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  • How a handful of dirt can prevent a looming global health crisis.
  • Coin Group

      Group Leader

    Hon Assoc Professor Lachlan Coin

    Honorary Professor
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
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    Highlights

    Professor Lachlan Coin is a mathematician with a research focus on developing genomics and bioinformatics tools in infectious disease and cancer. He was originally drawn by the rigour and intellectual challenge of pure mathematics but now uses his maths background as a toolkit for solving complex problems in analysing high throughput biological data.

    Professor Coin is best known for using approaches borrowed from machine learning, statistics and probability theory to interrogate genomic data.

    In particular, Professor Coin has focussed on using these approaches to uncover genomic deletions and amplifications and has identified changes that are associated with increased risk of obesity and diabetes.

    He has also developed approaches for finding minimal biomarker signatures associated with disease, and has applied these approaches to find biomarkers that distinguish bacterial from viral infection, and for the presence of active tuberculosis infection. He is also applying his methodology to develop a diagnostic tool for cancer from cell free DNA

    Ultimately, Professor Coin is motivated by making discoveries that are routinely used in clinical practice and to inform public policy to improve health outcomes.

    Professor Coin holds an Honorary Professor appointment with UQ, and is a Professor at the Doherty Institute at the University of Melbourne.

    Connect

    ResearcherIDScopusOrcid

     

      Researchers

    Dr Quan Nguyen

    Senior Research Fellow & Group Leader
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
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    Researcher biography: 

    Dr Quan Nguyen is a Group Leader at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), The University of Queensland, where he leads the Genomics and Machine Learning (GML) Laboratory. His research focuses on understanding pathological processes within tissues to identify biomarkers for early diagnosis, patient stratification, and prediction of treatment response. His work integrates statistical machine learning techniques with advanced genomic technologies, combining single-cell and spatiotemporal sequencing data with tissue imaging to uncover causal links between genotypes and phenotypes across biological scales, from single cell, to tissue microenvironment, organ, multi-organ and population level. By studying cell-cell interactions, his research also contributes to the discovery of novel drug targets and improved understanding of drug mechanisms and toxicity. The GML Laboratory also develops spatiotemporal experimental platforms for large-scale biomarker profiling and validation in preclinical models and patient cohorts.

    Dr Nguyen completed a PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Queensland in 2013, postdoctoral training in Bioinformatics at RIKEN institute in Japan in 2015, a CSIRO Office of Chief Executive (OCE) Research Fellowship in 2016, an IMB Fellow in 2018, an Australian Research Council DECRA fellowship in 2021, and is a National Health and Medical Research Council leadership fellow. He has authored 86 publications in top-tier journals, like Cell, Nature Genetics, and Nature Method, averaging ~45.5 citations per paper, and led the development of 14 software tools with over 250,000 downloads. His recognised expertise is demonstrated through 14 national/international awards, numerous invited talks (21 international, 42 national), invited grant reviews for funding bodies in nine countries, and active editorial roles for BMC Cancer and Genome Medicine. His commitment to propelling the field forward is evident in leading roles within key consortia and forums and his dedication to organise training workshops and conferences. He has secured over $31 million in grant funding as a chief investigator from national and international funding agencies (e.g., ARC, NHMRC, MRFF, DoD, NCI) and from industry partners, with approximately $11million directly supporting his lab's groundbreaking work.

      Students

    Dr Son Nguyen

    Higher degree by research (PhD) student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
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    Ms Miranda Pitt

    Higher degree by research (PhD) student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
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    Mr Haojing Shao

    Higher degree by research (PhD) student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
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    Mr Chenxi Zhou

    Higher degree by research (PhD) student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
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    Mr Hyun Jae Lee

    Higher degree by research (PhD) student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
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    Ms Janice Reid

    Honours student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
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    Ms Dilys Li

    Honours student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
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      Support staff

  • Wray/Visscher Group

    Group Leaders

    Professor Peter Visscher

    UQ Laureate Fellow and Group Leader
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
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    Visscher joined the University of Queensland in 2011, where he is Professor of Quantitative Genetics. He is a Laureate Fellow of the Australian Research Council. Visscher was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2010, a Fellow of the Royal Society (London) in 2018 and a Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.

    Visscher's research is about genetic variation for complex traits (including quantitative traits and disease) in populations, with the broad aim to understand and quantify the causes and consequences of human trait variation.

    Prof Peter Visscher, Prof Naomi Wray and Prof Jian Yang together comprise the Executive Team of the Program in Complex Trait Genomics (PCTG). PCTG comprises a critical mass of more than 30 post-doctoral researchers plus research assistants and students, all supported by external grant funding. Their skills lie in the ability to develop and apply statistical methods within the framework of quantitative, population and statistical genetics and to use theory to understand and predict results from data analyses. They play leading roles in the international research consortia. The focus of current research activities is in the detection and fine-mapping of loci underlying complex traits (including common disease), based upon theoretical studies and applications of methods to large datasets, in population genetics studies using theoretical approaches and high-density genetic marker data, and in systems genomics studies.

    Professor Naomi Wray

    Joint Appointment
    Queensland Brain Institute
    Professorial Research Fellow
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
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    Researcher biography: 

    Naomi Wray is the Michael Davys Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. She holds an appointment at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) within the University of Queensland. She joined UQ Queensland Brain Institute in 2011 moving to the IMB in 2015. She was Head of the Centre for Population & Disease Genomics within IMB 2018-2023. Her Oxford appointment started in 2023.

    Her research focuses on development and application of quantitative genetics and genomics methodologies across complex diseases, disorders and traits, but particularly psychiatric-related traits.

    She is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Leadership Fellow, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science. In 2020 she was awarded the NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn Award for Leadership in Basic Science and the 2021 International Society of Psychiatric Genetics Ming Tsuang Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a Clarivate Highly Cited researcher.

    She was Director of the Program in Complex Trait Genomics (PCTG) funded as an NHMRC Program Grant 2017-2022. She plays a key role in the International Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and established the sporadic ALS Australia systems genomics consortium (SALSA) funded by the MND Research Australia IceBucket Challenge and FightMND. She is a co-investigator on the Australian Genetics of Depression Study (AGDS) and is currently launching the AGDS-Cello project focussed on establishing a cell line resource from participants with a detailed history of anti-depressant use and response measures. She is part of an NHMRC Synergy (2023-2027) "Rhythms and blues: Personalising care for body clock dysfunction in mood disorders".

    She is secretary of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, and is on the editorial advisory boards of JAMA Psychiatry, Neuron, Royal Society Open and Research Directions: Depression.

    Researchers

    Dr Yang Wu

    Higher degree by research (PhD) student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
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    Dr Jian Zeng

    NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow & Group Leader
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
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    Researcher biography: 

    Dr Jian Zeng is a statistical geneticist and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) at the University of Queensland (UQ). He received his PhD in animal breeding and genetics at Iowa State University and joined the Program in Complex Trait Genomics (PCTG) at UQ in 2016. His research focuses on the development and application of innovative statistical methods for estimating the genetic architecture and evolutionary signals in complex traits, identifying genetic variants, genes and other molecular intermediates associated with phenotype variation, and predicting trait phenotypes using genome sequence data. In 2019, he was awarded an NHMRC Investigator Emerging Leadership Grant to develop statistical methods and software tools for best predict an individual’s disease risk using genomic and omics data. He was an invited speaker at the prestigious Gordon Research Conference in 2019.

    Students

    Dr Alesha Hatton

    Postdoctoral Research Fellow
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
    Supervisor: 
    Researcher biography: 

    Alesha Hatton is a postdoctoral research fellow specializing in statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland. Currently, her research focuses on understanding the genetic and environmental aetiology underlying complex traits through use of Mendelian randomization and statistical genetics methodologies. Her PhD was in systems genomics, applying quantitative genetics methods to investigate the role of DNA methylation in complex trait variation. Alesha has a bachelor's degree in medical mathematics from the University of Wollongong and previously was employed as a statistician at the South Australian health and Medical Research Institute.

    Mr Longda Jiang

    Higher degree by research (PhD) student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    0
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    Mr Restu Restuadi

    Higher degree by research (PhD) student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
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    Mr Pierrick Wainschtein

    Researcher profile is public: 
    0
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    Ms Ying Wang

    Higher degree by research (PhD) student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    0
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    Miss Shiane Groot

    PhD student
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
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    Admin Support Staff

    Research Support Staff

    Mr Angli Xue

    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
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    Tags: 
    Wray/Visscher Group
  • Research Assistant
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
  • NHMRC Leadership Fellow - Group Leader
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience
  • Honorary Professor
    Institute for Molecular Bioscience

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The Edge: Genetics

People have known for thousands of years that parents pass traits to their children, but it is only relatively recently that our technology has caught up to our curiosity, enabling us to delve into the mystery of how this inheritance occurs, and the implications for predicting, preventing and treating disease.

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