Scientist at @unitartu Background in molecular biology, virology & epigenetics; now working on human genetics and diseases. Interested in missense variants.
Tartu, Estonia
Joined October 2015
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Erik Abner retweeted
Erik Abner talks about a great resource that is the Estonian biobank: first he highlights #PDCD6 where variants are associated with earlier onset of hearing loss. Results in FinnGen and UKBB also point to hearing loss. A missense variant in #SCN11A is associated with a lower risk of migraine. #eshg2026
There is a preprint on medrxiv 👇
medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
1/7 New BMI GWAS out! Using Estonian Biobank (n=204,747) and replication in FinnGen, we show that even in Europe you can still find region-specific biology if you zoom into population-tailored sumstats. Big thanks to @HannaMOllila & FinnGen friends!
6/7 Also also: an intronic protective ADGRL3 variant, located near CTCF sites. ADGRL3 gene is better known for its role in neurodevelopment and ADHD and is for first time linked to BMI; it has intriguing possibly has ties to incretin biology (GIP). Worth a deeper functional look!
Take-home: even in well-studied European populations, there’s hidden biology waiting to be found. Using population-specific imputation panels lets you see uncommon and rare variants that global panels often miss.
doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-6… #GWAS #genetics #obesity
Erik Abner retweeted
We are looking for a PhD student!🧬
📊 Research project: Genetic basis of host susceptibility to respiratory viruses and chronic respiratory diseases
📍 Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu
📩 Application period: 1st–15th May 2025
Read more: lnkd.in/drUr_A38
Erik Abner retweeted
We're hiring a #Postdoc in Population/Statistical Genetics. Work on improving PRS transferability + risk prediction in mixed ancestry.
📅 Term: 01.09.2025–30.09.2027
📍 In collab w/ @helsinkiuni & Estonian Biobank
🧬 Apply by April 30. tinyurl.com/57f36e3u
ALT Join Us at University of Tartu Institute of Genomics: Postdoctoral Position in Polygenic Risk Score Research
Erik Abner retweeted
Excited to share our recently published overview of the @ESTbiobank 🧬
We highlight the unique features of the biobank and the conducted scientific research, including the many recall studies that have been carried out over the years:
nature.com/articles/s41467-0…
We're accepting applications for fully-funded PhD student.
International applicants are welcome to apply!
Application is open now, closes 10 Jan 2025!
We're really proud to have contributed to this awesome work with @ESTbiobank data!
Congrats to the lead authors!
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Erik Abner retweeted
1/6 🚨 Thrilled to share our new preprint on the genetics of dermatophytosis susceptibility on @medrxivpreprint! 🚨 With over 250K cases and 1.37M controls across 4 cohorts, we uncover 30 loci that affect risk for this fungal infection affecting 20% of the global population. 🌍
My new pop-science book on Estonian fossils is almost out! I wanna give out a sincere thanks to all the people, who helped me get it done :)
Pre-sale discount available for 1 week! Book itself launches in about ~2 weeks:
argokirjastus.ee/toode/eesti…
PS! Book is only in Estonian!
Just helped create the stunning Ryoji Ikeda exhibition in Tartu! Visitors can dive into the hypnotic fusion of science and art, with genetic data from the Estonian population and our institute's data reimagined through LED screens and mirrors 🧬
#RyojiIkeda #ERM #Tartu2024
Erik Abner retweeted
I won't be attending #ASHG24 this year, but do check out this cool talk from @jcbarret @NgaleHealth that also contains some results from our two most recent preprints.
📢 GWAS meta-analysis preprint:
- 249 circulating metabolite traits in over 600k individuals
- Data from UKBB & EstBB, using Nightingale NMR
- 4,184 novel loci (incl. results from non-EUR ancestries)
- Loads of low frequency variants
- Sumstats available on GWAS catalog FTP
Genome-wide association study for circulating metabolites in 619,372 individuals medrxiv.org/cgi/content/shor… #medRxiv
Erik Abner retweeted
Genome-wide association study for circulating metabolites in 619,372 individuals medrxiv.org/cgi/content/shor… #medRxiv