Combining Social Science and Molecular Genetic Research

Within the last decade there has been an explosion of data that includes both social science and molecular genetic data. The UK is a frontrunner in collecting this type of data (e.g. ALSPAC, 1958 Birth Cohort, ELSA, Understanding Society), including recent large samples such as the UK Biobank. This talk provides an overview of recent social science applications in this areas of fertility, education and wellbeing. Key techniques and applications will be covered including using polygenic scores from large-scale GWAS (genome wide association studies) and GREML (genomic-relationship-matrix based restricted maximum likelihood) techniques. The talk will also reflect on the relevance and possibilities of using molecular genetic data for social science research.