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
2017
Conference Publication
Polygenic score methodology in psychiatric genetics
O'Reilly, Paul, Wray, Naomi and Breen, Gerome (2017). Polygenic score methodology in psychiatric genetics. 23rd Annual World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Toronto Canada, 16-20 October 2015. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
2017
Conference Publication
Characterizing an inverse axis between orthogonal sources of genetic risk
Davis, Lea, Lee, Sang Hong, Gamazon, Eric, Im, Hae Kyung, Yu, Dongmei, McGrath, Lauren, Williams, Stephanie, Cook, Edwin, Sullivan, Patrick, Sutcliffe, James, Knowles, James, Mathews, Carol, Scharf, Jeremiah, Wray, Naomi and Cox, Nancy (2017). Characterizing an inverse axis between orthogonal sources of genetic risk. 23rd Annual World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Toronto, Canada, 16-20 October 2015. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
2017
Conference Publication
The potential impact of falsely classified controls on the SNP-based heritability of depression
Peyrot, Wouter J., Penninx, Brenda and Wray, Naomi (2017). The potential impact of falsely classified controls on the SNP-based heritability of depression. 23rd Annual World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Toronto Canada, 16-20 October 2015. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
2017
Conference Publication
Multivariate polygenic risk scores increases accuracy of risk prediction for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder
Maier, Robert, Wray, Naomi, Robinson, Matt and Lee, Sang Hong (2017). Multivariate polygenic risk scores increases accuracy of risk prediction for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. 23rd Annual World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Toronto Canada, 16-20 October 2015. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
2017
Conference Publication
Genetic architecture insights from joint investigations of rare CNVS and common SNPS
Bergen, Sarah, Kendler, Kenneth and Wray, Naomi (2017). Genetic architecture insights from joint investigations of rare CNVS and common SNPS. 23rd Annual World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (WCPG), Toronto Canada, 16-20 October 2015. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
2016
Journal Article
Genome-wide regional heritability mapping identifies a locus within the TOX2 gene associated with major depressive disorder
Zeng, Yanni, Navarro, Pau, Shirali, Masoud, Howard, David M., Adams, Mark J., Hall, Lynsey S., Clarke, Toni-Kim, Thomson, Pippa A., Smith, Blair H., Murray, Alison, Padmanabhan, Sandosh, Hayward, Caroline, Boutin, Thibaud, MacIntyre, Donald J., Lewis, Cathryn M., Wray, Naomi R., Mehta, Divya, Penninx, Brenda W. J. H., Milaneschi, Yuri, Baune, Bernhard T., Air, Tracy, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Mbarek, Hamdi, Castelao, Enrique, Pistis, Giorgio, Schulze, Thomas G., Streit, Fabian, Forstner, Andreas J., Byrne, Enda M. ... McIntosh, Andrew M. (2016). Genome-wide regional heritability mapping identifies a locus within the TOX2 gene associated with major depressive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 82 (5), 312-321. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.12.012
2016
Journal Article
A DNA methylation biomarker of alcohol consumption
Liu, C., Marioni, R. E., Hedman, K., Pfeiffer, L., Tsai, P. -C., Reynolds, L. M., Just, A. C., Duan, Q., Boer, C. G., Tanaka, T., Elks, C. E., Aslibekyan, S., Brody, J. A., Kuhnel, B., Herder, C., Almli, L. M., Zhi, D., Wang, Y., Huan, T., Yao, C., Mendelson, M. M., Joehanes, R., Liang, L., Love, S. -A., Guan, W., Shah, S., McRae, A. F., Kretschmer, A., Prokisch, H. ... Levy, D. (2016). A DNA methylation biomarker of alcohol consumption. Molecular Psychiatry, 23 (2), 422-433. doi: 10.1038/mp.2016.192
2016
Journal Article
Exploring boundaries for the genetic consequences of assortative mating for psychiatric traits
Peyrot, Wouter J., Robinson, Matthew R., Penninx, Brenda W. J. H. and Wray, Naomi R. (2016). Exploring boundaries for the genetic consequences of assortative mating for psychiatric traits. JAMA Psychiatry, 73 (11), 1189-1195. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2566
2016
Journal Article
No reliable association between runs of homozygosity and schizophrenia in a well-powered replication study
Johnson, Emma C., Bjelland, Douglas W., Howrigan, Daniel P., Abdellaoui, Abdel, Breen, Gerome, Borglum, Anders, Cichon, Sven, Degenhardt, Franziska, Forstner, Andreas J., Frank, Josef, Genovese, Giulio, Heilmann-Heimbach, Stefanie, Herms, Stefan, Hoffman, Per, Maier, Wolfgang, Mattheisen, Manuel, Morris, Derek, Mowry, Bryan, Muller-Mhysok, Betram, Neale, Benjamin, Nenadic, Igor, Nothen, Markus M., O'Dushlaine, Colm, Rietschel, Marcella, Ruderfer, Douglas M., Rujescu, Dan, Schulze, Thomas G., Simonson, Matthew A., Stahl, Eli ... Keller, Matthew C. (2016). No reliable association between runs of homozygosity and schizophrenia in a well-powered replication study. PLoS Genetics, 12 (10) e1006343, e1006343. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006343
2016
Journal Article
Epigenetic signatures of cigarette smoking
Joehanes, Roby, Just, Allan C., Marioni, Riccardo E., Pilling, Luke C., Reynolds, Lindsay M., Mandaviya, Pooja R., Guan, Weihua, Xu, Tao, Elks, Cathy E., Aslibekyan, Stella, Moreno-Macias, Hortensia, Smith, Jennifer A., Brody, Jennifer A., Dhingra, Radhika, Yousefi, Paul, Pankow, James S., Kunze, Sonja, Shah, Sonia H., McRae, Allan F., Lohman, Kurt, Sha, Jin, Absher, Devin M., Ferrucci, Luigi, Zhao, Wei, Demerath, Ellen W., Bressler, Jan, Grove, Megan L., Huan, Tianxiao, Liu, Chunyu ... London, Stephanie J. (2016). Epigenetic signatures of cigarette smoking. Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, 9 (5), 436-447. doi: 10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.116.001506
2016
Journal Article
Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of anxiety disorders
Otowa, T., Hek, K., Lee, M., Byrne, E. M., Mirza, S. S., Nivard, M. G., Bigdeli, T., Aggen, S. H., Adkins, D., Wolen, A., Fanous, A., Keller, M. C., Castelao, E., Kutalik, Z., Der Auwera, S. V., Homuth, G., Nauck, M., Teumer, A., Milaneschi, Y., Hottenga, J. -J., Direk, N., Hofman, A., Uitterlinden, A., Mulder, C. L., Henders, A. K., Medland, S. E., Gordon, S., Heath, A. C., Madden, P. A. F. ... Hettema, J. M. (2016). Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of anxiety disorders. Molecular Psychiatry, 21 (10), 1391-1399. doi: 10.1038/mp.2015.197
2016
Journal Article
Concepts and misconceptions about the polygenic additive model applied to disease
Visscher, Peter M. and Wray, Naomi R. (2016). Concepts and misconceptions about the polygenic additive model applied to disease. Human Heredity, 80 (4), 165-170. doi: 10.1159/000446931
2016
Journal Article
Genome-wide association analyses identify new risk variants and the genetic architecture of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
van Rheenen, Wouter, Shatunov, Aleksey, Dekker, Annelot M., McLaughlin, Russell L., Diekstra, Frank P., Pulit, Sara L., van der Spek, Rick A. A., Vosa, Urmo, de Jong, Simone, Robinson, Matthew R., Yang, Jian, Fogh, Isabella, van Doormaal, Perry T. C., Tazelaar, Gijs H. P., Koppers, Max, Blokhuis, Anna M., Sproviero, William, Jones, Ashley R., Kenna, Kevin P., van Eijk, Kristel R., Harschnitz, Oliver, Schellevis, Raymond D., Brands, William J., Medic, Jelena, Menelaou, Androniki, Vajda, Alice, Ticozzi, Nicola, Lin, Kuang, Rogelj, Boris ... Veldink, Jan H. (2016). Genome-wide association analyses identify new risk variants and the genetic architecture of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nature Genetics, 48 (9) 611, 1043-1048. doi: 10.1038/ng.3622
2016
Journal Article
Across-cohort QC analyses of GWAS summary statistics from complex traits
Chen, Guo-Bo, Lee, Sang Hong, Robinson, Matthew R., Trzaskowski, Maciej, Zhu, Zhi-Xiang, Winkler, Thomas W., Day, Felix R., Croteau-Chonka, Damien C., Wood, Andrew R., Locke, Adam E., Kutalik, Zoltán, Loos, Ruth J. F., Frayling, Timothy M., Hirschhorn, Joel N., Yang, Jian, Wray, Naomi R. and Visscher, Peter M. (2016). Across-cohort QC analyses of GWAS summary statistics from complex traits. European Journal of Human Genetics, 25 (1), 137-146. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2016.106
2016
Journal Article
GCTA-GREML accounts for linkage disequilibrium when estimating genetic variance from genome-wide SNPs
Yang, Jian, Lee, S. Hong, Wray, Naomi R., Goddard, Michael E. and Visscher, Peter M. (2016). GCTA-GREML accounts for linkage disequilibrium when estimating genetic variance from genome-wide SNPs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113 (32), E4579-E4580. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1602743113
2016
Journal Article
Predicting gene targets from integrative analyses of summary data from GWAS and eQTL studies for 28 human complex traits
Pavlides, Jennifer M. Whitehead, Zhu, Zhihong, Gratten, Jacob, Mcrae, Allan F., Wray, Naomi R. and Yang, Jian (2016). Predicting gene targets from integrative analyses of summary data from GWAS and eQTL studies for 28 human complex traits. Genome Medicine, 8 (1) 84, 84. doi: 10.1186/s13073-016-0338-4
2016
Journal Article
A method to decipher pleiotropy by detecting underlying heterogeneity driven by hidden subgroups applied to autoimmune and neuropsychiatric diseases
Han, Buhm, Pouget, Jennie G., Slowikowski, Kamil, Stahl, Eli, Lee, Cue Hyunkyu, Diogo, Dorothee, Hu, Xinli, Park, Yu Rang, Kim, Eunji, Gregersen, Peter K., Dahlqvist, Solbritt Rantapaa, Worthington, Jane, Martin, Javier, Eyre, Steve, Klareskog, Lars, Huizinga, Tom, Chen, Wei-Min, Onengut-Gumuscu, Suna, Rich, Stephen S., Wray, Naomi R. and Raychaudhuri, Soumya (2016). A method to decipher pleiotropy by detecting underlying heterogeneity driven by hidden subgroups applied to autoimmune and neuropsychiatric diseases. Nature Genetics, 48 (7), 803-810. doi: 10.1038/ng.3572
2016
Journal Article
Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses
Okbay, Aysu, Baselmans, Bart M. L., De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel, Turley, Patrick, Nivard, Michel G., Fontana, Mark Alan, Meddens, S. Fleur W., Linner, Richard Karlsson, Rietveld, Cornelius A., Derringer, Jaime, Gratten, Jacob, Lee, James J., Liu, Jimmy Z., de Vlaming, Ronald, Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S., Buchwald, Jadwiga, Cavadino, Alana, Frazier-Wood, Alexis C., Furlotte, Nicholas A., Garfield, Victoria, Geisel, Marie Henrike, Gonzalez, Juan R., Haitjema, Saskia, Karlsson, Robert, van der Laan, Sander W., Ladwig, Karl-Heinz, Lahti, Jari, van der Lee, Sven J., Lind, Penelope A. ... Cesarini, David (2016). Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses. Nature Genetics, 48 (6), 624-633. doi: 10.1038/ng.3552
2016
Journal Article
Genome-wide association for major depression through age at onset stratification: Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium
Power, Robert A., Tansey, Katherine E., Buttenschøn, Henriette Nørmølle, Cohen-Woods, Sarah, Bigdeli, Tim, Hall, Lynsey S., Kutalik, Zoltán, Lee, S. Hong, Ripke, Stephan, Steinberg, Stacy, Teumer, Alexander, Viktorin, Alexander, Wray, Naomi R., Arolt, Volker, Baune, Bernard T., Boomsma, Dorret I., Børglum, Anders D., Byrne, Enda M., Castelao, Enrique, Craddock, Nick, Craig, Ian, Dannlowski, Udo, Deary, Ian J., Degenhardt, Franziska, Forstner, Andreas J., Gordon, Scott D., Grabe, Hans J., Grove, Jakob, Hamilton, Steven P. ... Lewis, Cathryn M. (2016). Genome-wide association for major depression through age at onset stratification: Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Biological Psychiatry, 81 (4), 325-335. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.05.010
2016
Journal Article
Risk of psychiatric illness from advanced paternal age is not predominantly from de novo mutations
Gratten, Jacob, Wray, Naomi R., Peyrot, Wouter J., McGrath, John J., Visscher, Peter M. and Goddard, Michael E. (2016). Risk of psychiatric illness from advanced paternal age is not predominantly from de novo mutations. Nature Genetics, 48 (7), 718-+. doi: 10.1038/ng.3577
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, Dr 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, 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
-
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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