Rate My Professor Mike Weedon

Professor Mike Weedon is Professor of Bioinformatics in the University of Exeter Medical School, part of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. He has been at the University of Exeter since 2001 and earned his PhD in molecular genetics from 2002 to 2005. His research focuses on human genetics and bioinformatics, particularly the identification of genes underlying complex traits such as type 2 diabetes, maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY), height, body mass index, and chronotype. Weedon employs genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to detect common genetic variants associated with these traits and whole genome sequencing to identify rare mutations causing familial forms of diabetes. He is a key member of the Genetics of Complex Traits group, the Monogenic Diabetes Research Team, and the Rare Disease Genomics group at Exeter. Additionally, he co-directs the MSc in Health Data Science and leads modules in Bioinformatics and Advanced Bioinformatics on the Genomics Medicine MSc, while teaching on the undergraduate Medical Sciences degree.

Weedon has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers on gene identification in complex traits, amassing over 75,000 citations. Notable contributions include leading a 2019 study published in Nature Communications that identified genetic variants influencing chronotype and its links to mental health disorders like schizophrenia and depression, analyzing data from nearly 700,000 individuals. Other significant works encompass early GWAS for height loci (2008), genetic predictors for drug-induced disorders (2014), and advancements in diabetes genetic risk scores for improved diagnostics (2015). His research has advanced understanding of multifactorial traits in clinical and biomedical sciences, including diabetes and rare genomic disorders. Weedon contributes to NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre initiatives and has held positions such as Vandervell Foundation Research Fellow. He plays roles in research governance, including the Research Computing Governance committee at Exeter.