Joseph Lachance

The evolutionary fate of Neanderthal DNA in 30,780 admixed genomes with recent African-like ancestry

The paper analyzes 30,780 admixed genomes to study the evolutionary fate of Neanderthal DNA, finding neutral evolution and regions under selection.

Allelic variation at tRNA genes in three nematode species indicates mutation load despite strong purifying selection

The paper examines allelic variation in tRNA genes across three nematode species, finding high mutation rates and purifying selection, with functional mismatches between tRNA anticodons and amino acids.

Uncovering the genetic architecture and evolutionary roots of androgenetic alopecia in African men

This study identifies genetic associations and evolutionary factors underlying androgenetic alopecia in African men, showing poor generalization of European genetic predictions and continental differences in allele frequencies.

Genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen levels in 392,522 men identifies new loci and improves cross-ancestry prediction

This study identifies 447 new genetic variants associated with prostate-specific antigen levels across multiple ancestries and shows improved cross-ancestry prediction of PSA, with implications for personalized prostate cancer screening.

Different genetic architectures of complex traits and their relevance to polygenic score performance in diverse populations

The paper examines genetic architectures of complex traits and their impact on polygenic score performance across diverse populations, finding that traits with low heritability and high population divergence are harder to predict.

Adaptive eQTLs reveal the evolutionary impacts of pleiotropy and tissue-specificity, while contributing to health and disease in human populations

This study identifies adaptive eQTLs in human populations, showing their role in evolution and disease, with tissue-specific patterns of pleiotropy and selection.

The evolutionary genetics of polygenic diseases with the largest global burden in mortality rates

The paper investigates the evolutionary genetics of polygenic diseases with high mortality rates, finding no strong evidence of recent positive selection but evidence of background selection on disease-associated loci across populations.

A custom genotyping array reveals population-level heterogeneity for the genetic risks of prostate cancer and other cancers in Africa

The paper develops a genotyping array tailored for African populations to identify cancer risk variants, finding population-specific allele frequency differences and lower prostate cancer risk in Senegal compared to Nigeria.

How genetic disease risks can be misestimated across global populations

This study identifies how genetic disease risks are misestimated across global populations due to differences in risk allele frequencies and biases in GWAS data.

The Genomic Health Of Ancient Hominins

This study estimates disease risk in ancient hominins using genetic risk scores and finds similar hereditary disease risks to modern humans, with some ancient pastoralists showing healthier genomes.