
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
2018
Journal Article
Brain age predicts mortality
Cole, J. H., Ritchie, S. J., Bastin, M. E., Valdes Hernandez, M. C., Munoz Maniega, S., Royle, N., Corley, J., Pattie, A., Harris, S. E., Zhang, Q., Wray, N. R., Redmond, P., Marioni, R. E., Starr, J. M., Cox, S. R., Wardlaw, J. M., Sharp, D. J. and Deary, I. J. (2018). Brain age predicts mortality. Molecular Psychiatry, 23 (5), 1385-1392. doi: 10.1038/mp.2017.62
2018
Journal Article
Genome-wide gene-environment interaction in depression: a systematic evaluation of candidate genes: the childhood trauma working-group of PGC-MDD
Van der Auwera, Sandra, Peyrot, Wouter J., Milaneschi, Yuri, Hertel, Johannes, Baune, Bernhard, Breen, Gerome, Byrne, Enda, Dunn, Erin C, Fisher, Helen, Homuth, Georg, Levinson, Douglas, Lewis, Cathryn, Mills, Natalie, Mullins, Niamh, Nauck, Matthias, Pistis, Giorgio, Preisig, Martin, Rietschel, Marcella, Ripke, Stephan, Sullivan, Patrick, Teumer, Alexander, Völzke, Henry, Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Boomsma, Dorret I., Wray, Naomi R., Penninx, Brenda and Grabe, Hans (2018). Genome-wide gene-environment interaction in depression: a systematic evaluation of candidate genes: the childhood trauma working-group of PGC-MDD. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 177 (1), 40-49. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32593
2018
Conference Publication
Genome-wide association analyses identify 44 risk variants and refine the genetic architecture of major depressive disorder
Trzaskowski, Maciej, Wray, Naomi and Sullivan, Patrick (2018). Genome-wide association analyses identify 44 risk variants and refine the genetic architecture of major depressive disorder. Human Genome Meeting 2018, Yokohama, Japan, 12-15 March 2018. London, United Kingdom: BioMed Central . doi: 10.1186/s40246-018-0138-6
2017
Journal Article
A genetic investigation of sex bias in the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Martin, Joanna, Walters, Raymond K., Demontis, Ditte, Mattheisen, Manuel, Lee, S. Hong, Robinson, Elise, Brikell, Isabell, Ghirardi, Laura, Larsson, Henrik, Lichtenstein, Paul, Eriksson, Nicholas, 23andMe Research Team, Psychiatric Genomics Consortium: ADHD Subgroup, iPSYCH–Broad ADHD Workgroup, Werge, Thomas, Mortensen, Preben Bo, Pedersen, Marianne Giørtz, Mors, Ole, Nordentoft, Merete, Hougaard, David M., Bybjerg-Grauholm, Jonas, Wray, Naomi R., Franke, Barbara, Faraone, Stephen V., O'Donovan, Michael C., Thapar, Anita, Børglum, Anders D. and Neale, Benjamin M. (2017). A genetic investigation of sex bias in the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 83 (12), 1044-1053. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.11.026
2017
Journal Article
Whole-exome sequencing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis suggests NEK1 is a risk gene in Chinese
Gratten, Jacob, Zhao, Qiongyi, Benyamin, Beben, Garton, Fleur, He, Ji, Leo, Paul J., Mangelsdorf, Marie, Anderson, Lisa, Zhang, Zong-Hong, Chen, Lu, Chen, Xiang-Ding, Cremin, Katie, Deng, Hong-Weng, Edson, Janette, Han, Ying-Ying, Harris, Jessica, Henders, Anjali K., Jin, Zi-Bing, Li, Zhongshan, Lin, Yong, Liu, Xiaolu, Marshall, Mhairi, Mowry, Bryan J., Ran, Shu, Reutens, David C., Song, Sharon, Tan, Li-Jun, Tang, Lu, Wallace, Robyn H. ... Fan, Dongsheng (2017). Whole-exome sequencing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis suggests NEK1 is a risk gene in Chinese. Genome Medicine, 9 (97) 97, 97. doi: 10.1186/s13073-017-0487-0
2017
Journal Article
Hair Cortisol in Twins: Heritability and Genetic Overlap with Psychological Variables and Stress-System Genes
Rietschel, Liz, Streit, Fabian, Zhu, Gu, McAloney, Kerrie, Frank, Josef, Couvy-Duchesne, Baptiste, Witt, Stephanie H., Binz, Tina M., Bolton, Jennifer L., Hayward, Caroline, Direk, Nese, Anderson, Anna, Huffman, Jennifer, Wilson, James F., Campbell, Harry, Rudan, Igor, Wright, Alan, Hastie, Nicholas, Wild, Sarah H., Velders, Fleur P., Hofman, Albert, Uitterlinden, Andre G., Lahti, Jari, Räikkönen, Katri, Kajantie, Eero, Widen, Elisabeth, Palotie, Aarno, Eriksson, Johan G., Kaakinen, Marika ... Rietschel, Marcella (2017). Hair Cortisol in Twins: Heritability and Genetic Overlap with Psychological Variables and Stress-System Genes. Scientific Reports, 7 (1) 15351, 15351. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-11852-3
2017
Journal Article
Investigating the relationship between iron and depression
Mills, Natalie T., Maier, Robert, Whitfield, John B., Wright, Margaret J., Colodro-Conde, Lucia, Byrne, Enda M., Scott, James G., Byrne, Gerard J., Hansell, Narelle K., Vinkhuyzen, Anna A. E., CouvyDuchesne, Baptiste, Montgomery, Grant W., Henders, Anjali K., Martin, Nicholas G., Wray, Naomi R. and Benyamin, Beben (2017). Investigating the relationship between iron and depression. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 94, 148-155. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.07.006
2017
Journal Article
Inference in Psychiatry via 2-Sample Mendelian Randomization-From Association to Causal Pathway?
Byrne, Enda M, Yang, Jian and Wray, Naomi R (2017). Inference in Psychiatry via 2-Sample Mendelian Randomization-From Association to Causal Pathway?. JAMA psychiatry, 74 (12), 1191-1192. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.3162
2017
Journal Article
Genetic Association of Major Depression With Atypical Features and Obesity-Related Immunometabolic Dysregulations
Milaneschi, Yuri, Lamers, Femke, Peyrot, Wouter J., Baune, Bernhard T., Breen, Gerome, Dehghan, Abbas, Forstner, Andreas J., Grabe, Hans J., Homuth, Georg, Kan, Carol, Lewis, Cathryn, Mullins, Niamh, Nauck, Matthias, Pistis, Giorgio, Preisig, Martin, Rivera, Margarita, Rietschel, Marcella, Streit, Fabian, Strohmaier, Jana, Teumer, Alexander, Van der Auwera, Sandra, Wray, Naomi R., Boomsma, Dorret I., Penninx, Brenda W. J. H., for the CHARGE Inflammation Working Group and the Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and Middeldorp, Christel (2017). Genetic Association of Major Depression With Atypical Features and Obesity-Related Immunometabolic Dysregulations. JAMA Psychiatry, 74 (12), 1214-1225. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.3016
2017
Journal Article
CNV-association meta-analysis in 191,161 European adults reveals new loci associated with anthropometric traits
Macé, Aurélien, Tuke, Marcus A., Deelen, Patrick, Kristiansson, Kati, Mattsson, Hannele, Nõukas, Margit, Sapkota, Yadav, Schick, Ursula, Porcu, Eleonora, Rüeger, Sina, McDaid, Aaron F., Porteous, David, Winkler, Thomas W., Salvi, Erika, Shrine, Nick, Liu, Xueping, Ang, Wei Q., Zhang, Weihua, Feitosa, Mary F., Venturini, Cristina, Van Der Most, Peter J., Rosengren, Anders, Wood, Andrew R., Beaumont, Robin N., Jones, Samuel E., Ruth, Katherine S., Yaghootkar, Hanieh, Tyrrell, Jessica, Havulinna, Aki S. ... Kutalik, Zoltán (2017). CNV-association meta-analysis in 191,161 European adults reveals new loci associated with anthropometric traits. Nature Communications, 8 (1) 744, 744. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00556-x
2017
Journal Article
Does childhood trauma moderate polygenic risk for depression? A meta-analysis of 5,765 subjects from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium
Peyrot, Wouter J., Van der Auwera, Sandra, Milaneschi, Yuri, Dolan, Conor V., Madden, Pamela A. F., Sullivan, Patrick F., Strohmaier, Jana, Ripke, Stephan, Rietschel, Marcella, Nivard, Michel G., Mullins, Niamh, Montgomery, Grant W., Henders, Anjali K., Heat, Andrew C., Fisher, Helen L., Dunn, Erin C., Byrne, Enda M., Air, Tracy A., Baune, Bernhard T., Breen, Gerome, Levinson, Douglas F., Lewis, Cathryn M., Martin, Nick G., Nelson, Elliot N., Boomsma, Dorret I., Grabe, Hans J., Wray, Naomi R. and Penninx, Brenda W. J. H. (2017). Does childhood trauma moderate polygenic risk for depression? A meta-analysis of 5,765 subjects from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Biological Psychiatry, 84 (2), 138-147. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.09.009
2017
Journal Article
Cross-ethnic meta-analysis identifies association of the GPX3-TNIP1 locus with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Benyamin, Beben, He, Ji, Zhao, Qiongyi, Gratten, Jacob, Garton, Fleur, Leo, Paul J., Liu, Zhijun, Mangelsdorf, Marie, Al-Chalabi, Ammar, Anderson, Lisa, Butler, Timothy J., Chen, Lu, Chen, Xiang-Ding, Cremin, Katie, Deng, Hong-Weng, Devine, Matthew, Edson, Janette, Fifita, Jennifer A., Furlong, Sarah, Han, Ying-Ying, Harris, Jessica, Henders, Anjali K., Jeffree, Rosalind L., Jin, Zi-Bing, Li, Zhongshan, Li, Ting, Li, Mengmeng, Lin, Yong, Liu, Xiaolu ... Fan, Dongsheng (2017). Cross-ethnic meta-analysis identifies association of the GPX3-TNIP1 locus with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nature Communications, 8 (1) 611, 611. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00471-1
2017
Journal Article
Concepts, estimation and interpretation of SNP-based heritability
Yang, Jian, Zeng, Jian, Goddard, Michael E., Wray, Naomi R. and Visscher, Peter M. (2017). Concepts, estimation and interpretation of SNP-based heritability. Nature Genetics, 49 (9), 1304-1310. doi: 10.1038/ng.3941
2017
Journal Article
Embracing polygenicity: a review of methods and tools for psychiatric genetics research
Maier, R. M., Visscher, P. M., Robinson, M. R. and Wray, N. R. (2017). Embracing polygenicity: a review of methods and tools for psychiatric genetics research. Psychological Medicine, 48 (7), 1055-1067. doi: 10.1017/s0033291717002318
2017
Journal Article
Performance of risk prediction for inflammatory bowel disease based on genotyping platform and genomic risk score method
Chen, Guo-Bo, Lee, Sang Hong, Montgomery, Grant W., Wray, Naomi R., Visscher, Peter M., Gearry, Richard B., Lawrance, Ian C., Andrews, Jane M., Bampton, Peter, Mahy, Gillian, Bell, Sally, Walsh, Alissa, Connor, Susan, Sparrow, Miles, Bowdler, Lisa M., Simms, Lisa A., Krishnaprasad, Krupa, Radford-Smith, Graham L. and Moser, Gerhard (2017). Performance of risk prediction for inflammatory bowel disease based on genotyping platform and genomic risk score method. BMC Medical Genetics, 18 (1) 94, 94. doi: 10.1186/s12881-017-0451-2
2017
Journal Article
Detection and quantification of inbreeding depression for complex traits from SNP data
Yengo, Loic, Zhu, Zhihong, Wray, Naomi R., Weir, Bruce S., Yang, Jian, Robinson, Matthew R. and Visscher, Peter M. (2017). Detection and quantification of inbreeding depression for complex traits from SNP data. PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114 (32), 8602-8607. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1621096114
2017
Journal Article
Large-scale GWAS identifies multiple loci for hand grip strength providing biological insights into muscular fitness
Willems, Sara M., Wright, Daniel J., Day, Felix R., Trajanoska, Katerina, Joshi, Peter K., Morris, John A., Matteini, Amy M., Garton, Fleur C., Grarup, Niels, Oskolkov, Nikolay, Thalamuthu, Anbupalam, Mangino, Massimo, Liu, Jun, Demirkan, Ayse, Lek, Monkol, Xu, Liwen, Wang, Guan, Oldmeadow, Christopher, Gaulton, Kyle J., Lotta, Luca A., Miyamoto-Mikami, Eri, Rivas, Manuel A., White, Tom, Loh, Po-Ru, Aadahl, Mette, Amin, Najaf, Attia, John R., Austin, Krista, Benyamin, Beben ... Ohlsson, Claes (2017). Large-scale GWAS identifies multiple loci for hand grip strength providing biological insights into muscular fitness. Nature Communications, 8 (1) 16015, 16015. doi: 10.1038/ncomms16015
2017
Journal Article
A direct test of the diathesis–stress model for depression
Colodro-Conde, L., Couvy-Duchesne, B., Zhu, G., Coventry, W. L., Byrne, E. M., Gordon, S., Wright, M. J., Montgomery, G. W., Madden, P. A. F., Ripke, S., Eaves, L. J., Heath, A. C., Wray, N. R., Medland, S. E. and Martin, N. G. (2017). A direct test of the diathesis–stress model for depression. Molecular Psychiatry, 23 (7), 1590-1596. doi: 10.1038/mp.2017.130
2017
Journal Article
Whole exome sequencing and DNA methylation analysis in a clinical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cohort
Garton, Fleur C., Benyamin, Beben, Zhao, Qiongyi, Liu, Zhijun, Gratten, Jacob, Henders, Anjali K., Zhang, Zong-Hong, Edson, Janette, Furlong, Sarah, Morgan, Sarah, Heggie, Susan, Thorpe, Kathryn, Pfluger, Casey, Mather, Karen A., Sachdev, Perminder S., McRae, Allan F., Robinson, Matthew R., Shah, Sonia, Visscher, Peter M., Mangelsdorf, Marie, Henderson, Robert D., Wray, Naomi R. and McCombe, Pamela A. (2017). Whole exome sequencing and DNA methylation analysis in a clinical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cohort. Molecular Genetics and Genomic Medicine, 5 (4), 418-428. doi: 10.1002/mgg3.302
2017
Journal Article
10 years of GWAS discovery: biology, function, and translation
Visscher, Peter M., Wray, Naomi R., Zhang, Qian, Sklar, Pamela, McCarthy, Mark I., Brown, Matthew A. and Yang, Jian (2017). 10 years of GWAS discovery: biology, function, and translation. American Journal of Human Genetics, 101 (1), 5-22. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.06.005
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
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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, 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
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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
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