TRAIT-CELL TYPE ASSOCIATIONS. AMSTERDAM: ELSEVIER. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.394
2025
Conference Publication
Functional genomic investigation of the immune hypothesis of mental illness
McGrath, Isabelle, Wray, Naomi and Lynall, Mary-Ellen (2025). Functional genomic investigation of the immune hypothesis of mental illness. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.210
2025
Conference Publication
The genetic architecture of difficult-to-treat depression: a Pharmlines initiative cohort study
Walker, Alicia, Klont, Frank, Bos, Jens, van Loo, Hanna, Taquet, Maxime, Hak, Eelko and Wray, Naomi (2025). The genetic architecture of difficult-to-treat depression: a Pharmlines initiative cohort study. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.409
2025
Conference Publication
STAGE-RESOLVED SINGLE CELL MULTIOMIC ANNOTATIONS FROM HUMAN PREFRONTAL CORTEX REFINE SCHIZOPHRENIA HERITABILITY ESTIMATION AND POLYGENIC PREDICTION
Li, Ang, Shen, Xueyi, Lister, Ryan, Wray, Naomi, Voineagu, Irina and Zeng, Jian (2025). STAGE-RESOLVED SINGLE CELL MULTIOMIC ANNOTATIONS FROM HUMAN PREFRONTAL CORTEX REFINE SCHIZOPHRENIA HERITABILITY ESTIMATION AND POLYGENIC PREDICTION. AMSTERDAM: ELSEVIER. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.560
2025
Conference Publication
Heterogeneity of major depressive disorder investigated through sustained fill of specific antidepressant scripts
Walker, Alicia, Mitchell, Brittany, Lin, Tian, Crouse, Jacob, Martin, Nick, Taquet, Maxime, Medland, Sarah E., Hickie, Ian and Wray, Naomi (2025). Heterogeneity of major depressive disorder investigated through sustained fill of specific antidepressant scripts. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.504
2025
Conference Publication
Towards improving reproducibility in psychiatric blood biomarker research: a framework for systematic identification and control of confounding factors
Albinana, Clara, Shin, Mirim, Crouse, Jacob J., Hickie, Ian B. and Wray, Naomi (2025). Towards improving reproducibility in psychiatric blood biomarker research: a framework for systematic identification and control of confounding factors. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.315
2025
Conference Publication
Biobank-scale proteomic estimates of circadian dysregulation increase risk of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression
Albinana, Clara, Zeng, Yanni, Crouse, Jacob J., Hickie, Ian B., Gachon, Frederic and Wray, Naomi (2025). Biobank-scale proteomic estimates of circadian dysregulation increase risk of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression. World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Cancun, Mexico, 19-23 October 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.177
2025
Journal Article
Publisher Correction: Genome-wide association meta-analysis of childhood ADHD symptoms and diagnosis identifies new loci and potential effector genes
van der Laan, Camiel M., Ip, Hill F., Schipper, Marijn, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, St Pourcain, Beate, Zayats, Tetyana, Pool, René, Krapohl, Eva M. L., Brikell, Isabell, Soler Artigas, María, Cabana-Domínguez, Judit, Llonga, Natalia, Nolte, Ilja M., Bolhuis, Koen, Palviainen, Teemu, Zafarmand, Hadi, Gordon, Scott, Aliev, Fazil, Burt, S. Alexandra, Wang, Carol A., Saunders, Gretchen, Karhunen, Ville, Adkins, Daniel E., Border, Richard, Peterson, Roseann E., Prinz, Joseph A., Thiering, Elisabeth, Vilor-Tejedor, Natàlia, Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S. ... Boomsma, Dorret I. (2025). Publisher Correction: Genome-wide association meta-analysis of childhood ADHD symptoms and diagnosis identifies new loci and potential effector genes. Nature Genetics, 57 (10), 1-1. doi: 10.1038/s41588-025-02383-z
2025
Journal Article
Genome-wide association meta-analysis of childhood ADHD symptoms and diagnosis identifies new loci and potential effector genes
van der Laan, Camiel M., Ip, Hill F., Schipper, Marijn, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, St Pourcain, Beate, Zayats, Tetyana, Pool, René, Krapohl, Eva M. L., Brikell, Isabell, Soler Artigas, María, Cabana-Domínguez, Judit, Nolte, Ilja M., Bolhuis, Koen, Palviainen, Teemu, Zafarmand, Hadi, Gordon, Scott, Aliev, Fazil, Burt, S. Alexandra, Wang, Carol A., Saunders, Gretchen, Karhunen, Ville, Adkins, Daniel E., Border, Richard, Peterson, Roseann E., Prinz, Joseph A., Thiering, Elisabeth, Vilor-Tejedor, Natàlia, Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S., Allegrini, Andrea ... Llonga, Natalia (2025). Genome-wide association meta-analysis of childhood ADHD symptoms and diagnosis identifies new loci and potential effector genes. Nature Genetics, 57 (10), 2427-2435. doi: 10.1038/s41588-025-02295-y
2025
Journal Article
A methylome-wide association study of major depression with out-of-sample case-control classification and trans-ancestry comparison
Shen, Xueyi, Barbu, Miruna, Caramaschi, Doretta, Arathimos, Ryan, Czamara, Darina, David, Friederike S., Dearman, Anna, Dilkes, Evelyn, Herrera-Rivero, Marisol, Huider, Floris, Kuhn, Luise, Lu, Kuan-Chen, Palviainen, Teemu, Schowe, Alicia M., Shireby, Gemma, Weihs, Antoine, Wong, Chloe C. Y., Davyson, Eleanor, Casey, Hannah, Adams, Mark J., Allgaier, Antje-Kathrin, Barber, Michael, Burrage, Joe, Caspi, Avshalom, Costeira, Ricardo, Dunn, Erin C., Feldmann, Lisa, Frank, Josef, Freisleder, Franz J. ... Mcintosh, Andrew M. (2025). A methylome-wide association study of major depression with out-of-sample case-control classification and trans-ancestry comparison. Nature Mental Health, 3 (10), 1152-1167. doi: 10.1038/s44220-025-00486-4
2025
Journal Article
White blood cell proportions are associated with response to psychosocial therapy in young people at ultra-high risk for psychosis
Barker, Lauren F., McRae, Allan F., Yuen, Hok Pan, Henders, Anjali K., Wallace, Leanne M., Lin, Tian, Phassouliotis, Christina, Spark, Jessica, Kerr, Melissa, Byrne, Enda M., Amminger, G. Paul, Nelson, Barnaby, Wray, Naomi R. and McGorry, Patrick D. (2025). White blood cell proportions are associated with response to psychosocial therapy in young people at ultra-high risk for psychosis. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, 5 (5) 100546, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2025.100546
2025
Conference Publication
Mental Health and Sleep Correlates of Self-Reported Outdoor Daylight Exposure in Over 13,000 Adults With Depression
Crouse, Jacob, Park, Shin Ho, Mitchell, Brittany, Byrne, Enda, Medland, Sarah, Lin, Tian, Scott, Jan, de Haan, Zsofi, Tonini, Emiliana, Iorfino, Frank, Wray, Naomi, Martin, Nicholas and Hickie, Ian (2025). Mental Health and Sleep Correlates of Self-Reported Outdoor Daylight Exposure in Over 13,000 Adults With Depression. HOBOKEN: WILEY.
2025
Conference Publication
Distinct Clinical, Metabolic-Inflammatory-Genetic Characteristics and Treatment Responses of Atypical Depression
Shin, Mirim, Crouse, Jacob J., Lin, Tian, Byrne, Enda M., Mitchell, Brittany L., Lind, Penelope A., Parker, Richard, McKenna, Sarah, Tonini, Emiliana, Carpenter, Joanne S., Wray, Naomi, Medland, Sarah E., Martin, Nicholas G. and Hickie, Ian B. (2025). Distinct Clinical, Metabolic-Inflammatory-Genetic Characteristics and Treatment Responses of Atypical Depression. HOBOKEN: WILEY.
2025
Journal Article
Large-scale GWAS of strabismus identifies risk loci and provides support for a link with maternal smoking
He, Weixiong, van der Most, Peter J., Ong, Jue-Sheng, Hwang, Liang-Dar, Wu, Yeda, Magnø, Morten S., Vehof, Jelle, Krebs, Kristi, Mauring, Laura, Õunap, Katrin, Abner, Erik, Martin, Nicholas G., Plotnikov, Denis, Jiang, Chen, Melles, Ronald B., Gharahkhani, Puya, Snieder, Harold, Palumaa, Teele, Kaljurand, Kuldar, Guggenheim, Jeremy A., Mackey, David A., Engle, Elizabeth C., Choquet, Hélène, MacGregor, Stuart, Lifelines Cohort Study, Aguirre-Gamboa, Raul, Deelen, Patrick, Franke, Lude, Kuivenhoven, Jan A. ... Wray, Naomi (2025). Large-scale GWAS of strabismus identifies risk loci and provides support for a link with maternal smoking. Nature Communications, 16 (1) 7890, 1-14. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-62456-9
2025
Journal Article
Insulin resistance as an early marker in youth with mood disorders
Shin, Mirim, Crouse, Jacob J., Weger, Meltem, McKenna, Sarah, Wray, Naomi R., Scott, Elizabeth M., Hickie, Ian B. and Gachon, Frédéric (2025). Insulin resistance as an early marker in youth with mood disorders. Nature Mental Health, 3 (9), 1-3. doi: 10.1038/s44220-025-00472-w
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Naomi Wray is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits across populations in humans
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Visscher, Dr Fleur Garton, Dr Jian Zeng
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding cellular and molecular heterogeneity in endometriosis using multi-omics data
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sally Mortlock, Dr Allan McRae
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genetics of childhood onset psychiatric symptoms, their persistence and comorbidity with other traits
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Enda Byrne
Completed supervision
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Multi-Omic Analyses of a Clinical Trial Cohort of Young People at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Enda Byrne, Dr Allan McRae
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Studying the effects of DNA methylation variation across neurodegenerative disorders
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Allan McRae
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Genetic analyses of complex traits using biobank data
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Visscher
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
A Complex Trait Genomics Approach to Investigating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Allan McRae
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
The Genetic Architecture of Psychiatric Disorders
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Visscher
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
The Role of Cytokines and Inflammatory Markers in Depression in Adolescents
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor James Scott, Professor Nick Martin
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Using genomic data to advance understanding of heart failure aetiology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sonia Shah
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Development and application of statistical methods to identify genes and cell types associated with complex traits
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jian Zeng
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Complement Modulation of Peripheral Immunity in Motor Neurone Disease and Huntington's Disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr John Lee, Professor Trent Woodruff
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
The Genomics of Perinatal Depression
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Enda Byrne
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Systems biology of motor neurone disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Shyuan Ngo, Dr Allan McRae
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Multi-omics data offer systemic insights into autism
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Gerald Holtmann, Honorary Professor Jake Gratten
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring the influence of genetics and heritability on the heterogeneity of ADHD presentations
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Sarah Medland
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Improving fine-mapping methodology using DNA methylation as a model trait
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Visscher, Dr Allan McRae
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Genetic influences on substance use behaviour, substance use disorders and psychiatric disorders
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Sarah Medland, Professor Nick Martin, Dr Lucia Colodro-Conde
-
2018
Master Philosophy
Integrating genome-wide association study data with gene expression to understand complex traits and common diseases
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Allan McRae, Honorary Professor Jake Gratten
Media
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