About
Briar is a freshly minted post-doctoral research officer with experience in a variety of multivariate genomics approaches. They completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of Queensland in 2020 before joining the Translational Neurogenomics lab for their Honours project (2021) and PhD (2022-2025).
Their PhD research focused on investigating the underlying genetic architecture of substance use traits, with the aim of improving our understanding of shared and unique genetic contributions to different aspects of substance use. They have expertise in a variety of techniques used to analyse genome-wide association study data including linkage disequilibrium score regression, genomic structural equation modelling, and gene based analyses. They are interested in further exploring substance use, particularly in relation to comorbidity with other psychiatric traits and the identification of new drug targets for substance use disorder.
Briar is also passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion within research, particularly for LGBTQIA+ and neurodiverse individuals, and currently holds membership on the QIMR I.D.E.A Committee. Throughout their PhD they were the postgraduate student representative to the UQ Ally Action Committee and a member of the UQ Gender Steering Committee, where they gained experience in the development of organisation action plans and understanding of the submission requirements for Australian Workplace Equality Index and SAGE Athena Swan accreditation. Feel free to get in touch if you want to chat inclusion!