Simon Laws

Prof. Simon Laws

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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

28Years (1999-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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14 August 2012 in Molecular Psychiatry
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BBBelinda M. Brown
Belinda M. Brown
JPJ J Peiffer
J J Peiffer
KTK Taddei
K Taddei
JLJ K Lui
J K Lui
SLSimon Laws
Simon Laws
RMRalph Martins
Ralph Martins



23 September 2020 in Nature Communications
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Journal Article
Open access
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QZQian Zhang
Qian Zhang
JSJulia Sidorenko
Julia Sidorenko
BCBaptiste Couvy-Duchesne
Baptiste Couvy-Duchesne
RMRiccardo E. Marioni
Riccardo E. Marioni
MWMargaret J. Wright
Margaret J. Wright
PVPeter M. Visscher
Peter M. Visscher
Genetic association studies have identified 44 common genome-wide significant risk loci for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). However, LOAD genetic architecture and prediction are unclear. Here we estimate the optimalP-threshold (Poptimal) of a genetic risk score (GRS) for prediction of LOAD in three independent datasets comprising 676 cases and 35,675 family history proxy cases. We show that the discriminative ability of GRS in LOAD prediction is maximised when selecting a small number of SNPs. Both simulation results and direct estimation indicate that the number of causal common SNPs for LOAD may be less than 100, suggesting LOAD is more oligogenic than polygenic. The best GRS explains approximately 75% of SNP-heritability, and individuals in the top decile of GRS have ten-fold increased odds when compared to those in the bottom decile. In addition, 14 variants are identified that contribute to both LOAD risk and age at onset of LOAD.

1 May 2016 in SLEEP
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Journal Article
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BBBelinda M. Brown
Belinda M. Brown
SRStephanie Rainey-Smith
Stephanie Rainey-Smith
VVVictor L. Villemagne
Victor L. Villemagne
MWMichael Weinborn
Michael Weinborn
RBRomola S. Bucks
Romola S. Bucks
RMRalph Martins
Ralph Martins
Study Objectives:. To evaluate the association between self-reported sleep quality and levels of brain β-amyloid (Aβ) burden, and to determine the effe

10 November 2020 in Nature Communications
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Journal Article
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KHKevin Huynh
Kevin Huynh
WLWei Ling Florence Lim
Wei Ling Florence Lim
CGCorey Giles
Corey Giles
KJKaushala S. Jayawardana
Kaushala S. Jayawardana
ASAgus Salim
Agus Salim
Peter MeiklePeter Meikle
Peter Meikle
Changes to lipid metabolism are tightly associated with the onset and pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Lipids are complex molecules comprising many isomeric and isobaric species, necessitating detailed analysis to enable interpretation of biological significance. Our expanded targeted lipidomics platform (569 species across 32 classes) allows for detailed lipid separation and characterisation. In this study we examined peripheral samples of two cohorts (AIBL,n = 1112 and ADNI,n = 800). We are able to identify concordant peripheral signatures associated with prevalent AD arising from lipid pathways including; ether lipids, sphingolipids (notably GM3gangliosides) and lipid classes previously associated with cardiometabolic disease (phosphatidylethanolamine and triglycerides). We subsequently identified similar lipid signatures in both cohorts with future disease. Lastly, we developed multivariate lipid models that improved classification and prediction. Our results provide a holistic view between the lipidome and AD using a comprehensive approach, providing targets for further mechanistic investigation.