In the Behavior Genetics unit, we are curious to understand the interplay between environmental exposures and genetic predispositions that underlie individual differences among humans, and to address the underlying etiology of associations we observe in everyday life.

Our research focuses on (but is not limited to) traits related to cultural and social engagement, creativity, skill learning and (mental) health and their relationships. We use state-of-the-art research designs and genetically informative data to estimate the importance of genetic and environmental factors and their interactions, to control for familial confounding, and to answer central questions of causality.

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While we regularly collect and use data from the Swedish Twin Registry, one of the largest twin registries in the world, we also use other international twin cohorts and large genotyped population samples (e.g., the UK Biobank) and are actively involved in building up the first German Twin Registry (GerTRuD). The methods we apply include twin- and family designs, genome-wide association studies, Mendelian randomization, survival modeling, and polygenic score approach, to just name a few.

We believe that understanding how genetic predispositions interact with environmental factors will reveal the nature of phenotypic associations observed in everyday life, which will not only allow us to identify truly causal and modifiable risk/protective factors (relevant environments), but may ultimately also help us to identify those individuals who are at greatest risk or may benefit most from interventions.