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
2019
Conference Publication
First genome-wide association study of schizophrenia in an Indian population reveals a novel susceptibility locus
Periyasamy, Sathish, John, Sujit, Padmavati, Raman, Rajendren, Preeti, Thirunavukkarasu, Priyadarshini, Gratten, Jacob, Holliday, Elizabeth, Bakshi, Andrew, Jorde, Lynn, Brown, Matthew, Wray, Naomi, Suetani, Rachel, Giacomotto, Jean, Thara, Rangaswamy and Mowry, Bryan (2019). First genome-wide association study of schizophrenia in an Indian population reveals a novel susceptibility locus. 26th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Glasgow, Scotland, 11-15 October 2018. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier . doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.08.017
2019
Conference Publication
Connecting comorbidities with brain-gut-microbiome stress axis biology in autism spectrum disorder
Yap, Chloe, Wray, Naomi, Brix, Susanne and Gratten, Jacob (2019). Connecting comorbidities with brain-gut-microbiome stress axis biology in autism spectrum disorder. 27th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Los Angeles, California, 26-31 October 2019 . Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.08.215
2019
Conference Publication
Genomic structural equation models of major depression symptoms
Adams, Mark, Grotzinger, Andrew, Jermy, Bradley, Thorp, Jackson, Nivard, Michel, Byrne, Enda, Hickie, Ian, Martin, Nick, Medland, Sarah, Wray, Naomi, Tucker-Drob, Elliot, Lewis, Cathryn, Derks, Eske and McIntosh, Andrew (2019). Genomic structural equation models of major depression symptoms. 27th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Los Angeles, CA, United States, 26-31 October 2019. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.08.042
2019
Conference Publication
Sleep disorders and risk of incident depression: a population case-control study
Byrne, Enda, Wray, Naomi and Agerbo, Esben (2019). Sleep disorders and risk of incident depression: a population case-control study. 25th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Orlando, FL, United States, 13-17 October 2017. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier . doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.08.343
2019
Conference Publication
Genome-wide meta-analysis of depression
Howard, David, Adams, Mark J., Clarke, Toni-Kim, Hafferty, Jonathan D., Gibson, Jude, Coleman, Jonathan R. I., Deary, Ian J., Smith, Daniel J., Sullivan, Patrick F., Wray, Naomi R., Breen, Gerome, Lewis, Cathryn M. and McIntosh, Andrew M. (2019). Genome-wide meta-analysis of depression. 26th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Glasgow, Scotland, 11-15 October 2018. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.08.010
2019
Conference Publication
Leveraging individual-level data and GWAS summary statistics to improve polygenic scores for psychiatric disorders
Climent, Clara Albinana, Prive, Florian, Grove, Jakob, Pedersen, Emil M., Als, Thomas, Nordentoft, Merete, Mors, Ole, Hougaard, David M., Werge, Thomas, Borglum, Anders, Wray, Naomi, Agerbo, Esben, Mortensen, Preben Bo, McGrath, John and Vilhjalmsson, Bjarni (2019). Leveraging individual-level data and GWAS summary statistics to improve polygenic scores for psychiatric disorders. 27th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Los Angeles, California, 26-31 October 2019 . Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.08.119
2019
Conference Publication
Genetic risk for depression and treatment response in the Australian genetics of depression study
Byrne, Enda, Medland, Sarah E., Hickie, Ian, Martin, Nicholas G. and Wray, Naomi (2019). Genetic risk for depression and treatment response in the Australian genetics of depression study. 27th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Los Angeles, CA, United States, 26-31 October 2019. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier . doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.07.109
2019
Conference Publication
Uncovering the genetic architecture of major depression and its phenome-wide effects
McIntosh, Andrew, Shen, Xueyi, Howard, David, Adams, Mark, Clarke, Toni, Whalley, Heather, Coleman, Jonathan, Wray, Naomi, Lewis, Cathryn, Sullivan, Patrick and Breen, Gerome (2019). Uncovering the genetic architecture of major depression and its phenome-wide effects. 27th World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Los Angeles, California, 26-31 October 2019 . Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.07.108
2019
Journal Article
Sleep disorders and risk of incident depression: a population case-control study
Byrne, Enda M., Timmerman, Allan, Wray, Naomi R. and Agerbo, Esben (2019). Sleep disorders and risk of incident depression: a population case-control study. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 22 (03) PII S1832427419000227, 140-146. doi: 10.1017/thg.2019.22
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
2018
Journal Article
Dissection of genetic variation and evidence for pleiotropy in male pattern baldness
Yap, Chloe X., Sidorenko, Julia, Wu, Yang, Kemper, Kathryn E., Yang, Jian, Wray, Naomi R., Robinson, Matthew R. and Visscher, Peter M. (2018). Dissection of genetic variation and evidence for pleiotropy in male pattern baldness. Nature Communications, 9 (1) 5407, 5407. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07862-y
2018
Journal Article
Trajectories of inflammatory biomarkers over the eighth decade and their associations with immune cell profiles and epigenetic ageing
Stevenson, Anna J., McCartney, Daniel L., Harris, Sarah E., Taylor, Adele M., Redmond, Paul, Starr, John M., Zhang, Qian, McRae, Allan F., Wray, Naomi R., Spires-Jones, Tara L., McColl, Barry W., McIntosh, Andrew M., Deary, Ian J. and Marioni, Riccardo E. (2018). Trajectories of inflammatory biomarkers over the eighth decade and their associations with immune cell profiles and epigenetic ageing. Clinical Epigenetics, 10 (1) 159, 159. doi: 10.1186/s13148-018-0585-x
2018
Journal Article
Identification of 55,000 replicated DNA methylation QTL
McRae, Allan F., Marioni, Riccardo E., Shah, Sonia, Yang, Jian, Powell, Joseph E., Harris, Sarah E., Gibson, Jude, Henders, Anjali K., Bowdler, Lisa, Painter, Jodie N., Murphy, Lee, Martin, Nicholas G., Starr, John M., Wray, Naomi R., Deary, Ian J., Visscher, Peter M. and Montgomery, Grant W. (2018). Identification of 55,000 replicated DNA methylation QTL. Scientific Reports, 8 (1) 17605, 17605. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-35871-w
2018
Journal Article
The association between neonatal vitamin D status and risk of schizophrenia
Eyles, Darryl W., Trzaskowski, Maciej, Vinkhuyzen, Anna A. E., Mattheisen, Manuel, Meier, Sandra, Gooch, Helen, Anggono, Victor, Cui, Xiaoying, Tan, Men Chee, Burne, Thomas H. J., Jang, Se Eun, Kvaskoff, David, Hougaard, David M., Nørgaard-Pedersen, Bent, Cohen, Arieh, Agerbo, Esben, Pedersen, Carsten B., Børglum, Anders D., Mors, Ole, Sah, Pankaj, Wray, Naomi R., Mortensen, Preben B. and McGrath, John J. (2018). The association between neonatal vitamin D status and risk of schizophrenia. Scientific Reports, 8 (1) 17692, 17692. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-35418-z
2018
Journal Article
Does Childhood Trauma Moderate Polygenic Risk for Depression? A Meta-analysis of 5765 Subjects From the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (vol 84, pg 138, 2018)
Peyrot, W. J., Van der Auwera, S., Milaneschi, Y., Dolan, C., Madden, P. A. F., Sullivan, P. F., Strohmaier, J., Ripke, S., Rietschel, M., Nivard, M. G., Mullins, N., Montgomery, G. W., Henders, A. K., Heat, A. C., Fisher, H. L., Dunn, E. C., Byrne, E. M., Air, T. A., Baune, B. T., Breen, G., Levinson, D. F., Lewis, C. M., Martin, N. G., Nelson, E. N., Boomsma, D., Grabe, H. J., Wray, N. R. and Penninx, B. W. J. H. (2018). Does Childhood Trauma Moderate Polygenic Risk for Depression? A Meta-analysis of 5765 Subjects From the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (vol 84, pg 138, 2018). Biological Psychiatry, 84 (11), 857-857.
2018
Journal Article
Genome-wide interaction study of a proxy for stress-sensitivity and its prediction of major depressive disorder
Arnau-Soler, Aleix, Adams, Mark J., Hayward, Caroline, Thomson, Pippa A., Porteous, David, Campbell, Archie, Smith, Blair H., Black, Corri, Padmanabhan, Sandosh, McIntosh, Andrew, Wray, Naomi R., Ripke, Stephan, Mattheisen, Manuel, Trzaskowski, Maciej, Byrne, Enda M., Abdellaoui, Abdel, Agerbo, Esben, Air, Tracy M., Andlauer, Till F.M., Bacanu, Silviu-Alin, Bækvad-Hansen, Marie, Beekman, Aartjan T.F., Bigdeli, Tim B., Binder, Elisabeth B., Blackwood, Douglas H.R., Bryois, Julien, Buttenschøn, Henriette N., Bybjerg-Grauholm, Jonas, Cai, Na ... Sullivan, Patrick F. (2018). Genome-wide interaction study of a proxy for stress-sensitivity and its prediction of major depressive disorder. PLoS ONE, 13 (12) e0209160, e0209160. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209160
2018
Journal Article
PPD ACT: an app-based genetic study of postpartum depression
Guintivano, Jerry, Krohn, Holly, Lewis, Carol, Byrne, Enda M., Henders, Anjali K., Ploner, Alexander, Kirk, Katherine, Martin, Nicholas G., Milgrom, Jeannette, Wray, Naomi R., Sullivan, Patrick F. and Meltzer-Brody, Samantha (2018). PPD ACT: an app-based genetic study of postpartum depression. Translational Psychiatry, 8 (1) 260, 260. doi: 10.1038/s41398-018-0305-5
2018
Journal Article
Imprint of assortative mating on the human genome
Yengo, Loic, Robinson, Matthew R., Keller, Matthew C., Kemper, Kathryn E., Yang, Yuanhao, Trzaskowski, Maciej, Gratten, Jacob, Turley, Patrick, Cesarini, David, Benjamin, Daniel J., Wray, Naomi R., Goddard, Michael E., Yang, Jian and Visscher, Peter M. (2018). Imprint of assortative mating on the human genome. Nature Human Behaviour, 2 (12), 948-954. doi: 10.1038/s41562-018-0476-3
2018
Journal Article
Erratum: Author Correction: Misestimation of heritability and prediction accuracy of male-pattern baldness (Nature communications (2018) 9 1 (2537))
Yap, Chloe X., Sidorenko, Julia, Marioni, Riccardo E., Yengo, Loic, Wray, Naomi R. and Visscher, Peter M. (2018). Erratum: Author Correction: Misestimation of heritability and prediction accuracy of male-pattern baldness (Nature communications (2018) 9 1 (2537)). Nature communications, 9 (1) 4953, 4953. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07400-w
2018
Journal Article
Is schizophrenia a risk factor for breast cancer?—evidence from genetic data
Byrne, Enda M., Ferreira, Manuel A.R., Xue, Angli, Lindström, Sara, Jiang, Xia, Yang, Jian, Easton, Douglas F., Wray, Naomi R. and Chenevix-Trench, Georgia (2018). Is schizophrenia a risk factor for breast cancer?—evidence from genetic data. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 45 (6), 1251-1256. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sby162
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Naomi Wray is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genetics of childhood onset psychiatric symptoms, their persistence and comorbidity with other traits
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Enda Byrne
-
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, Professor Allan McRae
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, Professor Allan McRae
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Studying the effects of DNA methylation variation across neurodegenerative disorders
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor 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: Professor 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
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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, Professor 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, Professor 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
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2018
Master Philosophy
Integrating genome-wide association study data with gene expression to understand complex traits and common diseases
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Allan McRae, Honorary Professor Jake Gratten
Media
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