
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
2015
Journal Article
Joint analysis of psychiatric disorders increases accuracy of risk prediction for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder
Maier, Robert, Moser, Gerhard, Chen, Guo-Bo, Ripke, Stephan, Cross-Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Coryell, William, Potash, James B., Scheftner, William A., Shi, Jianxin, Weissman, Myrna M., Hultman, Christina M., Landen, Mikael, Levinson, Douglas F., Kendler, Kenneth S., Smoller, Jordan W., Wray, Naomi R. and Lee, S. Hong (2015). Joint analysis of psychiatric disorders increases accuracy of risk prediction for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. American Journal of Human Genetics, 96 (2), 283-294. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.12.006
2015
Journal Article
Seasonality shows evidence for polygenic architecture and genetic correlation with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Byrne, Enda M, Raheja, Uttam K, Stephens, Sarah H, Heath, Andrew C, Madden, Pamela A, Vaswani, Dipika, Nijjar, Gagan V, Ryan, Kathleen A, Youssufi, Hassaan, Gehrman, Philip R, Shuldiner, Alan R, Martin, Nicholas G, Montgomery, Grant W, Wray, Naomi R, Nelson, Elliot C, Mitchell, Braxton D, Postolache, Teodor T, Psychiatric Genetics Consortium Major Depressive Disorder Working Group and Middeldorp, Christel (2015). Seasonality shows evidence for polygenic architecture and genetic correlation with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 76 (2), 128-134. doi: 10.4088/JCP.14m08981
2015
Journal Article
Cohort profile update: the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP)
Najman, Jake M., Alati, Rosa, Bor, William, Clavarino, Alexandra, Mamun, Abdullah, McGrath, John J., McIntyre, David, O'Callaghan, Michael, Scott, James, Shuttlewood, Greg, Williams, Gail M. and Wray, Naomi (2015). Cohort profile update: the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP). International Journal of Epidemiology, 44 (1), 78-78f. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyu234
2015
Journal Article
Heritability of Transforming Growth Factor-β1 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-Receptor Type 1 Expression and Vitamin D Levels in Healthy Adolescent Twins
Mills, Natalie T., Wright, Margaret J., Henders, Anjali K., Eyles, Darryl W., Baune, Bernhard T., McGrath, John J., Byrne, Edna M., Hansell, Narelle K., Birosova, Eva, Scott, James G., Martin, Nicholas G., Montgomery, Grant W., Wray, Naomi R. and Vinkhuyzen, Anna A. E. (2015). Heritability of Transforming Growth Factor-β1 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-Receptor Type 1 Expression and Vitamin D Levels in Healthy Adolescent Twins. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 18 (1), 28-35. doi: 10.1017/thg.2014.70
2015
Journal Article
DNA methylation age of blood predicts all-cause mortality in later life
Marioni, Riccardo E., Shah, Sonia, McRae, Allan F., Chen, Brian H., Colicino, Elena, Harris, Sarah E., Gibson, Jude, Henders, Anjali K., Redmond, Paul, Cox, Simon R., Pattie, Alison, Corley, Janie, Murphy, Lee, Martin, Nicholas G., Montgomery, Grant W., Feinberg, Andrew P., Fallin, M. Daniele, Multhaup, Michael L., Jaffe, Andrew E., Joehanes, Roby, Schwartz, Joel, Just, Allan C., Lunetta, Kathryn L., Murabito, Joanne M., Starr, John M., Horvath, Steve, Baccarelli, Andrea A., Levy, Daniel, Visscher, Peter M. ... Deary, Ian J. (2015). DNA methylation age of blood predicts all-cause mortality in later life. Genome Biology, 16 (1) 25, 25.1-25.12. doi: 10.1186/s13059-015-0584-6
2015
Journal Article
Psychiatric genome-wide association study analyses implicate neuronal, immune and histone pathways
O'Dushlaine, Colm, Rossin, Lizzy, Lee, Phil H., Duncan, Laramie, Parikshak, Neelroop N., Newhouse, Stephen, Ripke, Stephan, Neale, Benjamin M., Purcell, Shaun M., Posthuma, Danielle, Nurnberger, John I., Lee, S. Hong, Faraone, Stephen V., Perlis, Roy H., Mowry, Bryan J, Thapar, Anita, Goddard, Michael E., Witte, John S., Absher, Devin, Agartz, Ingrid, Akil, Huda, Amin, Farooq, Andreassen, Ole A., Anjorin, Adebayo, Anney, Richard, Anttila, Verneri, Arking, Dan E., Asherson, Philip, Azevedo, Maria H. ... Breen, Gerome (2015). Psychiatric genome-wide association study analyses implicate neuronal, immune and histone pathways. Nature Neuroscience, 18 (2), 199-209. doi: 10.1038/nn.3922
2015
Journal Article
New data and an old puzzle: the negative association between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis
Lee, S. Hong, Byrne, Enda M., Hultman, Christina M., Kahler, Anna, Vinkhuyzen, Anna A. E., Ripke, Stephan, Andreassen, Ole A., Frisell, Thomas, Gusev, Alexander, Hu, Xinli, Karlsson, Robert, Mantzioris, Vasilis X., McGrath, John J., Mehta, Divya, Stahl, Eli A., Zhao, Qiongyi, Kendler, Kenneth S., Sullivan, Patrick F., Price, Alkes L., O'Donovan, Michael, Okada, Yukinori, Mowry, Bryan J., Raychaudhuri, Soumya, Wray, Naomi R., Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium International and Visscher, Peter M . (2015). New data and an old puzzle: the negative association between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis. International Journal of Epidemiology, 44 (5) dyv136, 1-16. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyv136
2015
Conference Publication
Early Career Psychiatrists Special Interest Group Symposium
Mills, N., Nelson, E., Scott, J., Whitfield, J., Martin, N., Wright, M., Wray, N., Byrne, E. and Martin, J. (2015). Early Career Psychiatrists Special Interest Group Symposium. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015 Congress: Measurers and Thinkers: Psychiatry as Science and Art, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 3-15 May 2015. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/0004867415578344
2015
Conference Publication
Lifetime stress accelerates epigenetic aging
Zannas, A., Carrillo-Roa, T., Iurato, S., Arloth, J., Roeh, S., Ressler, K., Nemeroff, C., Smith, A., Bradley, B., Heim, C., Lange, J., Brueckl, T., Ising, M., Wray, N., Erhardt, A., Binder, E. and Mehta, D. (2015). Lifetime stress accelerates epigenetic aging. 28th Congress of the European-College-of-Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), Amsterdam Netherlands, Aug 29-Sep 01, 2015. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/S0924-977X(15)30161-9
2015
Conference Publication
Using C-Reactive Protein Genetic Profile Scores to Predict Risk of Anxiety
Mills, N., Scott, J., Whitfield, J., Wright, M., Martin, N., Wray, N. and Byrne, E. (2015). Using C-Reactive Protein Genetic Profile Scores to Predict Risk of Anxiety. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015 Congress: Measurers and Thinkers: Psychiatry as Science and Art, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 3-15 May 2015. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/0004867415578344
2015
Conference Publication
Characterizing an inverse axis between orthogonal sources of genetic risk
Davis, Lea K., Lee, S. Hong, Gamazon, Eric R., Im, Hae-Kyung, Yu, Dongmei, Williams, Stephanie, Sullivan, Patrick F., Mathews, Carol, Knowles, James, Scharf, Jeremiah, Wray, Naomi and Cox, Nancy J. (2015). Characterizing an inverse axis between orthogonal sources of genetic risk. Annual Meeting of the International-Genetic-Epidemiology-Society (IGES), Baltimore Md, Oct 04-06 2015. Hoboken, NJ, United States: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/gepi.21916
2015
Conference Publication
Presence of distinct, stimulus-specific subpopulations of quiescent precursors in the adult mouse hippocampus
Jhaveri, D., O'Keeffe, I., Robinson, G., Zhao, Q-Y., Zhang, Z. H., Nink, V., Osborne, G., Wray, N. and Bartlett, P. (2015). Presence of distinct, stimulus-specific subpopulations of quiescent precursors in the adult mouse hippocampus. 25th Biennial Meeting of the International-Society-for-Neurochemistry Jointly with the 13th Meeting of the Asian-Pacific-Society-for-Neurochemistry in Conjunction with the 35th Meeting of the Australasian-Neuroscience-Society, Cairns, QLD Australia, 23-27 August 2015. Chichester, West Sussex United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell.
2015
Conference Publication
Investigating the Relationship Between C-Reactive Protein Genetic Profile Scores and Depression
Mills, N., Nelson, E., Scott, J., Whitfield, J., Martin, N., Wright, M., Wray, N. and Byrne, E. (2015). Investigating the Relationship Between C-Reactive Protein Genetic Profile Scores and Depression. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015 Congress: Measurers and Thinkers: Psychiatry as Science and Art, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 3-15 May 2015. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/0004867415578344
2014
Journal Article
The contribution of genetic variants to disease depends on the ruler
Witte, John S., Visscher, Peter M. and Wray, Naomi R. (2014). The contribution of genetic variants to disease depends on the ruler. Nature Reviews Genetics, 15 (11), 765-776. doi: 10.1038/nrg3786
2014
Journal Article
Genetic and environmental exposures constrain epigenetic drift over the human life course
Shah, Sonia, McRae, Allan F., Marioni, Riccardo E., Harris, Sarah E., Gibson, Jude, Henders, Anjali K., Redmond, Paul, Cox, Simon R., Pattie, Alison, Corley, Janie, Murphy, Lee, Martin, Nicholas G., Montgomery, Grant W., Starr, John M., Wray, Naomi R., Deary, Ian J. and Visscher, Peter M. (2014). Genetic and environmental exposures constrain epigenetic drift over the human life course. Genome Research, 24 (11), 1725-1733. doi: 10.1101/gr.176933.114
2014
Journal Article
Partitioning Heritability of Regulatory and Cell-Type-Specific Variants across 11 Common Diseases
Gusev, Alexander, Lee, S. Hong, Trynka, Gosia, Finucane, Hilary, Vilhjálmsson, Bjarni J., Xu, Han, Zang, Chongzhi, Ripke, Stephan, Bulik-Sullivan, Brendan, Stahl, Eli, Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, SWE-SCZ Consortium, Kaehler, Anna K., Hultman, Christina M., Purcell, Shaun M., McCarroll, Steven A., Daly, Mark, Pasaniuc, Bogdan, Sullivan, Patrick F., Neale, Benjamin M., Wray, Naomi R., Raychaudhuri, Soumya, Price, Alkes L., Visscher, Peter M., Mowry, Bryan J., Psychosis Endophenotypes International Consortium and Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (2014). Partitioning Heritability of Regulatory and Cell-Type-Specific Variants across 11 Common Diseases. American Journal of Human Genetics, 95 (5), 535-552. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.10.004
2014
Journal Article
Novel directions for G × E analysis in psychiatry
Vinkhuyzen, A. A. E. and Wray, N. R. (2014). Novel directions for G × E analysis in psychiatry. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 24 (1), 12-19. doi: 10.1017/S2045796014000584
2014
Journal Article
Genetic studies of major depressive disorder: why are there no genome-wide association study findings and what can we do about it?
Levinson, Douglas F., Mostafavi, Sara, Milaneschi, Yuri, Rivera, Margarita, Ripke, Stephan, Wray, Naomi R. and Sullivan, Patrick F. (2014). Genetic studies of major depressive disorder: why are there no genome-wide association study findings and what can we do about it?. Biological Psychiatry, 76 (7), 510-512. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.07.029
2014
Journal Article
Estimation and partitioning of (co)heritability of inflammatory bowel disease from GWAS and immunochip data
Chen, Guo-Bo, Lee, Sang Hong, Brion, Marie-Jo A., Montgomery, Grant W., Wray, Naomi R., Radford-Smith, Graham L., Visscher, Peter M., The International IBD Genetics Consortium, Australia and New Zealand IBDGC, Belgium Genetic Consortium, Initiative on Crohn and Colitis, NIDDK IBDGC, United Kingdom IBDGC and Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (2014). Estimation and partitioning of (co)heritability of inflammatory bowel disease from GWAS and immunochip data. Human Molecular Genetics, 23 (17) ddu174, 4710-4720. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddu174
2014
Journal Article
A comparative study of techniques for differential expression analysis on RNA-seq data
Zhang, Zong Hong, Jhaveri, Dhanisha J., Marshall, Vikki M., Bauer, Denis C., Edson, Janette, Narayanan, Ramesh K., Robinson, Gregory J., Lundberg, Andreas E., Bartlett, Perry F., Wray, Naomi R. and Zhao, Qiong-Yi (2014). A comparative study of techniques for differential expression analysis on RNA-seq data. PLoS One, 9 (8) e103207, 1-11. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103207
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Naomi Wray is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
ELUCIDATING LIFESTYLE AND GENETIC FACTORS UNDERLYING DEPRESSION HETEROGENEITY AND TREATMENT RESPONSE
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Enda Byrne
-
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
-
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
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
Genetics of childhood onset psychiatric symptoms, their persistence and comorbidity with other traits
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Enda Byrne
Completed supervision
-
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 Gerard Byrne, 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
Exploring the influence of genetics and heritability on the heterogeneity of ADHD presentations
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Sarah Medland
-
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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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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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Improving fine-mapping methodology using DNA methylation as a model trait
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Visscher, Dr Allan McRae
-
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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