Introducing polygenic scores in four national cohort studies

There are a wide range of genetic data available from CLS birth cohort studies. From these genetic data, CLS researchers have derived a list of polygenic scores – summary measures that combine the estimated effects of many different genes on a specific trait or characteristic, such as a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, substance abuse, or mental health disorders, for example. These polygenic scores can be combined with existing survey data to offer a more nuanced understanding of how cohort members’ outcomes may be shaped.

This webinar will provide an overview of the polygenic scores that will be available from the UK Data Service across four British cohort studies: 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS), 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), Next Steps and Millennium Cohort Study (MCS).

We will detail the range of available polygenic scores, how these can be accessed, give examples of how they have been used before, and illustrate the unique research opportunities they offer.

Whether you are an experienced user of genetic data or not familiar at all, this webinar will be a unique opportunity to discover the potential of using polygenic scores in your research.

It will be of particular interest to social scientists including economists, education researchers, psychologists, demographers, and epidemiologists.

Speakers

• Tim Morris, Senior Research Fellow in Social Science Genetics at the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies
• David Bann, Professor of Population Health and Strategic Lead of Genomics at the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies
• Liam Wright, Lecturer in Statistics and Survey Methodology at the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies
• Vanessa Moulton, Senior Research Fellow at the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies
• Morag Henderson, Professor of Sociology and Principal Investigator of Next Steps

Related links

• Centre for Longitudinal Studies
• Social Research Institute

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JohnnyGreig via iStock.