Kaur Alasoo
@kauralasoo.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Bioinformatics at University of Tartu, Estonia. Project lead at eQTL Catalogue. https://kauralasoo.github.io/
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
I mean, death from infectious disease clearly has a genetic component related to the immune system… the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic seems a little slippery.
January 31, 2026 at 6:25 PM
I mean, death from infectious disease clearly has a genetic component related to the immune system… the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic seems a little slippery.
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Every time someone uncritically repeats this meme about tens of thousands of undiscovered functional noncoding RNA genes in the human genome, an angel loses its wings.
January 30, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Every time someone uncritically repeats this meme about tens of thousands of undiscovered functional noncoding RNA genes in the human genome, an angel loses its wings.
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
I've started my own lab 🎉
PhD/postdoc positions available - reach out if curious about cerebellum evo-devo and autism spectrum disorders.
We’re based at Uni Tartu, Institute of Genomics (home to Estonian Biobank), and funded by @simonsfoundation.org @embo.org, and the Estonian Research Council.
PhD/postdoc positions available - reach out if curious about cerebellum evo-devo and autism spectrum disorders.
We’re based at Uni Tartu, Institute of Genomics (home to Estonian Biobank), and funded by @simonsfoundation.org @embo.org, and the Estonian Research Council.
January 29, 2026 at 8:33 PM
I've started my own lab 🎉
PhD/postdoc positions available - reach out if curious about cerebellum evo-devo and autism spectrum disorders.
We’re based at Uni Tartu, Institute of Genomics (home to Estonian Biobank), and funded by @simonsfoundation.org @embo.org, and the Estonian Research Council.
PhD/postdoc positions available - reach out if curious about cerebellum evo-devo and autism spectrum disorders.
We’re based at Uni Tartu, Institute of Genomics (home to Estonian Biobank), and funded by @simonsfoundation.org @embo.org, and the Estonian Research Council.
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Paper alert! 💻 How many cells do you need to train reliable deep learning models in regulatory genomics? We asked how data quality, sequencing depth, and dataset size affect training of sequence-to-function models from scATAC-seq. Out now www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(details below)
(details below)
Evaluating single-cell ATAC-seq atlasing technologies using sequence-to-function modeling - Nature Communications
Generating high-quality training data for machine learning is costly. Here, authors include sequence-to-function modeling in benchmarking of custom and commercial droplet-based scATAC platforms, and r...
www.nature.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:08 PM
Paper alert! 💻 How many cells do you need to train reliable deep learning models in regulatory genomics? We asked how data quality, sequencing depth, and dataset size affect training of sequence-to-function models from scATAC-seq. Out now www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(details below)
(details below)
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Federated single-cell QTL meta-analysis reveals novel disease mechanisms #SingleCell 🧪🧬🖥️
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.20.700519v1
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.20.700519v1
January 23, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Federated single-cell QTL meta-analysis reveals novel disease mechanisms #SingleCell 🧪🧬🖥️
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.20.700519v1
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.20.700519v1
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Like so many, I’ve been affected by the new US federal stance against science. As a result of this and seeking a better life balance, I have accepted a new Full Prof position at the University Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮🤩
I will miss CA deeply, but a new adventure awaits 🐟
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I will miss CA deeply, but a new adventure awaits 🐟
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘Shattered’: US scientists speak out about how Trump policies disrupted their careers
Researchers lay bare the human toll of lay-offs, funding cuts and attacks on science one year after the president’s return to the White House.
www.nature.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Like so many, I’ve been affected by the new US federal stance against science. As a result of this and seeking a better life balance, I have accepted a new Full Prof position at the University Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮🤩
I will miss CA deeply, but a new adventure awaits 🐟
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I will miss CA deeply, but a new adventure awaits 🐟
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Big congrats to @kmatlik.bsky.social and all the EMBO Installation Grantees 2026! 👏🎉
Congratulations and welcome to the ten scientists awarded EMBO Installation Grants 2026! 🧪
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/ten-scientists-awarded-embo-installation-grants-2026/
#LifeSciences #research #funding
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/ten-scientists-awarded-embo-installation-grants-2026/
#LifeSciences #research #funding
January 20, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Big congrats to @kmatlik.bsky.social and all the EMBO Installation Grantees 2026! 👏🎉
@burakyelmen.bsky.social from @estbiobank.bsky.social is hiring a PhD student!
Hello all, we are looking for PhD candidates. Details are in the document below. Please feel free to spread the word. Thank you!
January 20, 2026 at 1:35 PM
@burakyelmen.bsky.social from @estbiobank.bsky.social is hiring a PhD student!
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Check out this work from Abdalla Alkhawaja et al in Karen Mohlke's group @klmohlke.bsky.social
Profiling RNA and ATAC of 68k+ nuclei from 39 individuals to better understand mechanism and context for GWAS loci
Profiling RNA and ATAC of 68k+ nuclei from 39 individuals to better understand mechanism and context for GWAS loci
Excited to share our latest work in @ajhgnews.bsky.social 🧬📄
We mapped the regulatory landscape of human liver at single-nucleus resolution using snMultiome, connecting genetic variants to the cell-type mechanisms underlying cardiometabolic disease.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We mapped the regulatory landscape of human liver at single-nucleus resolution using snMultiome, connecting genetic variants to the cell-type mechanisms underlying cardiometabolic disease.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 20, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Check out this work from Abdalla Alkhawaja et al in Karen Mohlke's group @klmohlke.bsky.social
Profiling RNA and ATAC of 68k+ nuclei from 39 individuals to better understand mechanism and context for GWAS loci
Profiling RNA and ATAC of 68k+ nuclei from 39 individuals to better understand mechanism and context for GWAS loci
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
But once again, the same trait can show very different sign bias across biobanks. Example: we estimate 72% of rare minor alleles (sign bias of 0.44) increase risk of type 2 diabetes in All of Us, while ~all increase risk in UK Biobank. Why? (11/21)
January 14, 2026 at 7:07 PM
But once again, the same trait can show very different sign bias across biobanks. Example: we estimate 72% of rare minor alleles (sign bias of 0.44) increase risk of type 2 diabetes in All of Us, while ~all increase risk in UK Biobank. Why? (11/21)
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Hi network 👋
⏰ Don’t miss it! #EMGM2026 in Davos (Switzerland) 🏔️
📅 14–15 April 2026
📝 Abstract deadline: 1 February 2026
✈️ Travel grants available
🎤 Amazing lineup of invited speakers
🔗 Details: emgm2026.sciencesconf.org
⏰ Don’t miss it! #EMGM2026 in Davos (Switzerland) 🏔️
📅 14–15 April 2026
📝 Abstract deadline: 1 February 2026
✈️ Travel grants available
🎤 Amazing lineup of invited speakers
🔗 Details: emgm2026.sciencesconf.org
January 14, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Hi network 👋
⏰ Don’t miss it! #EMGM2026 in Davos (Switzerland) 🏔️
📅 14–15 April 2026
📝 Abstract deadline: 1 February 2026
✈️ Travel grants available
🎤 Amazing lineup of invited speakers
🔗 Details: emgm2026.sciencesconf.org
⏰ Don’t miss it! #EMGM2026 in Davos (Switzerland) 🏔️
📅 14–15 April 2026
📝 Abstract deadline: 1 February 2026
✈️ Travel grants available
🎤 Amazing lineup of invited speakers
🔗 Details: emgm2026.sciencesconf.org
Sled parking facility at our local Kindergarten in Estonia.
January 9, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Sled parking facility at our local Kindergarten in Estonia.
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
My own last, unreturned, correspondence with GISAID, after a months-long project building a version of Taxonium that would run within the walled garden (the dispute was over whether it could link out to e.g. the source code)
January 7, 2026 at 1:22 PM
My own last, unreturned, correspondence with GISAID, after a months-long project building a version of Taxonium that would run within the walled garden (the dispute was over whether it could link out to e.g. the source code)
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Genome-scale perturb-seq in primary human CD4+ T cells maps context-specific regulators of T cell programs and human immune traits https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.23.696273v1
December 24, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Genome-scale perturb-seq in primary human CD4+ T cells maps context-specific regulators of T cell programs and human immune traits https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.23.696273v1
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
I drafted a letter to the editor, please help me out by DMing, commenting, emailing feedback if you are an expert on colliderbias, id obviosuly ad you as a author, Ideally we submit within 24-48 hrs, draft: zenodo.org/records/1800... (click download if the pdf doesnt preview on zenodo)
Negative Associations Between Early and Adult Performance Arise from Colider Selection Bias
Güllich et al. argue that among elite performers there is a negative associationbetween early and adult performance, a pattern they link to distinct developmentalcausal mechanisms for early, and adult...
zenodo.org
December 20, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I drafted a letter to the editor, please help me out by DMing, commenting, emailing feedback if you are an expert on colliderbias, id obviosuly ad you as a author, Ideally we submit within 24-48 hrs, draft: zenodo.org/records/1800... (click download if the pdf doesnt preview on zenodo)
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
New paper: "Alcohol consumption and risk of cancer: a Mendelian randomization analysis of four biobanks and consortium data" out at BMC Medicine: link.springer.com/article/10.1.... Lots of interesting findings! Brief thread:
Alcohol consumption and risk of cancer: a Mendelian randomization analysis of four biobanks and consortium data - BMC Medicine
Background Alcohol consumption has been linked to cancer risk. Evidence is strongest for seven cancer types: breast, colorectum, oesophagus, liver, mouth, pharynx, and larynx. However, evidence suppor...
link.springer.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:55 AM
New paper: "Alcohol consumption and risk of cancer: a Mendelian randomization analysis of four biobanks and consortium data" out at BMC Medicine: link.springer.com/article/10.1.... Lots of interesting findings! Brief thread:
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
And, ironically, you must remember that the institution can never love you back (though people at it can and often do). Simone’s Maxims is the only required reading in my lab.
aacrjournals.org/clincancerre...
aacrjournals.org/clincancerre...
Understanding Academic Medical Centers: Simone’s Maxims
Academic medical centers today represent a unique fusion of traditional academia, hospital functions, several levels of education, and, above all, patients. They are complex organizations trying to di...
aacrjournals.org
December 13, 2025 at 3:48 PM
And, ironically, you must remember that the institution can never love you back (though people at it can and often do). Simone’s Maxims is the only required reading in my lab.
aacrjournals.org/clincancerre...
aacrjournals.org/clincancerre...
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
GWAS has been an incredible discovery tool for human genetics: it regularly identifies *causal* links from 1000s of SNPs to any given trait. But mechanistic interpretation is usually difficult.
Our latest work on causal models for this is out yesterday:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A short🧵:
Our latest work on causal models for this is out yesterday:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A short🧵:
Causal modelling of gene effects from regulators to programs to traits - Nature
Approaches combining genetic association and Perturb-seq data that link genetic variants to functional programs to traits are described.
www.nature.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:54 PM
GWAS has been an incredible discovery tool for human genetics: it regularly identifies *causal* links from 1000s of SNPs to any given trait. But mechanistic interpretation is usually difficult.
Our latest work on causal models for this is out yesterday:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A short🧵:
Our latest work on causal models for this is out yesterday:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A short🧵:
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
I can easily believe the editor did not read the paper at any point.
December 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I can easily believe the editor did not read the paper at any point.
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
In #GENETICS, @kauralasoo.bsky.social and colleagues show how horizontal pleiotropy can mislead Mendelian randomization to infer implausible causal relationships between an exposure and an outcome. buff.ly/KSRgKeM
December 8, 2025 at 2:03 PM
In #GENETICS, @kauralasoo.bsky.social and colleagues show how horizontal pleiotropy can mislead Mendelian randomization to infer implausible causal relationships between an exposure and an outcome. buff.ly/KSRgKeM
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
As a deliberate and successful attempt to get everyone talking about a questionable metric, Spotify ages and epigenetic clocks are pretty indistinguishable.
December 6, 2025 at 1:47 PM
As a deliberate and successful attempt to get everyone talking about a questionable metric, Spotify ages and epigenetic clocks are pretty indistinguishable.
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Claudia Feng's Ph.D work is now out, co-led with @brittavelten.bsky.social and @steglelab.bsky.social . Large-scale CRISPRi perturbations in genetically heterogenous iPSC lines, with single cell readout - enjoy :)
Happy to see this out now in Cell Genomics: A genome-scale single-cell CRISPRi map of trans gene regulation across human pluripotent stem cell lines: www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
A genome-scale single-cell CRISPRi map of trans gene regulation across human pluripotent stem cell lines
Feng et al. present the first genome-scale CRISPR interference perturbation map with
scRNA-seq readout across many genetic backgrounds in human pluripotent cells, pioneering
population-scale CRISPR pe...
www.cell.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Claudia Feng's Ph.D work is now out, co-led with @brittavelten.bsky.social and @steglelab.bsky.social . Large-scale CRISPRi perturbations in genetically heterogenous iPSC lines, with single cell readout - enjoy :)
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Hiring Senior Computational Postdoc to lead large-scale scRNAseq analysis for Project JAGUAR, one of the world’s most comprehensive single-cell immune resources from Latin American ancestries. If big data, global partnerships, human diversity and immune regulation excite you, apply! bit.ly/3XyFWrW
Senior Postdoctoral Fellow
Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenge...
sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
December 4, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Hiring Senior Computational Postdoc to lead large-scale scRNAseq analysis for Project JAGUAR, one of the world’s most comprehensive single-cell immune resources from Latin American ancestries. If big data, global partnerships, human diversity and immune regulation excite you, apply! bit.ly/3XyFWrW
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
Excited to share our new FinnGen single-nucleus multiome preprint! 🧬
We profiled ~10M PBMCs (snRNA-seq + snATAC-seq) from 1,108 Finnish donors to map how genetic variants drive complex disease through chromatin and gene regulation 🧵👇
🔗 Link: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
We profiled ~10M PBMCs (snRNA-seq + snATAC-seq) from 1,108 Finnish donors to map how genetic variants drive complex disease through chromatin and gene regulation 🧵👇
🔗 Link: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
December 1, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Excited to share our new FinnGen single-nucleus multiome preprint! 🧬
We profiled ~10M PBMCs (snRNA-seq + snATAC-seq) from 1,108 Finnish donors to map how genetic variants drive complex disease through chromatin and gene regulation 🧵👇
🔗 Link: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
We profiled ~10M PBMCs (snRNA-seq + snATAC-seq) from 1,108 Finnish donors to map how genetic variants drive complex disease through chromatin and gene regulation 🧵👇
🔗 Link: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Kaur Alasoo
⚠️New study: we mapped DNA-binding of topoisomerase TOP2B in cancer, uncovering surprising hotspots of DNA damage. TOP2B, normally essential for DNA stress relief, can act as a double-edged sword. co-led by @LiisUuskula @ChristianLee, out now @natcomms.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41... [1/7]
Topoisomerase IIb binding delineates localized mutational processes and driver mutations in cancer genomes - Nature Communications
Topoisomerases resolve topological DNA stress via double-strand breaks and are established targets of cancer chemotherapies. Here, the authors link genomic binding of TOP2B with localized mutational p...
www.nature.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:31 PM
⚠️New study: we mapped DNA-binding of topoisomerase TOP2B in cancer, uncovering surprising hotspots of DNA damage. TOP2B, normally essential for DNA stress relief, can act as a double-edged sword. co-led by @LiisUuskula @ChristianLee, out now @natcomms.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41... [1/7]