
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
2013
Journal Article
Common variation contributes to the genetic architecture of social communication traits
St Pourcain, Beate, Whitehouse, Andrew J. O., Ang, Wei Q., Warrington, Nicole M., Glessner, Joseph T., Wang, Kai, Timpson, Nicholas J., Evans, David M., Kemp, John P., Ring,Susan M., McArdle, Wendy L., Golding, Jean, Hakonarson, Hakon, Pennell, Craig E. and Smith, George Davey (2013). Common variation contributes to the genetic architecture of social communication traits. Molecular Autism, 4 (1) 34, 34.1-34.12. doi: 10.1186/2040-2392-4-34
2012
Journal Article
Genome-wide meta-analysis of common variant differences between men and women
Boraska, Vesna, Jeroncic, Ana, Colonna, Vincenza, Southam, Lorraine, Nyholt, Dale R., Rayner, Nigel William, Perry, John R. B., Toniolo, Daniela, Albrecht, Eva, Ang, Wei, Bandinelli, Stefania, Barbalic, Maja, Barroso, Ines, Beckmann, Jacques S., Biffar, Reiner, Boomsma, Dorret, Campbell, Harry, Corre, Tanguy, Erdmann, Jeanette, Esko, Tonu, Fischer, Krista, Franceschini, Nora, Frayling, Timothy M., Girotto, Giorgia, Gonzalez, Juan R., Harris, Tamara B., Heath, Andrew C., Heid, Iris M., Hoffmann, Wolfgang ... Zeggini, Eleftheria (2012). Genome-wide meta-analysis of common variant differences between men and women. Human Molecular Genetics, 21 (21) dds304, 4805-4815. doi: 10.1093/hmg/dds304
2012
Journal Article
Genome-Wide Association Study to Identify the Genetic Determinants of Otitis Media Susceptibility in Childhood
Rye, Marie S., Warrington, Nicole M., Scaman, Elizabeth S. H., Vijayasekaran, Shyan, Coates, Harvey L., Anderson, Denise, Pennell, Craig E., Blackwell, Jenefer M. and Jamieson, Sarra E. (2012). Genome-Wide Association Study to Identify the Genetic Determinants of Otitis Media Susceptibility in Childhood. PLoS One, 7 (10) e48215, e48215.1-e48215.12. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048215
2012
Journal Article
Common variants at 12q15 and 12q24 are associated with infant head circumference
Taal, H. Rob, St Pourcain, Beate, Thiering, Elisabeth, Das, Shikta, Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O., Warrington, Nicole M., Kaakinen, Marika, Kreiner-Møller, Eskil, Bradfield, Jonathan P., Freathy, Rachel M., Geller, Frank, Guxens, Mònica, Cousminer, Diana L., Kerkhof, Marjan, Timpson, Nicholas J., Ikram, M. Arfan, Beilin, Lawrence J., Bønnelykke, Klaus, Buxton, Jessica L., Charoen, Pimphen, Chawes, Bo Lund Krogsgaard, Eriksson, Johan, Evans, David M., Hofman, Albert, Kemp, John P., Kim, Cecilia E., Klopp, Norman, Lahti, Jari, Lye, Stephen J. ... Middeldorp, Christel (2012). Common variants at 12q15 and 12q24 are associated with infant head circumference. Nature Genetics, 44 (5), 532-538. doi: 10.1038/ng.2238
2012
Journal Article
A genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies new childhood obesity loci
Bradfield, Jonathan P., Taal, H. Rob, Timpson, Nicholas J., Scherag, André, Lecoeur, Cecile, Warrington, Nicole M., Hypponen, Elina, Holst, Claus, Valcarcel, Beatriz, Thiering, Elisabeth, Salem, Rany M., Schumacher, Fredrick R., Cousminer, Diana L., Sleiman, Patrick M. A., Zhao, Jianhua, Berkowitz, Robert I., Vimaleswaran, Karani S., Jarick, Ivonne, Pennell, Craig E., Evans, David M., St Pourcain, Beate, Berry, Diane J., Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O., Hofman, Albert, Rivadeneira, Fernando, Uitterlinden, André G., van Duijn, Cornelia M., van der Valk, Ralf J. P., de Jongste, Johan C. ... Grant, Struan F. A. (2012). A genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies new childhood obesity loci. Nature Genetics, 44 (5), 526-531. doi: 10.1038/ng.2247
2012
Journal Article
Associations between anxious-depressed symptoms and cardiovascular risk factors in a longitudinal childhood study
Louise, Sandra, Warrington, Nicole M., McCaskie, Pamela A., Oddy, Wendy H., Zubrick, Stephen R., Hands, Beth, Mori, Trevor A., Briollais, Laurent, Silburn, Sven, Palmer, Lyle J., Mattes, Eugen and Beilin, Lawrence J. (2012). Associations between anxious-depressed symptoms and cardiovascular risk factors in a longitudinal childhood study. Preventive Medicine, 54 (5), 345-350. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.03.004
2012
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study to identify common variants associated with brachial circumference: A meta-analysis of 14 cohorts
Boraska, Vesna, Day-Williams, Aaron, Franklin, Christopher S., Elliott, Katherine S., Panoutsopoulou, Kalliope, Tachmazidou, Ioanna, Albrecht, Eva, Bandinelli, Stefania, Beilin, Lawrence J., Bochud, Murielle, Cadby, Gemma, Ernst, Florian, Evans, David M., Hayward, Caroline, Hicks, Andrew A., Huffman, Jennifer, Huth, Cornelia, James, Alan L., Klopp, Norman, Kolcic, Ivana, Kutalik, Zoltan, Lawlor, Debbie A., Musk, Arthur W., Pehlic, Marina, Pennell, Craig E., Perry, John R. B., Peters, Annette, Polasek, Ozren, St Pourcain, Beate ... Zeggini, Eleftheria (2012). Genome-wide association study to identify common variants associated with brachial circumference: A meta-analysis of 14 cohorts. Plos One, 7 (3) e31369, e31369.1-e31369.10. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031369
2012
Journal Article
Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies three new risk loci for atopic dermatitis
Paternoster, Lavinia, Standl, Marie, Chen, Chi-Mei, Ramasamy, Adaikalavan, Bonnelykke, Klaus, Duijts, Liesbeth, Ferreira, Manuel A., Alves, Alexessander C., Thyssen, Jacob P., Albrecht, Eva, Baurecht, Hansjorg, Feenstra, Bjarke, Sleiman, Patrick M. A., Hysi, Piro, Warrington, Nicole M., Curjuric, Ivan, Myhre, Ronny, Curtin, John A., Groen-Blokhuis, Maria M., Kerkhof, Marjan, Saaf, Annika, Franke, Andre, Ellinghaus, David, Folster-Holst, Regina, Dermitzakis, Emmanouil, Montgomery, Stephen B., Prokisch, Holger, Heim, Katharina, Hartikainen, Anna-Lisa ... EArly Genetics Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) Consortium (2012). Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies three new risk loci for atopic dermatitis. Nature Genetics, 44 (2), 187-192. doi: 10.1038/ng.1017
2012
Journal Article
Fat mass and obesity-associated obesity-risk genotype is associated with lower foetal growth: An effect that is reversed in the offspring of smoking mothers
Marsh, J. A., Pennell, C. E., Warrington, N. M., Mook-Kanamori, D., Briollais, L., Lye, S. J., Beilin, L. J., Steegers, E., Hofman, A., Jaddoe, V. W. V., Newnham, J.P. and Palmer, L. J. (2012). Fat mass and obesity-associated obesity-risk genotype is associated with lower foetal growth: An effect that is reversed in the offspring of smoking mothers. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 3 (1), 10-20. doi: 10.1017/S2040174411000638
2012
Journal Article
Loci affecting gamma-glutamyl transferase in adults and adolescents show age x SNP interaction and cardiometabolic disease associations
Middelberg, Rita P., Benyamin, Beben, de Moor, Marleen H. M., Warrington, Nicole M., Gordon, Scott, Henders, Anjali K., Medland, Sarah E., Nyholt, Dale R., de Geus, Eco J. C., Hottenga, Jouke J., Willemsen, Gonneke, Beilin, Lawrence J., Mori, Trevor A., Wright, Margaret J., Heath, Andrew C., Madden, Pamela A. F., Boomsma, Dorret I., Pennell, Craig E., Montgomery, Grant W., Martin, Nicholas G. and Whitfield, John B. (2012). Loci affecting gamma-glutamyl transferase in adults and adolescents show age x SNP interaction and cardiometabolic disease associations. Human Molecular Genetics, 21 (2) ddr478, 446-455. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddr478
2012
Journal Article
Genetic variation in the beta-2 adrenergic receptor is associated with chronic musculoskeletal complaints in adolescents
Skouen, J. S., Smith, A. J., Warrington, N. M., O'Sullivan, P. B., McKenzie, L., Pennell, C. E. and Straker, L. M. (2012). Genetic variation in the beta-2 adrenergic receptor is associated with chronic musculoskeletal complaints in adolescents. European Journal of Pain (United Kingdom), 16 (9), 1232-1242. doi: 10.1002/j.1532-2149.2012.00131.x
2012
Journal Article
Associations between aggressive behaviour scores and cardiovascular risk factors in childhood
Louise, S., Warrington, N. M., McCaskie, P. A., Oddy, W. H., Zubrick, S. R., Hands, B., Mori, T. A., Briollais, L., Silburn, S., Palmer, L. J., Mattes, E. and Beilin, L. J. (2012). Associations between aggressive behaviour scores and cardiovascular risk factors in childhood. Pediatric Obesity, 7 (4), 319-328. doi: 10.1111/j.2047-6310.2012.00047.x
2012
Journal Article
Role of the TCF4 gene intronic variant in normal variation of corneal endothelium
MacKey, David A., Warrington, Nicole M., Hewitt, Alex W., Oates, Sandra K., Yazar, Seyhan, Soloshenko, Alla, Crawford, Geoffrey J., Mountain, Jenny A. and Pennell, Craig E. (2012). Role of the TCF4 gene intronic variant in normal variation of corneal endothelium. Cornea, 31 (2), 162-166. doi: 10.1097/ICO.0b013e318226155f
2012
Journal Article
The impact of breastfeeding on FTO-related BMI growth trajectories: An application to the Raine pregnancy cohort study
Abarin, Taraneh, wu, Yan Yan, Warrington, Nicole, Lye, Stephen, Pennell, Craig and Briollais, Laurent (2012). The impact of breastfeeding on FTO-related BMI growth trajectories: An application to the Raine pregnancy cohort study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 41 (6) dys171, 1650-1660. doi: 10.1093/ije/dys171
2011
Journal Article
Hospitalisation with infection, asthma and allergy in kawasaki disease patients and their families: Genealogical analysis using linked population data
Webster,Rebecca J., Carter, Kim W., Warrington, Nicole M., Loh, Angeline M., Zaloumis, Sophie, Kuijpers, Taco W., Palmer, Lyle J. and Burgner, David P. (2011). Hospitalisation with infection, asthma and allergy in kawasaki disease patients and their families: Genealogical analysis using linked population data. PLoS One, 6 (11) e28004, e28004.1-e28004.11. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0028004
2011
Journal Article
Genome-wide association and large-scale follow up identifies 16 new loci influencing lung function
Artigas, M.S., Loth, D.W., Wain, L.V., Gharib, S.A., Obeidat, M., Tang, W.B., Zhai, G.J., Zhao, J.H., Smith, A.V., Huffman, J.E., Albrecht, E., Jackson, C.M., Evans, D.M., Cadby, G., Fornage, M., Manichaikul, A., Lopez, L.M., Johnson, T., Aldrich, M.C., Aspelund, T., Barroso, I., Campbell, H., Cassano, P.A., Couper, D.J., Eiriksdottir, G., Franceschini, N., Garcia, M., Gieger, C., Gislason, G.K. ... GIANT Consortium (2011). Genome-wide association and large-scale follow up identifies 16 new loci influencing lung function. Nature Genetics, 43 (11), 1082-1090. doi: 10.1038/ng.941
2011
Journal Article
Obesity-susceptibility loci have a limited influence on birth weight: A meta-analysis of up to 28,219 individuals
Kilpelainen T.O., Den Hoed M., Ong K.K., Grontved A., Brage S., Jameson K., Cooper C., Khaw K.-T., Ekelund U., Wareham N.J., Loos R.J.F., Freathy R.M., Mook-Kanamori D.O., Sovio U., Prokopenko I., Timpson N.J., Berry D.J., Warrington N.M., Widen E., Hottenga J.J., Kaakinen M., Lange L.A., Bradfield J.P., Kerkhof M., Marsh J.A., Magi R., Chen C.-M., Lyon H.N., Kirin M. ... McCarthy M.I. (2011). Obesity-susceptibility loci have a limited influence on birth weight: A meta-analysis of up to 28,219 individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 93 (4), 851-860. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.000828
2011
Journal Article
Association of genetic loci with glucose levels in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis of over 6,000 children
Barker, Adam, Sharp, Stephen J., Timpson, Nicholas J., Bouatia-Naji, Nabila, Warrington, Nicole M., Kanoni, Stavroula, Beilin, Lawrence J., Brage, Soren, Deloukas, Panos, Evans, David M., Grontved, Anders, Hassanali, Neelam, Lawlor, Deborah A., Lecoeur, Cecile, Loos, Ruth J.F., Lye, Stephen J., McCarthy, Mark I., Mori, Trevor A., Ndiaye, Ndeye Coumba, Newnham, John P., Ntalla, Ioanna, Pennell, Craig E., St Pourcain, Beate, Prokopenko, Inga, Ring, Susan M., Sattar, Naveed, Visvikis-Siest, Sophie, Dedoussis, George V., Palmer, Lyle J. ... Langenberg, Claudia (2011). Association of genetic loci with glucose levels in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis of over 6,000 children. Diabetes, 60 (6), 1805-1812. doi: 10.2337/db10-1575
2011
Journal Article
Association between C reactive protein and coronary heart disease: mendelian randomisation analysis based on individual participant data
C Reactive Protein Coronary Heart Disease Genetics Collaboration (CCGC) and Warrington, N. (2011). Association between C reactive protein and coronary heart disease: mendelian randomisation analysis based on individual participant data. BMJ, 342 (7794) d548, d548.1-d548.8. doi: 10.1136/bmj.d548
2011
Journal Article
Variants near CCNL1/LEKR1 and in ADCY5 and fetal growth characteristics in different trimesters
Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O., Marsh, Julie A., Warrington, Nicole M., Taal, H. Rob, Newnham, John P., Beilin, Lawrie J., Lye, Stephen J., Palmer, Lyle J., Hofman, Albert, Steegers, Eric A. P., Pennell, Craig E. and Jaddoe, Vincent W. V. (2011). Variants near CCNL1/LEKR1 and in ADCY5 and fetal growth characteristics in different trimesters. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 96 (5), E810-E815. doi: 10.1210/jc.2010-2316
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Nicole Warrington is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
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
Investigating the time and tissue dependent genetic architecture of complex traits
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Loic Yengo
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Doctor Philosophy
Identifying genetic and cellular determinants of musculoskeletal disorders
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr John Kemp
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Doctor Philosophy
Identifying genetic and cellular determinants of musculoskeletal disorders
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr John Kemp
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Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the time and tissue dependent genetic architecture of complex traits
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Loic Yengo
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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
Using single cell transcriptomics, gene-mapping, and animal models to accelerate drug discovery for patients with osteoporosis
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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