Decoding Complex Traits Genetics from Biobanks

Our phenome-wide genetic investigation across Taiwan, Japan, and the UK Biobanks is published in Cell Genomics

In this study, we expanded the scope of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) by analyzing 102,900 individuals from the Taiwan Biobank (TWB), focusing on 36 human quantitative traits. We identified hundreds of novel genetic loci and highlighted the importance of diversifying study populations beyond European ancestries. By comparing genetic architecture across TWB, Biobank Japan, and UK Biobank, we gained valuable insights into the common genetic basis of complex traits in East Asia and demonstrated the effectiveness of cross-population polygenic risk scores in predicting disease risk.

Reference:
Chen, C. Y.*, Chen, T. T., Feng, Y. A.*, Yu, M., Lin, S. C., Longchamps, R., Wang, S. H., Hsu, Y. H., Yang, H. I., Kuo, P. H., Daly, M. J., Chen, W. J., Huang, H., Ge, T., & Lin, Y. F.* (2023). Analysis across Taiwan Biobank, Biobank Japan and UK Biobank identifies hundreds of novel loci for 36 quantitative traits. Cell Genomics, 3(12):100436.