Application number/Title: 40310 - The Evolutionary History and the Genetic Architecture of Complex Traits Applicant PI: Dr Michel Nivard Application Institution: VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands Keywords provided by the Applicant PI to describe the research project: complex traits and disease, evolution, GWAS, pathways, psychiatry, substance use Application Lay Summary: The goal of our study is to clarify the underlying genetic architecture of complex traits and its evolutionary origins, with a special focus on psychiatric traits and substance use. We will combine existing and novel statistical genetics methodology and bioinformatics to combine the full range of genomic and complex trait data from UK Biobank data with other (publicly) available data. Our research will improve our understanding of the origins of current genetic variation underlying complex traits and disease, and allow us to make inferences about its further evolution. Understanding the origin of variation in disease risk has the potential to facilitate the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. This will be an ongoing project that we will work on for the next 3 years.
