Jim Wilson
Professor of Human Genetics
- Usher Institute
- MRC Human Genetics Unit
Contact details
Address
- Street
-
Old Medical School,
Teviot Place - City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH8 9AG
Background
Jim Wilson is affiliated both to the Usher Institute and the MRC Human Genetics Unit. Of Fair Isle heritage, he grew up in Orkney where he attended the Kirkwall Grammar School, before reading genetics at the University of Edinburgh. After a year working with Svante Pääbo in Bavaria, Jim went up to New College in Oxford where he completed a DPhil in human population genetics with David Goldstein. Jim moved back to Edinburgh in 2003 after a stint at University College London, to take up a Royal Society University Research Fellowship.
He has published over 230 peer-reviewed articles, 46 of which were in the top genetics journal Nature Genetics, 10 in Nature and 2 in Science. His ISI Web of Science h-index is 72, his m-value 3.7, and he is a Thomson-Reuters highly cited researcher (highlycited.com) from 2014-2017.
Over the last decade Jim led two large genetic epidemiology studies in Orkney and Shetland. These platform resources for health research benefit from rich phenotyping, deep genotyping, a tissue biobank and prospective follow up through record linkage and have contributed to the discovery of over 1000 novel associations. More recently he has initiated a number of international consortia to explore interests in the genetic architecture of complex traits.
Jim is engaged in science communication principally through radio and TV series explaining genetics to the public (e.g. Blood of the Vikings, On the Ocean, Is it better to be mixed race?, Gatwick Baby, British More or Less, Twincredibles, Meet the Izzards, the IFTA-winning Blood of the Irish and Blood of the Travellers, a book and radio series, The Scots, A Genetic Journey) and was involved in the genetic ancestry testing business for over a decade.
Qualifications
-
Bachelor
- 1997 Bachelor of Science (honours), 1st, University of Edinburgh
- Doctorate
- 2002 Doctor of Philosophy, DPhil, University of Oxford
-
Identifying causal serum protein-cardiometabolic trait relationships using whole genome sequencing
In:
Human Molecular Genetics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddac275
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
A saturated map of common genetic variants associated with human height
In:
Nature
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05275-y
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Genome-wide association analyses of physical activity and sedentary behavior provide insights into underlying mechanisms and roles in disease prevention
(25 pages)
In:
Nature Genetics, vol. 54, pp. 1332-1344
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01165-1
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Genetic analyses of the electrocardiographic QT interval and its components identify additional loci and pathways
In:
Nature Communications, vol. 13
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32821-z
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Cystatin C is associated with adverse COVID-19 outcomes in diverse populations
(12 pages)
In:
iScience, vol. 25
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105040
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Genome-wide meta-analyses reveal novel loci for verbal short-term memory and learning
In:
Molecular Psychiatry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01710-8
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Limited Effect of Y Chromosome Variation on Coronary Artery Disease and Mortality in UK Biobank
In:
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, pp. 101161ATVBAHA122317664
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.122.317664
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Differential and shared genetic effects on kidney function between diabetic and non-diabetic individuals
In:
Communications biology, vol. 5, pp. 580
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03448-z
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Multi-phenotype analyses of hemostatic traits with cardiovascular events reveal novel genetic associations
(19 pages)
In:
Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, vol. 20, pp. 1331-1349
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jth.15698
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Within-sibship genome-wide association analyses decrease bias in estimates of direct genetic effects
In:
Nature Genetics
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01062-7
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print)