Naomi Wray, Michael Davys Chair of Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, is internationally recognised for advancing understanding of the polygenic contribution to complex disease, particularly psychiatric disorders. She brought methodologies developed in genetically complex livestock data to applications in human disease and was the first to introduce methods to estimate genetic correlation between diseases using GWAS data. When DNA methylation data could be generated at scale she led the first demonstration of the association of DNA methylation age acceleration with all-cause mortality.
Professor Wray is recognised as an effective leader and team builder and is a role model for women in science as well as a valued mentor.