Brent Richards
@brent-richards.bsky.social
Endocrinologist, geneticist and entrepreneur just trying to help my patients. Prof at McGill and CEO of 5Prime Sciences
At @5PrimeSciences, giving back is part of who we are.
This year, our team chose to support @MSF
—to deliver critical medical care in humanitarian crises.
We’re proud to have joined the Pledge 1% Movement, committing 1% of our profits each year to health and education charities
This year, our team chose to support @MSF
—to deliver critical medical care in humanitarian crises.
We’re proud to have joined the Pledge 1% Movement, committing 1% of our profits each year to health and education charities
September 21, 2025 at 2:58 PM
At @5PrimeSciences, giving back is part of who we are.
This year, our team chose to support @MSF
—to deliver critical medical care in humanitarian crises.
We’re proud to have joined the Pledge 1% Movement, committing 1% of our profits each year to health and education charities
This year, our team chose to support @MSF
—to deliver critical medical care in humanitarian crises.
We’re proud to have joined the Pledge 1% Movement, committing 1% of our profits each year to health and education charities
Our paper out in JCEM showing bias that can creep into Mendelian randomization studies via:
1. Collider bias due to participant selection
2. Indirect genetic effects
3. Collider bias due to GxE effects in nonlinear MR.
Led by the great Tianyuan Lu
academic.oup.com/jcem/article...
1. Collider bias due to participant selection
2. Indirect genetic effects
3. Collider bias due to GxE effects in nonlinear MR.
Led by the great Tianyuan Lu
academic.oup.com/jcem/article...
No More Free Lunch: Challenges to Mendelian Randomization Due to Sample Selection and Complex Methods
Abstract. Mendelian randomization (MR) is increasingly used in epidemiological studies to investigate causal relationships. MR depends on 3 fundamental ins
academic.oup.com
August 7, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Our paper out in JCEM showing bias that can creep into Mendelian randomization studies via:
1. Collider bias due to participant selection
2. Indirect genetic effects
3. Collider bias due to GxE effects in nonlinear MR.
Led by the great Tianyuan Lu
academic.oup.com/jcem/article...
1. Collider bias due to participant selection
2. Indirect genetic effects
3. Collider bias due to GxE effects in nonlinear MR.
Led by the great Tianyuan Lu
academic.oup.com/jcem/article...
Reposted by Brent Richards
Join us today at 4:40 pm at the Festival of Genomics & Biodata (@fogenomics.bsky.social) in Boston to explore how proteomics and genomics drive drug-target discovery!
June 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Join us today at 4:40 pm at the Festival of Genomics & Biodata (@fogenomics.bsky.social) in Boston to explore how proteomics and genomics drive drug-target discovery!
Reposted by Brent Richards
Atul Butte died yesterday.
The world lost a giant.
A big bear of a man.
With a huge smile.
With love for everyone.
With energy that could power a room.
I loved everything about Atul.
I loved how he was always happy.
I loved how excited he was about science and helping people.
The world lost a giant.
A big bear of a man.
With a huge smile.
With love for everyone.
With energy that could power a room.
I loved everything about Atul.
I loved how he was always happy.
I loved how excited he was about science and helping people.
June 14, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Atul Butte died yesterday.
The world lost a giant.
A big bear of a man.
With a huge smile.
With love for everyone.
With energy that could power a room.
I loved everything about Atul.
I loved how he was always happy.
I loved how excited he was about science and helping people.
The world lost a giant.
A big bear of a man.
With a huge smile.
With love for everyone.
With energy that could power a room.
I loved everything about Atul.
I loved how he was always happy.
I loved how excited he was about science and helping people.
Come join 5Prime as we grow our team to use human genetics and other —omics to accelerate drug development.
New post for a Software Engineer:
5primesciences.com/careers/
New post for a Software Engineer:
5primesciences.com/careers/
Careers - 5PrimeSciences
Careers 5 Prime Sciences uses insights from human genetics to accelerate drug development and increase return on investment in the life sciences. Using unique datasets and advanced human genetics anal...
5primesciences.com
June 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Come join 5Prime as we grow our team to use human genetics and other —omics to accelerate drug development.
New post for a Software Engineer:
5primesciences.com/careers/
New post for a Software Engineer:
5primesciences.com/careers/
The Big Five personality traits definitely have clear genetic determinants.
I'm surprised by the lack of spousal assortment and lack of shared environmental confounding though...Anyone care to guess why this is the case?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
I'm surprised by the lack of spousal assortment and lack of shared environmental confounding though...Anyone care to guess why this is the case?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
June 2, 2025 at 12:17 AM
The Big Five personality traits definitely have clear genetic determinants.
I'm surprised by the lack of spousal assortment and lack of shared environmental confounding though...Anyone care to guess why this is the case?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
I'm surprised by the lack of spousal assortment and lack of shared environmental confounding though...Anyone care to guess why this is the case?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Brent Richards
We have 2-3 group leader positions opening @fimm-uh.bsky.social !!
We are looking for outstanding candidates in human genetics and precision medicine.
This time we have a focus on population health data science. E.g. AI for EHR/health data
Generous starting package 💰
shorturl.at/FAk6n
We are looking for outstanding candidates in human genetics and precision medicine.
This time we have a focus on population health data science. E.g. AI for EHR/health data
Generous starting package 💰
shorturl.at/FAk6n
FIMM-EMBL Group Leaders in Molecular Medicine
FIMM-EMBL Group Leaders in Molecular Medicine
jobs.helsinki.fi
June 1, 2025 at 3:38 PM
We have 2-3 group leader positions opening @fimm-uh.bsky.social !!
We are looking for outstanding candidates in human genetics and precision medicine.
This time we have a focus on population health data science. E.g. AI for EHR/health data
Generous starting package 💰
shorturl.at/FAk6n
We are looking for outstanding candidates in human genetics and precision medicine.
This time we have a focus on population health data science. E.g. AI for EHR/health data
Generous starting package 💰
shorturl.at/FAk6n
After a long and storied career, Kari Stefansson exits as CEO of DeCODE Genetics.
icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/20...
icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/20...
Kári Stefánsson steps down as CEO of DeCode Genetics
Kári Stefánsson, founder and long-time CEO of DeCode Genetics, has officially stepped down from his leadership role at the company he established nearly three decades ago. The announcement marks the e...
icelandmonitor.mbl.is
May 23, 2025 at 5:58 PM
After a long and storied career, Kari Stefansson exits as CEO of DeCODE Genetics.
icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/20...
icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/20...
I didn't have much hope that we'd find genetic determinants of long-COVID, but after years of work, Vilma Aho, Tomoko Nakanisha, Hugo Zeberg and Hanna Ollila made it happen! (Among a few others :-))
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Genome-wide association study of long COVID - Nature Genetics
A genome-wide study by the Long COVID Host Genetics Initiative identifies an association between the FOXP4 locus and long COVID, implicating altered lung function in its pathophysiology.
www.nature.com
May 22, 2025 at 5:55 PM
I didn't have much hope that we'd find genetic determinants of long-COVID, but after years of work, Vilma Aho, Tomoko Nakanisha, Hugo Zeberg and Hanna Ollila made it happen! (Among a few others :-))
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Brent Richards
My main postdoc project is now published in @AJHG! We describe a MR estimator (Quantile IV) that does not rely on parametric assumptions and allows for heterogeneous causal effects. www.cell.com/ajhg/abstrac...
A flexible machine learning Mendelian randomization estimator applied to predict the safety and efficacy of sclerostin inhibition
Mendelian randomization (MR) enables the estimation of causal effects while controlling
for unmeasured confounding factors, but MR estimators often rely on strong parametric
assumptions. We propose an...
www.cell.com
May 15, 2025 at 3:13 PM
My main postdoc project is now published in @AJHG! We describe a MR estimator (Quantile IV) that does not rely on parametric assumptions and allows for heterogeneous causal effects. www.cell.com/ajhg/abstrac...
Reposted by Brent Richards
PREPRINT: Led by @j-a-mitchell.bsky.social & Babette Zemel, we show higher gSOS polygenic score associated with higher pediatric aBMD 🦴 & lower fracture risk @chopresearch.bsky.social . gSOS previously developed with ML on adults by @brent-richards.bsky.social team
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
The gSOS Polygenic Score is Associated with Bone Density and Fracture Risk in Childhood
The polygenic risk score genetic quantitative ultrasound speed of sound (gSOS) was developed using machine learning algorithms in adults of European ancestry and associates with reduced odds of fractu...
www.medrxiv.org
April 24, 2025 at 12:16 PM
PREPRINT: Led by @j-a-mitchell.bsky.social & Babette Zemel, we show higher gSOS polygenic score associated with higher pediatric aBMD 🦴 & lower fracture risk @chopresearch.bsky.social . gSOS previously developed with ML on adults by @brent-richards.bsky.social team
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
There are few more engaging, creative and relentless clinician scientists than @stephenorahilly.bsky.social
I enjoyed his visit to @mcgilluniversity.bsky.social and learning how he unpicked GDF15 as a cause of morning sickness.
I enjoyed his visit to @mcgilluniversity.bsky.social and learning how he unpicked GDF15 as a cause of morning sickness.
April 10, 2025 at 6:27 PM
There are few more engaging, creative and relentless clinician scientists than @stephenorahilly.bsky.social
I enjoyed his visit to @mcgilluniversity.bsky.social and learning how he unpicked GDF15 as a cause of morning sickness.
I enjoyed his visit to @mcgilluniversity.bsky.social and learning how he unpicked GDF15 as a cause of morning sickness.
A great scientist and clinician changes the world and brings home a well-deserved prize.
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Canadian scientist Daniel Drucker among winners of Breakthrough Prize for discovery of hormone used in anti-obesity drugs
Senior investigator at Mount Sinai Hospital was one of five researchers jointly awarded US$3-million in world’s largest science prize
www.theglobeandmail.com
April 6, 2025 at 12:19 PM
A great scientist and clinician changes the world and brings home a well-deserved prize.
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Reposted by Brent Richards
To the world:
We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom.
—With love,
Your American allies.
We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom.
—With love,
Your American allies.
April 5, 2025 at 10:03 PM
To the world:
We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom.
—With love,
Your American allies.
We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom.
—With love,
Your American allies.
And Kevin Liang successfully defended his PhD examining the use of human genetics to identify drug targets!
Well done Dr. Kevin
Well done Dr. Kevin
March 25, 2025 at 1:24 PM
And Kevin Liang successfully defended his PhD examining the use of human genetics to identify drug targets!
Well done Dr. Kevin
Well done Dr. Kevin
Does vitamin D prevent MS onset?
We have predicted this for years using Mendelian randomization.
Here, high-dose vitamin D, in individuals with Clinically Isolated Syndrome in the D-Lay trial is perhaps encouraging.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
We have predicted this for years using Mendelian randomization.
Here, high-dose vitamin D, in individuals with Clinically Isolated Syndrome in the D-Lay trial is perhaps encouraging.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
High-Dose Vitamin D in Clinically Isolated Syndrome Typical of Multiple Sclerosis
This randomized clinical trial examines the efficacy of high-dose cholecalciferol (vitamin D) as monotherapy in reducing disease activity in patients with clinically isolated syndrome typical of multi...
jamanetwork.com
March 19, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Does vitamin D prevent MS onset?
We have predicted this for years using Mendelian randomization.
Here, high-dose vitamin D, in individuals with Clinically Isolated Syndrome in the D-Lay trial is perhaps encouraging.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
We have predicted this for years using Mendelian randomization.
Here, high-dose vitamin D, in individuals with Clinically Isolated Syndrome in the D-Lay trial is perhaps encouraging.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
An excellent visit from @mendelrandom.bsky.social in Montreal this week.
He wants to change Mendelian randomization to "meiotic randomization"—likely a much better name.
But what would we call @mendelrandom.bsky.social ?
He wants to change Mendelian randomization to "meiotic randomization"—likely a much better name.
But what would we call @mendelrandom.bsky.social ?
March 14, 2025 at 3:33 PM
An excellent visit from @mendelrandom.bsky.social in Montreal this week.
He wants to change Mendelian randomization to "meiotic randomization"—likely a much better name.
But what would we call @mendelrandom.bsky.social ?
He wants to change Mendelian randomization to "meiotic randomization"—likely a much better name.
But what would we call @mendelrandom.bsky.social ?
Reposted by Brent Richards
Reposted by Brent Richards
Is there a German word for being simultaneously horrified by clumsy, misguided, and deeply destructive attacks on a critical system, and by the many grossly dysfunctional and inefficient aspects of the system being attacked? Because we really need one right now.
February 11, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Is there a German word for being simultaneously horrified by clumsy, misguided, and deeply destructive attacks on a critical system, and by the many grossly dysfunctional and inefficient aspects of the system being attacked? Because we really need one right now.
Come and join our research lab at @mcgill University as a Research Associate!
If you're excited about using genomics and other omics to understand causes of disease, send me a direct message or check out the position here:
www.mcgill.ca/genepi/oppor...
If you're excited about using genomics and other omics to understand causes of disease, send me a direct message or check out the position here:
www.mcgill.ca/genepi/oppor...
Looking to do a Postdoc in Genetic Epidemiology, Human Genetics or Bioinformatics? Or looking to be a Research Associate in our Lab?
Research Associate Postdoc opportunity Research Associate Principle Duties and Responsibilities Management and execution of multiple computational genomics research studies, including but not l...
www.mcgill.ca
February 7, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Come and join our research lab at @mcgill University as a Research Associate!
If you're excited about using genomics and other omics to understand causes of disease, send me a direct message or check out the position here:
www.mcgill.ca/genepi/oppor...
If you're excited about using genomics and other omics to understand causes of disease, send me a direct message or check out the position here:
www.mcgill.ca/genepi/oppor...
Reposted by Brent Richards
If you wanted to decrease the cost of homes, one thing you wouldn’t do is put a flat tariff on your main source of timber.
February 1, 2025 at 2:52 PM
If you wanted to decrease the cost of homes, one thing you wouldn’t do is put a flat tariff on your main source of timber.
Reposted by Brent Richards
Can human genetic evidence can improve drug development success? The latest @hggadvances.bsky.social article by @brent-richards.bsky.social & co. uses IntAct, a protein interaction database, to explore this question: www.cell.com/hgg-advances... #ASHG #HumanGenetics #GeneticsDiscoveries
January 31, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Can human genetic evidence can improve drug development success? The latest @hggadvances.bsky.social article by @brent-richards.bsky.social & co. uses IntAct, a protein interaction database, to explore this question: www.cell.com/hgg-advances... #ASHG #HumanGenetics #GeneticsDiscoveries
Hopefully we'll see less fentanyl in our emergency rooms and less homelessness.
@VertexPharma gets approval for the first new class of pain medicine in 20 years.
Genetic variation in NaV1.8 helped to identify this target.
news.vrtx.com/news-release...
@VertexPharma gets approval for the first new class of pain medicine in 20 years.
Genetic variation in NaV1.8 helped to identify this target.
news.vrtx.com/news-release...
Vertex Announces FDA Approval of JOURNAVX™ (suzetrigine), a First-in-Class Treatment for Adults With Moderate-to-Severe Acute Pain | Vertex Pharmaceuticals Newsroom
-- JOURNAVX is the first and only approved non-opioid oral pain signal inhibitor and the first new class of pain medicine approved in more than 20 years -- -- JOURNAVX is an effective and well-tolerat...
news.vrtx.com
January 31, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Hopefully we'll see less fentanyl in our emergency rooms and less homelessness.
@VertexPharma gets approval for the first new class of pain medicine in 20 years.
Genetic variation in NaV1.8 helped to identify this target.
news.vrtx.com/news-release...
@VertexPharma gets approval for the first new class of pain medicine in 20 years.
Genetic variation in NaV1.8 helped to identify this target.
news.vrtx.com/news-release...
Reposted by Brent Richards
📣Excited to share our paper in Nature Genetics!
rdcu.be/d7mo0
Do plasma proteins mediate obesity’s effect on CAD risk?
→Using two-step proteome-wide MR, domain-aware MR, epigenomics & scRNA-seq, we prioritized endotrophin, cleaved from COL6A3, as a mediator & potential therapeutic target.
A 🧵↓
rdcu.be/d7mo0
Do plasma proteins mediate obesity’s effect on CAD risk?
→Using two-step proteome-wide MR, domain-aware MR, epigenomics & scRNA-seq, we prioritized endotrophin, cleaved from COL6A3, as a mediator & potential therapeutic target.
A 🧵↓
January 24, 2025 at 1:41 PM
📣Excited to share our paper in Nature Genetics!
rdcu.be/d7mo0
Do plasma proteins mediate obesity’s effect on CAD risk?
→Using two-step proteome-wide MR, domain-aware MR, epigenomics & scRNA-seq, we prioritized endotrophin, cleaved from COL6A3, as a mediator & potential therapeutic target.
A 🧵↓
rdcu.be/d7mo0
Do plasma proteins mediate obesity’s effect on CAD risk?
→Using two-step proteome-wide MR, domain-aware MR, epigenomics & scRNA-seq, we prioritized endotrophin, cleaved from COL6A3, as a mediator & potential therapeutic target.
A 🧵↓