About
Associate Professor Miguel Rentería leads the Computational Neurogenomics Lab in the Brain and Mental Health Program at QIMR Berghofer. He is the recipient of a prestigious Al & Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship from the Rebecca L. Cooper Medical Research Foundation, and an honorary Global Atlantic Fellow of the Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco.
He holds a degree in Genomic Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Human Genetics from The University of Queensland. Previously, he was also an NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellow, which enabled him to conduct postdoctoral training at the APDA Center for Advanced Parkinson’s Research in the Department of Neurology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in the United States.
Miguel has received many accolades, including the 2021 Enrico Greppi International Migraine Research Award, a Chevening scholarship, and honorary membership in Mexico’s National System of Investigators.
Research Skills
- Human Genetics
- Neuroimaging
- Machine Learning
- Epidemiology
- Real-World Evidence
- Statistical Genetics
- Science Policy
Area of Interest
Our lab uses advanced data analytics and large global datasets to investigate the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to neuropsychiatric diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, sleep disorders, chronic pain, dementia, and self-harm.
Associate Professor Rentería is the Principal Investigator of the Australian Parkinson’s Genetics Study, which aims to decode the genetic sequence of Parkinson’s disease to enable the development of novel therapies. More than 10,000 Australians living with Parkinson's disease have volunteered to be part of the study.
Professional Associations
- International Society for Computational Biology
- International Society of Psychiatric Genetics
- Society for Biological Psychiatry
Funding
- Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation, Australia
- National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia
- Medical Research Future Fund, Australia
- IMPACT Philantropy Perpetual Ltd, Australia
- Shake It Up Australia Foundation, Australia
- The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, USA
- National Institute of Mental Health, USA
- American Parkinson’s Disease Association, USA
- Alzheimer’s Association, USA
Gallery
Publications
Hibar DP*, Stein JL*, Rentería ME*, ... [256 coauthors], Thompson PM & Medland, SE (2015). Common genetic variants influence human subcortical brain structures. Nature, 520, 224-229. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14101
Campos AI, García-Marín LM, Byrne EM, Martin NG, Cuéllar-Partida G & Rentería ME (2020). Insights into the aetiology of snoring from observational and genetic investigations in the U.K. Biobank. Nature Communications, 11[1], 817. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14625-1
García-Marín LM, Campos AI, Diaz-Torres S…[184 coauthors], Satizabal CL, Medland SE & Rentería ME Genomic analysis of intracranial and subcortical brain volumes yields polygenic scores accounting for variation across ancestries Nature Genetics 56, pages2333–2344 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-01951-z