Robert Francis Hillary

Genome-wide analysis of 439 mass spectrometry-based proteomic profiles in a population of 15,035 Scottish individuals

The paper performs genome-wide association studies on 439 high-abundance serum proteins in 15,035 Scottish individuals, identifying 1,553 SNP signals and 13 putative causal protein-outcome associations.

A blood- and brain-based EWAS of smoking

The paper conducts a Bayesian EWAS and GWAS of smoking using DNA methylation data from blood and brain tissues, identifying smoking-related loci and developing an epigenetic biomarker.

DNAm scores for serum GDF15 and NT-proBNP levels associate with a range of traits affecting the body and brain

The paper develops epigenetic scores for GDF15 and NT-proBNP levels, showing associations with disease risks and brain health traits in two cohorts.

Genetic mechanisms of 184 neuro-related proteins in human plasma

The paper identifies genetic regulators of 184 neuro-related proteins in human plasma and links them to disease traits and drug targets.

Systematic discovery of gene-environment interactions underlying the human plasma proteome in UK Biobank

This study identifies gene-environment interactions affecting plasma proteins in UK Biobank, discovering 683 vQTLs and over 1,400 GEIs across 571 proteins.

Blood-based DNA methylation study of alcohol consumption

This paper develops an epigenetic score to objectively measure alcohol consumption using blood-based DNA methylation and validates it across multiple cohorts, finding associations with brain health metrics.

Blood-based genome-wide DNA methylation correlations across body fat and adiposity-related biochemical traits

The paper calculates DNA methylation correlations across body fat traits using genome-wide data to identify shared associations and sex-specific differences.

Integration of DNA methylation datasets for individual prediction

The paper evaluates normalization methods for DNA methylation data to improve BMI prediction across cohorts when projecting new data onto a reference panel.

Refining epigenetic prediction of chronological and biological age

The paper refines epigenetic predictors of chronological and biological age using large-scale EWAS and external validation, improving cAge prediction and outperforming existing bAge predictors.

Blood-based epigenome-wide analyses on the prevalence and incidence of nineteen common disease states

The paper conducts blood-based epigenome-wide association studies on 19 disease states, identifying novel CpG-disease associations and highlighting poor replication in existing literature.

Integrated methylome and phenome study of the circulating proteome reveals markers pertinent to brain health

The paper identifies DNA methylation and proteomic markers associated with brain health through integrated methylome and phenome analyses.

A comparison of blood and brain-derived ageing and inflammation-related DNA methylation signatures and their association with microglial burdens

This study compares DNA methylation signatures of ageing and inflammation in blood and brain tissues, finding divergent correlations and a link between epigenetic age acceleration and microglial burdens in the hippocampus.

The influence of biological and statistical properties of CpGs on epigenetic predictions of eighteen traits

This study evaluates how biological and statistical properties of CpGs affect epigenetic predictions for eighteen traits, showing that CpG methylation QTL status and beta-value distribution influence prediction accuracy.

Blood-based epigenome-wide analyses of cognitive abilities

This study identifies DNA methylation predictors of cognitive function using blood samples, showing they explain variance in cognitive ability and associate with biological markers.

Epigenetic scores for the circulating proteome as tools for disease prediction

The paper develops epigenetic scores (EpiScores) for plasma proteins to predict disease risk, finding 137 associations with incident morbidities independent of known factors.

Genome and epigenome wide studies of plasma protein biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease implicate TBCA and TREM2 in disease risk

The paper identifies genetic and epigenetic factors influencing plasma protein levels linked to Alzheimer's disease, finding novel associations with TREM2 and TBCA.

Epigenetic predictors of lifestyle traits applied to the blood and brain

The paper applies blood-derived epigenetic predictors of lifestyle traits to brain samples, finding variable correlations across brain regions and a strong link between smoking and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Creating and validating a DNA methylation-based proxy for Interleukin-6

The paper develops a DNA methylation-based proxy for interleukin-6 and finds it correlates with age and cognitive functioning better than serum IL-6.

Epigenetic clocks predict prevalence and incidence of leading causes of death and disease burden

This study shows that DNAm GrimAge predicts disease incidence and prevalence better than other epigenetic clocks in a large cohort.

Characterisation of an inflammation-related epigenetic score and its association with cognitive ability

The paper develops an epigenetic CRP score to assess chronic inflammation and its link to cognitive ability, finding it more consistently associated with cognition than serum CRP across two cohorts.

DNA methylation outlier burden, health and ageing in Generation Scotland and the Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1921 and 1936.

This study examines DNA methylation outlier burden as a marker of biological age and finds it increases with age but is not strongly linked to health outcomes or survival.

Birth weight predicts psychiatric and physical health, cognitive function, and DNA methylation differences in an adult population

This study links birth weight to adult health outcomes and DNA methylation differences, identifying a significant CpG site and associations with biological aging markers.

Integrative omics approach to identify the molecular architecture of inflammatory protein levels in healthy older adults

This study identifies genetic and epigenetic factors associated with inflammatory protein levels in older adults using GWAS and EWAS with a Bayesian framework.

An epigenome-wide association study of sex-specific chronological ageing

This study identifies DNA methylation loci associated with age-by-sex interactions in a cohort of 2,586 individuals, finding most significant loci are X-linked and linked to disease-related genes.

An epigenetic predictor of death captures multi-modal measures of brain health

This paper introduces DNAm GrimAge, an epigenetic clock that predicts mortality and is associated with multiple brain health measures in older adults.

Childhood intelligence attenuates the association between biological ageing and health outcomes in later life

This study examines how DNAm PhenoAge, a biomarker of biological ageing, relates to health outcomes and cognitive ability across the lifespan, finding that early-life cognitive factors influence later-life health.

A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of epigenetic age acceleration

This paper conducts GWAS on two epigenetic age acceleration measures, identifying genetic variants and genes associated with each, and highlighting differences in their genetic architectures.

Age-related clonal haemopoiesis is associated with increased epigenetic age

The paper shows that age-related clonal haemopoiesis is linked to accelerated epigenetic age.

Genetic and epigenetic architectures of neurological protein biomarkers in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

This study identifies genetic and epigenetic factors associated with neurological protein levels in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, revealing potential causal links to neurological diseases.

Epigenetic signatures of starting and stopping smoking

The paper examines DNA methylation patterns in smokers and former smokers to determine how exposure duration and dose affect methylation changes and their reversal after cessation.