Danni Gadd and Alesha Hatton of the Marioni and McRae Research Groups visited each others Institutes to conduct collaborative research. Image A view of the Brisbane skyline. Photo credit: Danni Gadd. Danni Gadd, PhD student in the Marioni Research Group, spent 5 weeks last year visiting Dr Allan McRae at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland. Alesha Hatton from Dr McRae’s Research Group was also able to work with Professor Riccardo Marioni at CGEM and IGC during September and October 2022.The exchange not only allowed their individual development but strengthened ties between the collaborating research groups and the academic centres and institutes involved. The McRae and Marioni groups have been collaborating on genomics papers for close to a decade. Much of the long-term collaboration between them has focused on generating and analysing DNA methylation data in large cohort studies. The recent projects were no exception; here the exchange involved the application of novel statistical methods to the Generation Scotland dataset and the derivation of epigenetic biomarkers in multi-ancestry datasets available in Brisbane. Danni Gadd explains : "I visited Dr Allan McRae's group at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience in September 2022. This was partially funded by the IGC travel grant that I won, which aims to foster global collaborations for early career researchers. Through this opportunity, I was able to hear a range of speakers and network with individuals at the institute, in addition to presenting my own research. I applied epigenetic scores that I developed as part of my PhD to new cohort populations during my time working in Brisbane and we are continuing this work into the future since I have arrived back in the UK. I also had the opportunity to contribute to a review paper in collaboration with Prof Naomi Wray, which is now published in Genome Biology (link below). The trip was an enriching experience, especially given that in-person work and travel was restricted for most of my PhD. I would definitely recommend this type of visit to students in the future." An overview of DNA methylation-derived trait score methods and applications - Genome Biology (external) Image Alesha Hatton atop Beinn na Lap whilst hiking in the highlands. Alesha Hatton describes her exchange visit as follows, "During September last year, I visited Professor Riccardo Marioni’s research group as part of my PhD studies. At the time we were collaborating on a project which utilised data from Generation Scotland to evaluate the similarity in DNA methylation variation between traits. This trip allowed me to work closely with and learn from Professor Marioni’s team who have extensive experience with this resource. I also thoroughly appreciated being able to learn from Professor Marioni as a supervisor and was exposed to different methods of team cooperation across complex projects which I found to be very valuable as I consider my transition beyond PhD studies. During my visit I also attended a meeting for the Edinburgh Alliance for Complex Trait Genetics which was an excellent opportunity to network within the local genetics community and hear from a range of speakers on recent research developments. Lastly, I can’t overlook the charm of spending 6 weeks in such a spectacular city and being lucky enough to hike the surrounding highlands during the weekends. This trip would not have been possible without the Institute for Molecular Bioscience travel award and generous funding from my supervisor, Dr Allan McRae, both for which I am incredibly grateful.” Alesha's work during her time with the Marioni group, and as part of the wider collaboration between the two groups, has resulted in the publication of a preprint on the correlations between DNA methylation markers and body fat (link below). Blood-based genome-wide DNA methylation correlations across body fat and adiposity-related biochemical traits - bioRxiv (external) With the ongoing recruitment of volunteers to Generation Scotland and the continuation of methods development in Brisbane, there will hopefully be similar opportunities for new students in the Marioni Group to develop new research skills through a trip to Oz!Professor Riccardo MarioniCentre for Genomic and Experimental MedicineLinksMarioni Research GroupMcRae Research Group (external)Generation Scotland Tags 2023 Publication date 03 Jul, 2023
