MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) Seminar Series

Title: Application of Mendelian Randomization (MR) and Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) prediction to drug development

Abstract: Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified numerous loci associated with human complex traits and diseases across the genome. Built on the success of GWAS, large-scale biobanks have emerged that collect detailed phenotypic information along with genetic data, such as UK Biobank (UKBB) and the Finland nation-wide biobank (FinnGen). These biobanks offer unprecedented opportunities to elucidate the genetic basis and relationships between complex phenotypes, and hence inform drug development. However, to better utilize these large-scale datasets, novel statistical methods are required. In this talk, I will present our recent work in this area, which includes: (i) a new method for detecting pleiotropic bias in MR (MR-PRESSO), and applications of MR to understand the potential cardiovascular side effects of using sclerostin inhibitor as treatment for osteoporosis and the relationship between physical activity and depression, and (ii) a new method for PRS analysis (PRS-CS) and applications of PRS to biobank-based genome-wide analyses for post-traumatic stress disorder. I will also discuss more widely the applications of MR and PRS in the drug development activities at Biogen.

Biography: 

Chia-Yen Chen, Sc.D. is a scientist in genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics at the Translational Biology Center of Excellence, Biogen.

Chia-Yen’s research interest lies in applying human genetic knowledge to drug development for neurological and psychiatric disorders. At Biogen, Chia-Yen is leading the analytic efforts to utilize UK biobank and FinnGen data to discover new drug targets, develop more effective personalized treatment, and inform clinical trials with novel biomarkers. He is also leading the genetic analyses in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) for the Genomic Translation for ALS Care (GTAC) study (in collaboration with Columbia University medical center and ALS association) to better understand the genetic factors affecting the different clinical forms of ALS. Before joining Biogen, Chia-Yen was a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Broad institute, mentored by Drs. Jordan Smoller and Benjamin Neale. His research projects included analyzing large-scale GWAS for stress-related disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and development of novel statistical genetics methods for Mendelian Randomization (MR) and Polygenic Risk Score prediction.

All welcome

It would be great to see as many people attend as possible and if you would like to speak to Dimitri separately, please get in touch with laura.corbin@bristol.ac.uk