Chronic respiratory disorders like asthma affect around 600 million people worldwide. although these illnesses are widespread, they can have several different underlying causes, making them difficult to treat. On this episode we chat with William Reay a researcher from the University of Newcastle, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, whose work focuses on integrating statistical genetics with systems biology to further our knowledge of the biological processes involved in complex disorders and how this could be leveraged for treatment in the future.

William is particularly passionate about the application of this approach to psychiatry, as novel interventions remain urgently required to improve patient outcomes.  His research has thus far been published in prestigious journals including Molecular Psychiatry and Brain, Behaviour, and Immunity and presented at conferences including the World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics and Schizophrenia International Research Society. Follow William’s interesting work on Twitter @williamreay96