This study identifies genetic, intrinsic, and environmental factors influencing innate immune cytokine responses in four-year-old children, finding strong genetic and inflammatory biomarker associations.

bioRxiv · May 5, 2026 · PreprintImmunology

Prenatal Environmental Determinants of Aromatase Brain-Promoter Methylation in Cord Blood: Chemical, Airborne, Pharmacological, and Nutritional Factors

Samuel Tanner, Katherine D. Drummond, Sarah M Thomson, Kristina Vacy, Christos Symeonides, Boris Novakovic, Toby Mansell, Martin O’Hely, Richard Saffery, Mimi L.K. Tang, Peter David Sly, Peter Vuillermin, the BIS Investigator Group, Wah Chin Boon, Chol‐Hee Jung, , Anne‐Louise Ponsonby

The paper examines prenatal environmental factors affecting CYP19A1 promoter methylation in cord blood using WQS regression, finding associations with bisphenols, sunlight, mould, phthalates, folate, and air pollution.

Current Zoology · Jan 1, 2026Peer-reviewedGenomics

Prenatal DEHP plastic chemical exposure increases the likelihood of child autism and ADHD symptoms through epigenetic programming

Samuel Tanner, Alex Eisner, Boris Novakovic, Lada Holland, Toby Mansell, Gillian England-Mason, Sarah M. Merrill, Deborah Dewey, Martin O’Hely, Christos Symeonides, Richard Saffery, Jochen F. Mueller, Mimi L.K. Tang, Peter David Sly, Peter Vuillermin, , Anne‐Louise Ponsonby

This study shows prenatal DEHP exposure increases ASD and ADHD symptoms through DNA methylation changes in children.

bioRxiv · Mar 3, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

A genome catalog of the early-life human skin microbiome

Zeyang Shen, Lukian Robert, Milan Stolpman, You Che, Katrina Jane Allen, Richard Saffery, Audrey Walsh, Angela Young, Jana Eckert, Clay Deming, Qiong Chen, Sean Conlan, Karen Laky, Jenny Min Li, Lindsay Chatman, , Carrie Service

The paper presents a genome catalog of the early-life human skin microbiome, expanding diversity and improving classification rates using metagenomic data from infants and their mothers.

Genome biology · Nov 9, 2023Peer-reviewedGenomics