MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) Seminar Series

Title: Large-scale mapping of protein quantitative trait loci for target and biomarker discovery in complex disease–experiences so far in the SCALLOP consortium

Abstract: Circulating protein biomarkers play vital roles in human physiology and are frequently used as biomarkers to diagnose and predict disease. The arrival of immuno-proteomic methods such as Olink Proximity Extension Assay (PEA) has enabled simultaneous measurement of 100s of circulating proteins at scale, which should ultimately lead to improved ability to diagnose and predict disease as well as identifying subtypes of disease. However, the characterization of circulating proteins at scale, including inter-individual differences due to DNA variation, regulatory pathways, and potential causal roles in disease is so far incomplete. Therefore, we created the SCALLOP consortium, which is a collaborative framework that brings together researchers seeking to identify protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) and disease biomarkers (www.scallop-consortium.com). 

Biography: Anders Malarstig, PhD, is a Senior Researcher at the Karolinska Institute (KI) and Director of Human Genetics at Pfizer R&D. Dr. Malarstig obtained his PhD under professors Lars Wallentin and Agneta Siegbahn at Uppsala University, before taking up a postdoctoral research position in cardiovascular genetics with Professor Anders Hamsten at the KI. He then joined Pfizer in Sandwich UK (and later Cambridge) to start a new group for implementing human genetics in drug discovery with focus on respiratory disease and chronic pain. In his current position, Dr. Malarstig is responsible for target discovery and precision medicine at Pfizer whilst carrying out research in genetics to understand causes of complex diseases at the KI.

All welcome