Colin Palmer

Abstract Autoimmune hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) is common and has a strong genetic component. Here we performed multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analyses encompassing 48,694 Hashimoto’s thyroiditis cases, using a precise case definition, and 1,044,134 controls. We identified 155 significant (P < 5 × 10−8) independent genetic associations, of which 45 variants and 19 loci were not previously associated with hypothyroidism.

Abstract Strong lighting from above is common in everyday environments and this statistical regularity has shaped the function of the human visual system. Here we investigate the influence of vertical asymmetries in illumination on the perception of gaze direction, a ubiquitous social cue that we derive from the appearance of another person’s face and which provides an important input to social cognition by conveying the focus of that person’s attention.

Abstract Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complication of diabetes that affects the eyes. This study aims to identify the genetic variants associated with DR in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients from the UK Biobank cohort (n = 16,988). We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of DR and integrated genomic results with multi-omics data to identify and prioritize susceptibility variants and genes. The findings are set to undergo validation in four replication cohorts.