Riccardo Marioni Research Group

 Section: Genomic Medicine

Research in a Nutshell

I am a Senior Group Leader with a background in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. My primary research goal is to use computational models to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie Alzheimer’s disease and to enhance prediction of the disease.

I have a passion for research into ageing and, in particular, examining the genetic and environmental contributions to health, cognitive ageing, and dementia.

In recent years, much of my research has focused on DNA methylation – chemical changes to DNA that turn genes on and off and that can be added and removed over the lifespan. These methylation marks can be influenced by genes, lifestyle, and the environment, making them ideal candidates to help us understand the interaction between nature and nurture. We are currently using novel methods to model multiple omics datasets (genetics, epigenetics, and proteomics) together to better understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie dementia and to improve risk prediction.  

Much of my group’s work is carried out using data from deeply phenotyped cohorts, such as Generation Scotland, PREVENT Dementia, and the Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1921 and 1936.

Marioni Group Website (external)

Contact

Riccardo.Marioni@igmm.ed.ac.uk

Previous Team Members

Anna Stevenson, Sarah Kent and Danni Gadd (2020), WT Translational Neuroscience rotation students 

Evgenii Lobzaev, Michael Stam, Natalia Szlachetka (2020), Biomedical AI PhD rotation students

Joeri Meijsen (2018 co-supervised) PhD student, Anne Seeboth (2019) MRes Student

Olivia Hamilton (2017), Anders Jesperson (2018), Rebecca Madden (2018), Rebecca Lodge (2019), JurE Mur (2019), Tyler Saunders (2019). Wellcome Trust Translational Neuroscience PhD rotation projects

XiaoXiao Xie, 2018 MSc Bioinformatics

Dominique Ding (2016), Lichen Ma (2019) MSc Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analysis

Daniel Peng, 2016, MSc Cognitive Neuroscience

Jing Guo, 2015, MSc Quantitative Genetics and Genome Analysis

Collaborations

• Doctor Tamir Chandra, University of Edinburgh
• Professor Ian Deary, University of Edinburgh 
• Doctor Kathy Evans, University of Edinburgh
• Professor Andrew McIntosh, University of Edinburgh
• Professor Craig Ritchie, University of Edinburgh
• Generation Scotland/STRADL research team, University of Edinburgh
• Lothian Birth Cohort research team, University of Edinburgh
• Professor Peter Visscher, University of Queensland
• Professor Naomi Wray, University of Queensland
• Professor Steve Hovath, UCLA 
• Professor Caroline Relton, University of Bristol
• Doctor Matthew Robinson, University of Lausanne

Partners and Funders

• NIH: U01 Research Grant AG060908. ($143,850 sub-award) Validation and optimization of epigenetic clocks. PI Professor Steve Horvath (UCLA). Duration: 01/09/18 – 31/05/23
• Alzheimer's Research UK ARUK-PG2017B-10 (£166,833). Omics prediction of Alzheimer's disease. Duration : 01/10/2017 - 30/09/2020. Role: PI
• University of Edinburgh Pilot Grant, Centre for Cognitive Aging and Cognitive Epidemiology (£5,404). A non-invasive mouse DNA methylation age predictor for longitudinal studies. Duration: 01/10/2017 - 31/12/2018. Role: PI
• NIH: U34 Research Grant ($953,566). The epiGenetIcs Leads to aGe-relAted diseases (GILGA-mesh) Network. PI: Professor Steve Horvath (UCLA). Duration: 01/10/2015 - 30/09/2018. Role: Co-I (15% time commitment, $32,400 sub-recipient award).
• ESRC: Research Grant ES/N000498/1 (£667,460). Epigenetics: Environment, Embodiment and Equality (E4). PI: Professor Caroline Relton: University of Bristol. Duration: 01/10/2015 - 30/09/2018. Role: Co-I (10% time commitment).
• ESRC: Network Grant ES/N000382/1 (£199,513). INTERpreting epigenetic signatures in STudies of Early Life Adversity (InterStELA). PI: Dr Laura D Howe:University of Bristol. Duration: 01/10/2015 - 30/09/2017. Role: Co-I.
• Gertrude Winifred Gear Fund, University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (£50,922) and Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (£57,878). Epigenetic, structural brain MRI, and cognitive changes over the eighth decade. Duration: 01/03/16 - 01/12/16. Role: PI