@scottwilliams9.bsky.social
Geneticist, global health, evolution and human disease, higher education
If there is any doubt about the importance of genetics in complex disease - PRS can predict prevalence quite well
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34903281/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34903281/
Estimating prevalence of human traits among populations from polygenic risk scores - PubMed
The genetic basis of phenotypic variation across populations has not been well explained for most traits. Several factors may cause disparities, from variation in environments to divergent population genetic structure. We hypothesized that a population-level polygenic risk score (PRS) can explain ph …
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 5, 2025 at 3:53 PM
If there is any doubt about the importance of genetics in complex disease - PRS can predict prevalence quite well
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34903281/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34903281/
Our latest on possible human-mycobacterium coevolution
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Human genetic variation associates with infection by derived Ugandan M. tuberculosis lineage
Several studies examined host and pathogen genetic influences on tuberculosis (TB) susceptibility separately, but relatively few studied their combined effects. However, host-pathogen interactions or ...
www.medrxiv.org
November 5, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Our latest on possible human-mycobacterium coevolution
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
If everything you do works you are limiting what you can learn
October 16, 2025 at 1:27 PM
If everything you do works you are limiting what you can learn
Every time I take a new online "course" how to be a decent human being and not a threat to national security I am reassured that the world is a better place. What did we do before these were available?
October 9, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Every time I take a new online "course" how to be a decent human being and not a threat to national security I am reassured that the world is a better place. What did we do before these were available?
Our latest where we used stratified male/female analyses to infer genetic architecture. In favor of omnigenic model?
rdcu.be/eIT4E
rdcu.be/eIT4E
Concordance between male- and female-specific GWAS results helps define underlying genetic architecture of complex traits
Nature Communications - Here the authors use sex-stratified genetic analyses in mice and humans to uncover hidden trait influences, revealing many undetected loci and cautioning against misleading...
rdcu.be
September 30, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Our latest where we used stratified male/female analyses to infer genetic architecture. In favor of omnigenic model?
rdcu.be/eIT4E
rdcu.be/eIT4E
Completely insane and misleading - intentional and dangerous -
This fucking guy... 😡 www.scrippsnews.com/health/fda-c... - willful ignorance from the head of the FDA. I despair...
FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary tells Scripps News 'I don't think autism is genetic'
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said Friday he and the agency believe recent rates of severe autism may be due to autoimmune factors, not genetics.
www.scrippsnews.com
September 28, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Completely insane and misleading - intentional and dangerous -
Seems innovative thinking moves much slower than generation of new data. The data is essential but requires proper conceptualization. How can we motivate that among young scientists?
September 14, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Seems innovative thinking moves much slower than generation of new data. The data is essential but requires proper conceptualization. How can we motivate that among young scientists?
Checkout this article from our groups: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
What does it mean to be heritable and how variable are estimates? These are very real issues that we often downplay and just present one number.
What does it mean to be heritable and how variable are estimates? These are very real issues that we often downplay and just present one number.
Alzheimer disease is (sometimes) highly heritable: Drivers of variation in heritability estimates for binary traits, a systematic review
Author summary Understanding the relative role that genetic factors play in the development of late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) is important for designing studies that identify specific genetic ris...
dx.plos.org
September 5, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Checkout this article from our groups: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
What does it mean to be heritable and how variable are estimates? These are very real issues that we often downplay and just present one number.
What does it mean to be heritable and how variable are estimates? These are very real issues that we often downplay and just present one number.
Thinking about how to define PTB risk and etiologies - thanks to PREBIC (Preterm Birth International Collaborative)
www.frontiersin.org/journals/med...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/med...
Frontiers | Defining knowledge gaps in preterm birth research: Can biomarkers fill the gaps?
Preterm birth (PTB) is a syndrome arising from multiple etiologies that manifest as a final common phenotype, delivery before full term. Current knowledge ga...
www.frontiersin.org
September 2, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Thinking about how to define PTB risk and etiologies - thanks to PREBIC (Preterm Birth International Collaborative)
www.frontiersin.org/journals/med...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/med...
Reposted
I wrote about gene-gene interactions (epistasis) and the implications for heritability, trait definitions, natural selection, and therapeutic interventions. Biology is clearly full of causal interactions, so why don't we see them in the data? A 🧵:
Beneath the surface of the sum
When genetic interactions matter and when they don't
open.substack.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:41 PM
I wrote about gene-gene interactions (epistasis) and the implications for heritability, trait definitions, natural selection, and therapeutic interventions. Biology is clearly full of causal interactions, so why don't we see them in the data? A 🧵:
"...higher education is a private good. On this reckoning, its value lies exclusively in the additional lifetime earnings that it affords to graduates."
The kiss of death for education. And at at my alma mater. Crushing forme!
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
The kiss of death for education. And at at my alma mater. Crushing forme!
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
The Crisis of the University Started Long Before Trump
The University of Chicago is in crisis. Under extraordinary financial strain, it has diminished its faculty-student ratio and hired hundreds of “lecturers”: teachers whom it pays little and whom it do...
www.compactmag.com
August 18, 2025 at 6:30 PM
"...higher education is a private good. On this reckoning, its value lies exclusively in the additional lifetime earnings that it affords to graduates."
The kiss of death for education. And at at my alma mater. Crushing forme!
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
The kiss of death for education. And at at my alma mater. Crushing forme!
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
The health of individuals and populations may intersect but they are not identical
Addendum: Before you mention the ecological fallacy, please read the paper. The unit of analysis is country. Country level exposure and outcome, no cross-level inference. Population data is useful for population level inference.
August 18, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The health of individuals and populations may intersect but they are not identical
We received 2 new T32 predoc training grants in the last month. If interested in translational studies or gene X environment interactions think about Case Western Reserve for your PhD.
August 14, 2025 at 2:42 PM
We received 2 new T32 predoc training grants in the last month. If interested in translational studies or gene X environment interactions think about Case Western Reserve for your PhD.
When you pose a question or write a paper make sure it counts. You will work just as hard on something of little import as on a truly important one. Spend the time to think it through before you embark on the journey.
August 5, 2025 at 7:20 PM
When you pose a question or write a paper make sure it counts. You will work just as hard on something of little import as on a truly important one. Spend the time to think it through before you embark on the journey.
Link between national levels of lipid consumption and dementia incidence - led by Tim Ciesielski - @timcies.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Country-level incidence of Alzheimer disease and related dementias is associated with increased omega-6-PUFA consumption - Communications Medicine
Ciesielski et al. address the weaknesses of individual-level studies for population-level inference on the role of lipid consumption in dementia. In cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 183 co...
www.nature.com
August 1, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Link between national levels of lipid consumption and dementia incidence - led by Tim Ciesielski - @timcies.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Studies that address a small section of the story can be statistically significant but utterly meaningless with respect to the real question. Perspective and context are so important but so often ignored.
July 29, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Studies that address a small section of the story can be statistically significant but utterly meaningless with respect to the real question. Perspective and context are so important but so often ignored.
www.dukechronicle.com/article/2025...
Quote:
"Notably, those with large administrative roles including department chairs and dean/provost level roles are also exempt."
We are all in this together aren't we? Or where does the buck stop - at the lowest lever we can blame!
Quote:
"Notably, those with large administrative roles including department chairs and dean/provost level roles are also exempt."
We are all in this together aren't we? Or where does the buck stop - at the lowest lever we can blame!
Duke School of Medicine plans salary cuts for tenured faculty who do not meet grant expectations
Set to go in effect in 2026, the proposed policy would apply to the School’s basic sciences units. These units rely heavily on grants from the National Institutes of Health, which have been increasing...
www.dukechronicle.com
July 21, 2025 at 3:57 PM
www.dukechronicle.com/article/2025...
Quote:
"Notably, those with large administrative roles including department chairs and dean/provost level roles are also exempt."
We are all in this together aren't we? Or where does the buck stop - at the lowest lever we can blame!
Quote:
"Notably, those with large administrative roles including department chairs and dean/provost level roles are also exempt."
We are all in this together aren't we? Or where does the buck stop - at the lowest lever we can blame!
Reposted
Context matters.
Heterogeneity exists.
We ignore these at our peril.
These principles are certainly relevant in biomedical research (as I discuss), but they may be generalizable. They may apply to other parts of life (which is super odd given what I just said).
www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
Heterogeneity exists.
We ignore these at our peril.
These principles are certainly relevant in biomedical research (as I discuss), but they may be generalizable. They may apply to other parts of life (which is super odd given what I just said).
www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
Sepsis research: Heterogeneity as a foundation rather than an afterthought
Our understanding of sepsis has been hampered by the implicit assumption that sepsis
is a homogeneous disease. In this issue of Cell Genomics, Burnham et al. have started
to characterize the genetic v...
www.cell.com
July 21, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Context matters.
Heterogeneity exists.
We ignore these at our peril.
These principles are certainly relevant in biomedical research (as I discuss), but they may be generalizable. They may apply to other parts of life (which is super odd given what I just said).
www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
Heterogeneity exists.
We ignore these at our peril.
These principles are certainly relevant in biomedical research (as I discuss), but they may be generalizable. They may apply to other parts of life (which is super odd given what I just said).
www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
And who is bext?
I still can’t believe that all NIH grants to my colleagues at Harvard and Harvard Medical School have been nullified. And that, as a nation, we’re somehow okay with this illegal, arbitrary, and petty act. Just think of the consequences: scientists, students, and patients will all suffer.
July 18, 2025 at 3:52 AM
And who is bext?
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/o...
This should be read by all University administrators. And I fear the more elite the school the worse the problem
This should be read by all University administrators. And I fear the more elite the school the worse the problem
Opinion | This Is Who’s Really Driving the Decline in Interest in Liberal Arts Education
www.nytimes.com
July 17, 2025 at 8:52 PM
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/o...
This should be read by all University administrators. And I fear the more elite the school the worse the problem
This should be read by all University administrators. And I fear the more elite the school the worse the problem
Expectations for papers performing Mendelian randomization analyses
dx.plos.org
July 17, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Context is perhaps the single most important thing in understanding disease risk. Virtually noting is deterministic and even likelihood is soft.
July 11, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Context is perhaps the single most important thing in understanding disease risk. Virtually noting is deterministic and even likelihood is soft.
Welcome to the brave new world. Will only get worse in short term
July 8, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Welcome to the brave new world. Will only get worse in short term