Michelle Luciano
@drmluciano.bsky.social
Behaviour Geneticist @University of Edinburgh researching cognitive abilities and personality | Balboa Dancer | Aspiring Roller Dancer | Prince Fan
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
GWAS Catalog API v1 retires in May 2026 🧬
Migrating to v2? It's faster, more stable, and gives you better query control.
Docs 👉 www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/rest/api/v2/docs
Ref 👉 www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/rest/api/v2/docs/reference
3 months to go
#genomics
Migrating to v2? It's faster, more stable, and gives you better query control.
Docs 👉 www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/rest/api/v2/docs
Ref 👉 www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/rest/api/v2/docs/reference
3 months to go
#genomics
February 9, 2026 at 12:05 PM
GWAS Catalog API v1 retires in May 2026 🧬
Migrating to v2? It's faster, more stable, and gives you better query control.
Docs 👉 www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/rest/api/v2/docs
Ref 👉 www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/rest/api/v2/docs/reference
3 months to go
#genomics
Migrating to v2? It's faster, more stable, and gives you better query control.
Docs 👉 www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/rest/api/v2/docs
Ref 👉 www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/rest/api/v2/docs/reference
3 months to go
#genomics
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Mendelian Randomization is powerful but often debated. We benchmarked it against the "ground truth" of human metabolic pathways to see how often it gets it right. 🧬
Result: MR is robust! It matches known metabolism in 43% of cases and identifies valid drug targets.
www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltex...
Result: MR is robust! It matches known metabolism in 43% of cases and identifies valid drug targets.
www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltex...
February 5, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Mendelian Randomization is powerful but often debated. We benchmarked it against the "ground truth" of human metabolic pathways to see how often it gets it right. 🧬
Result: MR is robust! It matches known metabolism in 43% of cases and identifies valid drug targets.
www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltex...
Result: MR is robust! It matches known metabolism in 43% of cases and identifies valid drug targets.
www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltex...
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
@clydefrancks.bsky.social found what is potentially (likey?!) the first fully hallucinated GWAS paper, of “left handedness”… the Manhattan plot has the wrong number of chromosomes, and genes labels with one wrong chromosome placed in a second wrong chromosome… wild…
Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) of LeftHandedness Across Global Populations
Left-handedness, a prominent phenotype affecting approximately 10% of the global population, has long been hypothesized to possess a polygenic basis influenced by complex gene-environment interactions...
ieeexplore.ieee.org
January 27, 2026 at 6:03 PM
@clydefrancks.bsky.social found what is potentially (likey?!) the first fully hallucinated GWAS paper, of “left handedness”… the Manhattan plot has the wrong number of chromosomes, and genes labels with one wrong chromosome placed in a second wrong chromosome… wild…
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Dyslexia isn’t just about reading and writing. Prof Maggie Snowling explains how reading disorders originate in the language system, and why many children also struggle with oral language.
Read the full blog to learn more. https://bit.ly/4qr5SlY
Read the full blog to learn more. https://bit.ly/4qr5SlY
Professor Maggie Snowling on rethinking reading disorders
We caught up with the presenter - Prof. Maggie Snowling, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Oxford and Research Fellow at St John's College - about her career, the topic, and her h...
bit.ly
January 26, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Dyslexia isn’t just about reading and writing. Prof Maggie Snowling explains how reading disorders originate in the language system, and why many children also struggle with oral language.
Read the full blog to learn more. https://bit.ly/4qr5SlY
Read the full blog to learn more. https://bit.ly/4qr5SlY
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
The department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences at Ghent University is proud to present a lecture series on the topic of eugenics. As philosophers and ethicists, we are concerned about the revival and normalization of eugenic discourse.
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
Eugenics: Critical Perspectives on a Creeping Concept Between Science and Ideology | Humanities Academie
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be
January 13, 2026 at 11:35 AM
The department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences at Ghent University is proud to present a lecture series on the topic of eugenics. As philosophers and ethicists, we are concerned about the revival and normalization of eugenic discourse.
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
🚀The UK’s longitudinal research sector is about to get a major upgrade in training.
CLOSER, supported by Population Research UK, is creating a strategic, UK-wide training resource for LPS.
Find out what’s coming: shorturl.at/guRbh
CLOSER, supported by Population Research UK, is creating a strategic, UK-wide training resource for LPS.
Find out what’s coming: shorturl.at/guRbh
January 15, 2026 at 11:06 AM
🚀The UK’s longitudinal research sector is about to get a major upgrade in training.
CLOSER, supported by Population Research UK, is creating a strategic, UK-wide training resource for LPS.
Find out what’s coming: shorturl.at/guRbh
CLOSER, supported by Population Research UK, is creating a strategic, UK-wide training resource for LPS.
Find out what’s coming: shorturl.at/guRbh
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Same DNA, different cells, different stories 🧬
Some genetic changes arise during life, creating genetic ‘mosaics’ in the body. Here, we explain what somatic mutations are and how we are exploring them.
https://sangerinstitute.blog/2026/01/15/what-are-somatic-mutations/
Some genetic changes arise during life, creating genetic ‘mosaics’ in the body. Here, we explain what somatic mutations are and how we are exploring them.
https://sangerinstitute.blog/2026/01/15/what-are-somatic-mutations/
January 15, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Same DNA, different cells, different stories 🧬
Some genetic changes arise during life, creating genetic ‘mosaics’ in the body. Here, we explain what somatic mutations are and how we are exploring them.
https://sangerinstitute.blog/2026/01/15/what-are-somatic-mutations/
Some genetic changes arise during life, creating genetic ‘mosaics’ in the body. Here, we explain what somatic mutations are and how we are exploring them.
https://sangerinstitute.blog/2026/01/15/what-are-somatic-mutations/
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Remember the famous UKB migration paper? We found that internal migration also shapes population structure in Estonia. Key patterns replicate within families.
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
January 7, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Remember the famous UKB migration paper? We found that internal migration also shapes population structure in Estonia. Key patterns replicate within families.
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Thanks for sharing - we're looking forward to it!
🚨🚨The next sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study is coming!🚨🚨
The Age 23 wave includes UK Gen Z data on: mental health, new families, substance use, higher ed, jobs, political beliefs etc.
Join us for an online webinar on the data.
When ⏰: 12 Feb, 1pm (UK)
Sign up 📝: cls.ucl.ac.uk/events/mcs-a...
The Age 23 wave includes UK Gen Z data on: mental health, new families, substance use, higher ed, jobs, political beliefs etc.
Join us for an online webinar on the data.
When ⏰: 12 Feb, 1pm (UK)
Sign up 📝: cls.ucl.ac.uk/events/mcs-a...
Millennium Cohort Study at age 23: explore the new data | CLS
This one–hour webinar will introduce users to the Age 23 Sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). Join us to find out what is new in the latest sweep and gain insights into how ‘Generation Z’ navig...
cls.ucl.ac.uk
January 8, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Thanks for sharing - we're looking forward to it!
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Clever use of proteomic data to stress-test TWAS and QTL colocalization methods, revealing a high false sign rate. This hypothesis about high-LD and cross-tissue confounding is particularly interesting:
January 6, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Clever use of proteomic data to stress-test TWAS and QTL colocalization methods, revealing a high false sign rate. This hypothesis about high-LD and cross-tissue confounding is particularly interesting:
This looks really cool, but where are the brain-related phenotypes @nbaya.bsky.social? N.B. I haven't read the paper, only the abstract and this glorious figure :)
Why do some individuals defy their polygenic score?
In the largest study of its kind (402k UKB individuals; 7 continuous traits + 3 diseases), we asked: If your phenotype deviates from common-variant polygenic score prediction, what's driving that difference?
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
In the largest study of its kind (402k UKB individuals; 7 continuous traits + 3 diseases), we asked: If your phenotype deviates from common-variant polygenic score prediction, what's driving that difference?
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 7, 2026 at 4:01 PM
This looks really cool, but where are the brain-related phenotypes @nbaya.bsky.social? N.B. I haven't read the paper, only the abstract and this glorious figure :)
International Workshop on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia is in San Sebastián, 7-9th October 2026, www.bcbl.eu/events/iword... Scientific and Practical Days, see you there!
Iwordd 2026
www.bcbl.eu
December 17, 2025 at 12:35 AM
International Workshop on Reading and Developmental Dyslexia is in San Sebastián, 7-9th October 2026, www.bcbl.eu/events/iword... Scientific and Practical Days, see you there!
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Stephen Fry launches campaign to boost reading for pleasure
Stephen Fry launches campaign to boost reading for pleasure
The Hay festival president is asking readers for book recommendations that will ‘entice the most reluctant reader’ to help combat the decline in leisure reading
Hay festival president Stephen Fry is backing the organisation’s new campaign to collect recommendations for the most pleasurable books to entice new readers, in a bid to combat falling literacy rates in the UK.
The Pleasure List campaign, run in partnership with the government’s National Year of Reading 2026, will share the “most un-put-downable” reads in the hopes of helping reverse the downward trend of adults reading for pleasure. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Stephen Fry launches campaign to boost reading for pleasure
Some of us from the UK's Specific Learning Difficulties Network @sldnetwork.bsky.social have shared our views on the new Delphi definition of dyslexia onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/..., special thanks to Kinga Morsanyi @kmorsanyi.bsky.social for pulling it together so nicely!
Toward an Improved Understanding of Dyslexia: Reflections on a New Consensus Definition and Its Implications
Inconsistencies in the definition and diagnosis of dyslexia continue to impede research, assessment, and intervention. This paper, authored by members of the UK Specific Learning Difficulties Network....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Some of us from the UK's Specific Learning Difficulties Network @sldnetwork.bsky.social have shared our views on the new Delphi definition of dyslexia onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/..., special thanks to Kinga Morsanyi @kmorsanyi.bsky.social for pulling it together so nicely!
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
This is great - a clear overview of key principles in data visualisation, written in a super-accessible and interest way, with great examples throughout.
Big new blogpost!
My guide to data visualization, which includes a very long table of contents, tons of charts, and more.
--> Why data visualization matters and how to make charts more effective, clear, transparent, and sometimes, beautiful.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/salonis-gu...
My guide to data visualization, which includes a very long table of contents, tons of charts, and more.
--> Why data visualization matters and how to make charts more effective, clear, transparent, and sometimes, beautiful.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/salonis-gu...
December 10, 2025 at 3:59 PM
This is great - a clear overview of key principles in data visualisation, written in a super-accessible and interest way, with great examples throughout.
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Want to echo Abdel and encourage reading this excellent commentary he put together!
For more context, see also the @nature.com News & Views article about this work, where I unpack what it means when genetic risk for psychiatric disorders overlaps with normal-range traits, including some positive associations with education-related outcomes: rdcu.be/eT4U7
December 10, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Want to echo Abdel and encourage reading this excellent commentary he put together!
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
How did DNA changes that alter protein structures impact evolution on the branch that led to modern humans? As we demonstrate today in Science Advances, biobanking initiatives offer ways to directly assess biological effects of rare archaic variants in living people, & (re)evaluate their roles. 🧬🧪
Evaluating the effects of archaic protein-altering variants in living human adults
Promise and pitfalls of using large biobanks to study impacts of archaic protein-coding variants in living humans.
www.science.org
December 10, 2025 at 7:09 PM
How did DNA changes that alter protein structures impact evolution on the branch that led to modern humans? As we demonstrate today in Science Advances, biobanking initiatives offer ways to directly assess biological effects of rare archaic variants in living people, & (re)evaluate their roles. 🧬🧪
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Photographer Martin Parr just passed. If you don't know his work, the Guardian has a really nice introduction here.
h/t @wvschaik.bsky.social
h/t @wvschaik.bsky.social
Martin Parr: the photographer’s career in pictures
A look back at the career of Martin Parr who has died at the age of 73
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Photographer Martin Parr just passed. If you don't know his work, the Guardian has a really nice introduction here.
h/t @wvschaik.bsky.social
h/t @wvschaik.bsky.social
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Nominations for the UKRN Dorothy Bishop Prize 2026 have opened!
Named after @deevybee.bsky.social, the prize, first awarded in 2022, celebrates the contributions of early career researchers to research improvement.
Nominations close 18 January 2026.
#AcademicSky #Research
Named after @deevybee.bsky.social, the prize, first awarded in 2022, celebrates the contributions of early career researchers to research improvement.
Nominations close 18 January 2026.
#AcademicSky #Research
Dorothy Bishop Prize 2026
www.ukrn.org
December 3, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Nominations for the UKRN Dorothy Bishop Prize 2026 have opened!
Named after @deevybee.bsky.social, the prize, first awarded in 2022, celebrates the contributions of early career researchers to research improvement.
Nominations close 18 January 2026.
#AcademicSky #Research
Named after @deevybee.bsky.social, the prize, first awarded in 2022, celebrates the contributions of early career researchers to research improvement.
Nominations close 18 January 2026.
#AcademicSky #Research
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
This was a super fun project to do my small part on. @roshnipatel.bsky.social really helped me understand what we're doing when we're trying to "control for genetics" when assessing associations between interventions and outcomes, and how a lot of the standard ways to do so are simply inadequate.
Excited to share work from my postdoc with @docedge.bsky.social and collaborators Matt Pennell and @jgschraiber.bsky.social, newly out over the weekend: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... (1/6)
Observational epidemiological studies can mitigate genetic confounding with the genetic relatedness matrix
Observational studies are commonly used in psychology and epidemiology to identify risk factors correlated with health outcomes. However, these studies are vulnerable to confounding when shared geneti...
www.biorxiv.org
December 1, 2025 at 7:11 PM
This was a super fun project to do my small part on. @roshnipatel.bsky.social really helped me understand what we're doing when we're trying to "control for genetics" when assessing associations between interventions and outcomes, and how a lot of the standard ways to do so are simply inadequate.
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol made $95 million last year. His workers are striking for the bare minimum. Glad to be on the right side of the picket line with them.
December 1, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol made $95 million last year. His workers are striking for the bare minimum. Glad to be on the right side of the picket line with them.
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Consider submitting an abstract for an invited talk or poster at STATGEN 2026 by December 15th!
Amazing keynote speakers and statistical leaders in #genetics and #genomics! 👏
Hope to see you there! statgen26.emory.edu
🧪 🧬 🖥️ 🧠 #statssky #imaging #SingleCell #spatial #omics #DigitalPathology
Amazing keynote speakers and statistical leaders in #genetics and #genomics! 👏
Hope to see you there! statgen26.emory.edu
🧪 🧬 🖥️ 🧠 #statssky #imaging #SingleCell #spatial #omics #DigitalPathology
STATGEN 2026: Conference on Statistics in Genomics and Genetics
STATGEN 2026: Conference on Statistics in Genomics and Genetics, May 18-20, 2026. ASA Section on Statistics in Genomics and Genetics.
statgen26.emory.edu
December 1, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Consider submitting an abstract for an invited talk or poster at STATGEN 2026 by December 15th!
Amazing keynote speakers and statistical leaders in #genetics and #genomics! 👏
Hope to see you there! statgen26.emory.edu
🧪 🧬 🖥️ 🧠 #statssky #imaging #SingleCell #spatial #omics #DigitalPathology
Amazing keynote speakers and statistical leaders in #genetics and #genomics! 👏
Hope to see you there! statgen26.emory.edu
🧪 🧬 🖥️ 🧠 #statssky #imaging #SingleCell #spatial #omics #DigitalPathology
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
Come work with me! Feel free to contact me via email, if you have questions : )
Postdoc in Social Stratification, Education, and Genetics with @astabreinholt.bsky.social at Roskilde University, Denmark. The position is for 2 years, starting from May 1st, 2026.
Apply by Dec 12th
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
Apply by Dec 12th
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
December 1, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Come work with me! Feel free to contact me via email, if you have questions : )
Reposted by Michelle Luciano
🔍 Want to get the most out of the Atlas of Longitudinal Datasets?
We offer free online webinars with a tailored introduction and live demo to help you navigate the platform and make the most of its features.
📩 Interested? Email us to schedule a session: atlas.longitudinaldatasets@kcl.ac.uk
We offer free online webinars with a tailored introduction and live demo to help you navigate the platform and make the most of its features.
📩 Interested? Email us to schedule a session: atlas.longitudinaldatasets@kcl.ac.uk
November 20, 2025 at 11:11 AM
🔍 Want to get the most out of the Atlas of Longitudinal Datasets?
We offer free online webinars with a tailored introduction and live demo to help you navigate the platform and make the most of its features.
📩 Interested? Email us to schedule a session: atlas.longitudinaldatasets@kcl.ac.uk
We offer free online webinars with a tailored introduction and live demo to help you navigate the platform and make the most of its features.
📩 Interested? Email us to schedule a session: atlas.longitudinaldatasets@kcl.ac.uk