Leaders

Naomi Wray, Director
Michael Davys Professor of Neuroscience
Dept of Psychiatry & Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, UK
Professor of Complex Trait Genomics
National Centre for Register-based Research, Aarhus University
Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Australia

Naomi Wray is internationally recognised for her research in psychiatric genetics which builds on a strong theoretical background in quantitative genetics. She plays a leading role in the International Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Her first career was in genetics of livestock production where massive longitudinal genetically informative data sets have been the norm for decades. She was the first to consider and apply the use of polygenic risk scoring from genome-wide association study data and the first to use these data to estimate genetic correlations between complex diseases. More recently she has worked on many types of omics data both in method development and in application to disorders of the brain. Prior to joining the University of Oxford in June 2023, she was head of the Division of Genetics and Genomics at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland.

Preben Bo Mortensen, Co-director
Professor, Dr.Med.Sc.
National Centre for Register-based Research, Aarhus University, DK 

Preben Bo Mortensen founded the National Centre for Register-based Research (NCRR) at Aarhus University. For the last two decades, he has revolutionised register-based epidemiological studies by linking biobank data to register data. With colleagues at the Danish State Serum Institute, he has used the small amounts of blood available in newborn bloodspot material to create new knowledge in genetics, epigenetics, studies of prenatal exposures, and neonatal metabolomics. This work has led to several large-scale projects, notably The Lundbeck Foundation’s Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research iPSYCH.  

Chris Holmes, Co-director
Professor of Biostatistics and Genomics
Department of Statistics & Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, UK

Chris Holmes is a Statutory Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Oxford, and the Programme Director for Health and Medical Sciences at the Alan Turing Institute, UK. His research explores the potential of computational statistics and statistical machine learning to assist in the medical and health sciences. He is particularly interested in Bayesian decision analysis in complex biomedical data environments. This includes theoretical foundations, novel methodology, and “hands-on” study-driven data science. 

Cecilia Lindgren, Co-director
Professor of Genomics of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, UK

Cecilia Lindgren is a world leader in the field of cardiometabolic traits, studying genetic predisposition and underlying molecular mechanisms of human diseases. In line with this, she is co-chair of a range of large-scale international common disease consortia, and she is a co-founder and co-chair of the International Common Disease Alliance (ICDA). She was the Director of the Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford in 2020-2023.

Bjarni Jóhann Vilhjálmsson, Co-director
Professor of Statistical and Psychiatric Genetics
National Centre for Register-based Research, Aarhus University, DK

Bjarni Jóhann Vilhjálmsson is a statistical geneticist who is motivated to understand the interplay between genetic and environmental factors when determining the causes of disease by leveraging large population-scale data. He leads a research group at Aarhus University that is focused on developing methods that integrate health registers and large genetic data to understand psychiatric disorders and other diseases. He is the author of LDpred1/2, one of the most cited methods and software for deriving Polygenic Risk Scores.

Erin Evelyn Gabriel, Co-director
Associate Professor of Biostatistics
Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, DK

Erin Evelyn Gabriel is a biostatistician with hands-on experience from the National Institutes of Health in the USA, where she remains affiliated. She primarily works on methods for causal inference, with special focus on methods for nonparametric bounding of partially identified and unidentified causal effects. She leads a research group at the University of Copenhagen focusing on methods in causal inference. Although she has previously worked in infectious disease research, she has recently begun working in common complex disease areas.

Peter Visscher, Co-director
Professor of Quantitative Genetics
Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, UK
Professor of Quantitative Genetics
Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Australia

Peter Visscher FRS is known for his research investigating the genetic basis of complex human traits, including common diseases. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of human trait variation. Visscher developed and applied statistical analysis methods to quantify and dissect the contribution of DNA polymorphisms to trait variation. He was one of the first to propose, advocate and show that genome and trait data can be used to predict individuals who are genetically at high risk of disease. The use of “polygenic risk scores” in health care is now being trialled worldwide. He has held Faculty positions at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Queensland, and Honorary or Affiliate positions at the University of Melbourne, UMCG Groningen and the Karolinska Institute. He joined the University of Oxford in 2024.