Overview
Background
Dr Nicole Warrington is a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the University of Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience. She has a strong background in statistical genetics and has been actively working towards understanding the genetic determinants of early life growth. Dr Warrington studied a Bachelor of Science at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, majoring in Mathematical Statistics and Psychology. She then completed an honours degree at The University of Western Australia, where she developed a keen interest for genetics, and was subsequently awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award to complete her PhD in statistical genetics and life-course epidemiology. During her PhD she spent time at the University of Toronto to gain experience in statistical modelling methods for longitudinal growth trajectories and conducted the first genome-wide association study of longitudinal growth trajectories over childhood. After completing her PhD, Dr Warrington started at the University of Queensland and focused on using genetics to inform about the relationship between birth weight and cardio-metabolic diseases in later life. She pioneered a new statistical method to partition genetic effects on birth weight into maternal and fetal components, and combined this method with a causal modelling approach, Mendelian randomization. This method was instrumental in demonstrating the relationship between birth weight and adult hypertension is driven by genetic effects, over-turning 30 years of research into the effects of intrauterine programming. More recently, her research focus has broadened to determine whether rapid weight growth across early life, including fetal development, childhood and adolescence, causally increases risk of cardio-metabolic disease and in doing so, hopes to identify optimal times across the life-course where interventions could reduce the incidence of cardio-metabolic diseases.
Availability
- Dr Nicole Warrington is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Western Australia
Research interests
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Developmental origins of health and disease
The development of obesity often occurs in early life and tends to persist into adulthood. Unfavourable growth in early life is also associated with adverse cardio-metabolic outcomes in later life, such as type two diabetes and heart disease. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this relationship is a vital step in combating these lifestyle diseases and evaluating the likely success of early interventions. This research aims to address the following questions: (a) What maternal characteristics modify the early life environment and cause rapid early life weight growth in her offspring? (b) Is there a time period in early life where rapid weight growth causes increased risk of cardio-metabolic disease in later life, independent of adult obesity? Dr Warrington is a leading member of the Early Growth Genetics (EGG) consortium, which brings together studies from around the world with growth related phenotypes and genetic data in order to conduct large-scale genetic research. The EGG consortium have conducted several large genome-wide association studies of growth phenotypes, which are published in high impact journals including Nature and Nature Genetics. The results from these genome-wide association studies are then used to perform causal modelling to help disentangle the relationship between childhood growth and later life cardio-metabolic disease risk.
Works
Search Professor Nicole Warrington’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Journal Article
Investigating the causal effect of maternal vitamin B12 and folate levels on offspring birthweight
Moen, Gunn-Helen, Beaumont, Robin N., Grarup, Niels, Sommer, Christine, Shields, Beverley M., Lawlor, Deborah A., Freathy, Rachel M., Evans, David M. and Warrington, Nicole M. (2020). Investigating the causal effect of maternal vitamin B12 and folate levels on offspring birthweight. International Journal of Epidemiology, 50 (1), 179-189. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyaa256
2020
Journal Article
A cautionary note on using Mendelian randomization to examine the Barker hypothesis and Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)
D'Urso, Shannon, Wang, Geng, Hwang, Liang-Dar, Moen, Gunn-Helen, Warrington, Nicole M. and Evans, David M. (2020). A cautionary note on using Mendelian randomization to examine the Barker hypothesis and Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 12 (5) PII S2040174420001105, 1-6. doi: 10.1017/S2040174420001105
2020
Conference Publication
Do maternal intrauterine environmental influences that lower offspring birthweight causally increase offspring cardiometabolic risk factors in later life? A Mendelian randomization study of 45,849 genotyped parent offspring pairs in the HUNT study using the OpenMx software
Moen, Gunn-Helen, Brumpton, Ben, Willer, Cristen, Asvold, Bjorn Olav, Birkeland, Kare, Neale, Michael C., Freathy, Rachel M., Smith, George Davey, Lawlor, Deborah A., Kirkpatrick, Robert M., Warrington, Nicole M. and Evans, David M. (2020). Do maternal intrauterine environmental influences that lower offspring birthweight causally increase offspring cardiometabolic risk factors in later life? A Mendelian randomization study of 45,849 genotyped parent offspring pairs in the HUNT study using the OpenMx software. 50th Annual Meeting of the Behavior-Genetics-Association (BGA), Electr Network, Jun 26, 2020. NEW YORK: SPRINGER.
2020
Journal Article
Mendelian randomization study of maternal influences on birthweight and future cardiometabolic risk in the HUNT cohort
Moen, Gunn-Helen, Brumpton, Ben, Willer, Cristen, Åsvold, Bjørn Olav, Birkeland, Kåre I., Wang, Geng, Neale, Michael C., Freathy, Rachel M., Smith, George Davey, Lawlor, Deborah A., Kirkpatrick, Robert M., Warrington, Nicole M. and Evans, David M. (2020). Mendelian randomization study of maternal influences on birthweight and future cardiometabolic risk in the HUNT cohort. Nature Communications, 11 (1) 5404, 5404. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19257-z
2020
Journal Article
Estimating indirect parental genetic effects on offspring phenotypes using virtual parental genotypes derived from sibling and half sibling pairs
Hwang, Liang-Dar, Tubbs, Justin D., Luong, Justin, Lundberg, Mischa, Moen, Gunn-Helen, Wang, Geng, Warrington, Nicole M., Sham, Pak C., Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel and Evans, David M. (2020). Estimating indirect parental genetic effects on offspring phenotypes using virtual parental genotypes derived from sibling and half sibling pairs. PLoS Genetics, 16 (10) e1009154, e1009154. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009154
2020
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study identifies 48 common genetic variants associated with handedness
Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel, Tung, Joyce Y., Eriksson, Nicholas, Albrecht, Eva, Aliev, Fazil, Andreassen, Ole A., Barroso, Inês, Beckmann, Jacques S., Boks, Marco P., Boomsma, Dorret I., Boyd, Heather A., Breteler, Monique M. B., Campbell, Harry, Chasman, Daniel I., Cherkas, Lynn F., Davies, Gail, de Geus, Eco J. C., Deary, Ian J., Deloukas, Panos, Dick, Danielle M., Duffy, David L., Eriksson, Johan G., Esko, Tõnu, Feenstra, Bjarke, Geller, Frank, Gieger, Christian, Giegling, Ina, Gordon, Scott D., Han, Jiali ... Medland, Sarah E. (2020). Genome-wide association study identifies 48 common genetic variants associated with handedness. Nature Human Behaviour, 5 (1), 59-70. doi: 10.1038/s41562-020-00956-y
2020
Journal Article
The effect of plasma lipids and lipid-lowering interventions on bone mineral density: a Mendelian randomization study
Zheng, Jie, Brion, Marie-Jo, Kemp, John P., Warrington, Nicole M., Borges, Maria-Carolina, Hemani, Gibran, Richardson, Tom G., Rasheed, Humaira, Qiao, Zhen, Haycock, Philip, Ala-Korpela, Mika, Davey Smith, George, Tobias, Jon H. and Evans, David M. (2020). The effect of plasma lipids and lipid-lowering interventions on bone mineral density: a Mendelian randomization study. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 35 (7) jbmr.3989, 1224-1235. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.3989
2020
Journal Article
Integrating family-based and Mendelian randomization designs
Hwang, Liang-Dar, Davies, Neil M., Warrington, Nicole M. and Evans, David M. (2020). Integrating family-based and Mendelian randomization designs. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine, 11 (3) a039503, 1-15. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a039503
2019
Journal Article
Introducing M-GCTA a software package to estimate maternal (or paternal) genetic effects on offspring phenotypes
Qiao, Zhen, Zheng, Jie, Helgeland, Øyvind, Vaudel, Marc, Johansson, Stefan, Njølstad, Pål R., Smith, George Davey, Warrington, Nicole M. and Evans, David M. (2019). Introducing M-GCTA a software package to estimate maternal (or paternal) genetic effects on offspring phenotypes. Behavior Genetics, 50 (1), 51-66. doi: 10.1007/s10519-019-09969-4
2019
Journal Article
GWAS on longitudinal growth traits reveals different genetic factors influencing infant, child, and adult BMI
Couto Alves, Alexessander, De Silva, N. Maneka G., Karhunen, Ville, Sovio, Ulla, Das, Shikta, Taal, H. Rob, Warrington, Nicole M., Lewin, Alexandra M., Kaakinen, Marika, Cousminer, Diana L., Thiering, Elisabeth, Timpson, Nicholas J., Bond, Tom A., Lowry, Estelle, Brown, Christopher D., Estivill, Xavier, Lindi, Virpi, Bradfield, Jonathan P., Geller, Frank, Speed, Doug, Coin, Lachlan J. M., Loh, Marie, Barton, Sheila J., Beilin, Lawrence J., Bisgaard, Hans, Bønnelykke, Klaus, Alili, Rohia, Hatoum, Ida J., Schramm, Katharina ... Early Growth Genetics (EGG) Consortium (2019). GWAS on longitudinal growth traits reveals different genetic factors influencing infant, child, and adult BMI. Science Advances, 5 (9) eaaw3095, eaaw3095. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw3095
2019
Journal Article
Using a two-sample Mendelian randomization design to investigate a possible causal effect of maternal lipid concentrations on offspring birth weight
Hwang, Liang-Dar, Lawlor, Deborah A., Freathy, Rachel M., Evans, David M. and Warrington, Nicole M. (2019). Using a two-sample Mendelian randomization design to investigate a possible causal effect of maternal lipid concentrations on offspring birth weight. International Journal of Epidemiology, 48 (5), 1457-1467. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyz160
2019
Journal Article
Maternal and fetal genetic effects on birth weight and their relevance to cardio-metabolic risk factors
Warrington, Nicole M., Beaumont, Robin N., Horikoshi, Momoko, Day, Felix R., Helgeland, Øyvind, Laurin, Charles, Bacelis, Jonas, Peng, Shouneng, Hao, Ke, Feenstra, Bjarke, Wood, Andrew R., Mahajan, Anubha, Tyrrell, Jessica, Robertson, Neil R., Rayner, N. William, Qiao, Zhen, Moen, Gunn-Helen, Vaudel, Marc, Marsit, Carmen J., Chen, Jia, Nodzenski, Michael, Schnurr, Theresia M., Zafarmand, Mohammad H., Bradfield, Jonathan P., Grarup, Niels, Kooijman, Marjolein N., Li-Gao, Ruifang, Geller, Frank, Paternoster, Lavinia ... Freathy, Rachel M. (2019). Maternal and fetal genetic effects on birth weight and their relevance to cardio-metabolic risk factors. Nature Genetics, 51 (5), 804-814. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0403-1
2019
Journal Article
Elucidating the role of maternal environmental exposures on offspring health and disease using two-sample Mendelian randomization
Evans, David M., Moen, Gunn-Helen, Hwang, Liang-Dar, Lawlor, Debbie A. and Warrington, Nicole M. (2019). Elucidating the role of maternal environmental exposures on offspring health and disease using two-sample Mendelian randomization. International Journal of Epidemiology, 48 (3), 861-875. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyz019
2019
Journal Article
Effect modification of FADS2 polymorphisms on the association between breastfeeding and intelligence: results from a collaborative meta-analysis
Hartwig, Fernando Pires, Davies, Neil Martin, Horta, Bernardo Lessa, Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S., Bisgaard, Hans, Bønnelykke, Klaus, Caspi, Avshalom, Moffitt, Terrie E., Poulton, Richie, Sajjad, Ayesha, Tiemeier, Henning W., Dalmau-Bueno, Albert, Guxens, Mònica, Bustamante, Mariona, Santa-Marina, Loreto, Parker, Nadine, Paus, Tomáš, Pausova, Zdenka, Lauritzen, Lotte, Schnurr, Theresia M., Michaelsen, Kim F., Hansen, Torben, Oddy, Wendy, Pennell, Craig E., Warrington, Nicole M., Davey Smith, George and Victora, Cesar Gomes (2019). Effect modification of FADS2 polymorphisms on the association between breastfeeding and intelligence: results from a collaborative meta-analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology, 48 (1), 45-57. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyy273
2019
Conference Publication
Using Mendelian randomization to estimate the causal effect of maternal (intrauterine) exposures on late onset offspring outcomes
Evans, David, Warrington, Nicole, Partida, Gabriel Cuellar and Hwang, Daniel (2019). Using Mendelian randomization to estimate the causal effect of maternal (intrauterine) exposures on late onset offspring outcomes. 49th Annual Meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association (BGA), Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 June, 2019. New York, NY, United States: Springer New York LLC. doi: 10.1007/s10519-019-09973-8
2019
Journal Article
Calculating Power to Detect Maternal and Offspring Genetic Effects in Genetic Association Studies
Moen, Gunn-Helen, Hemani, Gibran, Warrington, Nicole M. and Evans, David M. (2019). Calculating Power to Detect Maternal and Offspring Genetic Effects in Genetic Association Studies. Behavior Genetics, 49 (3), 327-339. doi: 10.1007/s10519-018-9944-9
2018
Journal Article
Antibody response to common human viruses is shaped by genetic factors
Hayward, Tanisha A., Zhu, Gu, Warrington, Nicole M., Wong, Yide, Ryan, Rachael Y.M., Murray, Abella M., Haigh, Oscar, Martin, Nicholas G., Miles, John J. and Evans, David M. (2018). Antibody response to common human viruses is shaped by genetic factors. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 143 (4), 1640-1643. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2018.11.039
2018
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study identifies nine novel loci for 2D:4D finger ratio, a putative retrospective biomarker of testosterone exposure in utero
Warrington, Nicole M., Shevroja, Enisa, Hemani, Gibran, Hysi, Pirro G., Jiang, Yunxuan, Auton, Adam, Boer, Cindy G., Mangino, Massimo, Wang, Carol A., Kemp, John P., McMahon, George, Medina-Gomez, Carolina, Hickey, Martha, Trajanoska, Katerina, Wolke, Dieter, Ikram, Arfan M., 23 and Me Research Team, Montgomery, Grant W., Felix, Janine F., Wright, Margaret J., Mackey, David A., Jaddoe, Vincent W., Martin, Nicholas G., Tung, Joyce Y., Davey Smith, George, Pennell, Craig E., Spector, Tim D., van Meurs, Joyce, Rivadeneira, Fernando ... Evans, David M. (2018). Genome-wide association study identifies nine novel loci for 2D:4D finger ratio, a putative retrospective biomarker of testosterone exposure in utero. Human Molecular Genetics, 27 (11), 2025-2038. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddy121
2018
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study of offspring birth weight in 86,577 women identifies five novel loci and highlights maternal genetic effects that are independent of fetal genetics
Beaumont, Robin N., Warrington, Nicole M., Cavadino, Alana, Tyrrell, Jessica, Nodzenski, Michael, Horikoshi, Momoko, Geller, Frank, Myhre, Ronny, Richmond, Rebecca C., Paternoster, Lavinia, Bradfield, Jonathan P., Kreiner-Møller, Eskil, Huikari, Ville, Metrustry, Sarah, Lunetta, Kathryn L., Painter, Jodie N., Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Allard, Catherine, Barton, Sheila J., Espinosa, Ana, Marsh, Julie A., Potter, Catherine, Zhang, Ge, Ang, Wei, Berry, Diane J., Bouchard, Luigi, Das, Shikta, Early Growth Genetics (EGG) Consortium, Hakonarson, Hakon ... Freathy, Rachel M. (2018). Genome-wide association study of offspring birth weight in 86,577 women identifies five novel loci and highlights maternal genetic effects that are independent of fetal genetics. Human Molecular Genetics, 27 (4) ddx429, 742-756. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddx429
2018
Journal Article
Using structural equation modelling to jointly estimate maternal and fetal effects on birthweight in the UK Biobank
Warrington, Nicole M., Freathy, Rachel M., Neale, Michael C. and Evans, David M. (2018). Using structural equation modelling to jointly estimate maternal and fetal effects on birthweight in the UK Biobank. International Journal of Epidemiology, 47 (4), 1229-1241. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyy015
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Nicole Warrington is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Using multi-omics approaches to characterise determinants of early growth trajectories and their consequences on later life health
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Jake Gratten, Professor David Evans
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Doctor Philosophy
Developing and Applying Statistical Genetics Methods to Elucidate the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor David Evans
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Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the time and tissue dependent genetic architecture of complex traits
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Loic Yengo
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Doctor Philosophy
Identifying pharmacological targets for osteoporosis intervention using whole-genome and exome sequencing of bone related phenotypes
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr John Kemp
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Using Genetics to Understand the Relationship Between the Intrauterine Environment and Future Offspring Cardiometabolic Risk
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor David Evans
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Detecting and Quantifying the Effect of Assortative mating and Maternal Effects on Statistical Genetics Analyses
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor David Evans
Media
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