We ended the conference with style thanks to a session entirely organized by our @essgn.bsky.social PhD students about novel ethical problems arising in the soc science genetics literature with contributions by @margotvdweijer.bsky.social and @munaaikins.bsky.social
Special thanks to @nicolabarban.bsky.social for co-hosting, @paulhufe.net and Stephanie von Hinke for planning and organizing all the submissions and sessions, and @essgn.bsky.social Stephanie and Niels Rietveld for financing the whole thing! Next year: Berlin!!! @laraffington.bsky.social
And to end the day with even more joy, we forced all participants to stand and pretend to smile and be happy #essgn2026
We don't only have a beautiful room with old paintings, but also a mock court room, usually for law students, now used by Jonathan Beauchamp to talk about genetics and adverse selection in the insurance market (Pic reads "Everyone is equal under the law")
The #ESSGN2026 conference is starting today! So many emotions mixing together for this conference that is very close to my heart. Happy and anxious that it's back in Bologna!
It is time: the 5:th annual conference of the ESSGN! Back in beautiful Bologna, Italy. Follow along!
Comment from several ESSGN doctoral candidates now out in @nathumbehav.nature.com. What should be best practices in social science and behavioral genetics?
Publication alert: Early Career Researchers Call for Unified Best Practices in Social Science and Behavioural Genetics
By: Vincent J. Straub, Nadia V. Harerimana, Lyydia I. A. AlajääsköAll views expressed are those of the authors. In our recent Nature Human Behaviour Comment, “Early career researcher-led best pract…
essgn.org
Big news! @dr-appie.bsky.social returns to Born and Raised this week, and besides talking about how social inequality and genetic structure affect each other, he also has a cool surprise for us! Can you guess what it is?
How Society Shapes the Genome - Abdel Abdellaoui returns | Born and Raised
Can society shape the human genome? What happens when people move to opportunity? Why do genes associated with educational attainment cluster geographically? And what happens to the gene pool when edu...
essgn.podbean.com
There was a lot of laughter during this conversation and a few secret confessions... But we also had some great discussions about musicality, genetics, Beethoven and public outreach, mental health, and music genres... Thank you @rafaelahlskog.bsky.social and @aysuo.bsky.social for having me! 🎶
ESSGN@essgn.bsky.social · 3mo agoWhat's the deal with musicality and genetics? This week, Born and Raised went to talk to Laura Wesseldijk. There's something here for both metalheads, horse riding enthusiasts and trombonists!
What's the deal with musicality and genetics? This week, Born and Raised went to talk to Laura Wesseldijk. There's something here for both metalheads, horse riding enthusiasts and trombonists!
Born to Rock? Genes, Music and the Mind with Laura Wesseldijk | Born and Raised
What is musicality? Why do some people seem to have more of it? Did Beethoven have the genes for it? And which musical genre is most associated with depression? These questions and many more are cover...
essgn.podbean.com
Are you mostly noise? This week Born and Raised went to talk to @eivindy.bsky.social about the genetics of personality, the "gloomy prospect", and about Eivind's possible weird mutation!
Are You Mostly Noise? Eivind Ystrøm on the Genetics of Personality | Born and Raised
Personality psychologists were doing behavior genetics way before it was cool. In this episode, Rafael and Aysu sit down with Eivind Ystrøm, personality psychologist at the University of Oslo, to talk...
essgn.podbean.com
My first podcast! Thank you very much @rafaelahlskog.bsky.social and @aysuo.bsky.social for having me on!
ESSGN@essgn.bsky.social · 4mo agoThis week, Born and Raised went to talk to @perlinedemange.bsky.social about cognitive and non-cognitive skills, and their shared genetics with education and psychopathology. Also: christmas elves! Don't miss.
This week, Born and Raised went to talk to @perlinedemange.bsky.social about cognitive and non-cognitive skills, and their shared genetics with education and psychopathology. Also: christmas elves! Don't miss.
Cognitive, Non-Cognitive, and the Genetics In Between: Perline Demange on Skills, Schooling, and Psychopathology | Born and Raised
What do we mean when we talk about "non-cognitive skills," and what does genetics tell us about them? In this episode, our hosts visited Perline Demange to talk about the genetic architecture of cogni...
essgn.podbean.com
Always energising to engage with cutting-edge work on assortative mating, cross-ancestry prediction, and rare variants at @ESSGN — especially with such a strong cohort of doctoral researchers at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. #Sociogenomics #GeneticPrediction #ESSGN
...and here is the postdoc in Uppsala!
Rafael Ahlskog@rafaelahlskog.bsky.social · 4mo agoWe're hiring! Are you a social scientist with experience working with genetic data? Join us as a postdoc and work on gene-environment interplay - with amazing data - in a collaborative project between Uppsala, Oslo and Amsterdam!
Triple sociogenomics postdoc opportunities coming up! Here's the Amsterdam one.
Abdel Abdellaoui@dr-appie.bsky.social · 4mo agoMe & @aysuo.bsky.social are hiring a postdoc to study gene–environment interplay in health & social inequalities 🧬 You'll analyze genomic data as part of a collaboration with Uppsala & Oslo at @amsterdamumc.bsky.social (NL) werkenbij.amsterdamumc.org/en/vacatures... Please RT for karma points ♥️
I was on a podcast! I had great fun talking about my favorite social science genetics topic (partner similarity!) with @aysuo.bsky.social and @rafaelahlskog.bsky.social. If you want to learn more about assortative mating and why it is so interesting, give it a listen 🎧!
Are your genes picking your partner? Hans Fredrik Sunde on all things assortative mating
open.spotify.com
ESSGN@essgn.bsky.social · 5mo agoWhat's up with partner choice and genetics? In this episode of Born and Raised, @hfsunde.bsky.social talks all things assortative mating!
What's up with partner choice and genetics? In this episode of Born and Raised, @hfsunde.bsky.social talks all things assortative mating!
Are your genes picking your partner? Hans Fredrik Sunde on all things assortative mating | Born and Raised
Why did you pick your partner? Just right place at the right time, or deliberate process? Whatever the case, it turns out that your partner is likely to be more genetically similar to you than we woul...
essgn.podbean.com
Interested in using polygenic scores (PGS) in social science or health research? We are running a 2-day intensive short course @stats_UCL with @timtmorris.bsky.social (20–21 April 2026): tinyurl.com/5n6hwyxy. Ideal for all quantitative researcher across Social and Health Sciences! Get started!
tinyurl.com
Political Science and Genetics, odd bed fellows? Not necessarily! Listen in on this weeks episode of Born and Raised, with Sven Oskarsson, professor of political science at Uppsala university.
4. Sven Oskarsson on genetics and political science | Born and Raised
Why on earth would a political scientist do research in genetics? In this episode, our hosts met up with Sven Oskarsson in the supremely cozy Alinska Library at Uppsala university to let him spill the...
essgn.podbean.com
What can sugar rationing during and after WW2 teach us about human health? Surprising findings from Stephanie von Hinke and others!
Publication alert: Prenatal sugar exposure, genetic variation, and fetal programming
By: Stephanie von Hinke, PI ESSGN Wartime rationing during and after World War II is often remembered as a period marked by scarcity, strict regulation and unpalatable diets. Yet a large body of re…
essgn.org
I never studied molecular biology, but have found epigenetics to be an exciting substrate to probe evo-devo theories (lifespan plasticity, developmental origins of health and disease, life history, gene X social inequality). Cheers to reuniting the divorcées "social science" and "life science" 💗
ESSGN@essgn.bsky.social · 6mo agoIn this week's episode of Born and Raised, we met Laurel Raffington at MPIB to talk all things epigenetics, the history and ethics of doing sociogenomic research in Germany, and the importance of lifting weights. Don't miss!
In this week's episode of Born and Raised, we met Laurel Raffington at MPIB to talk all things epigenetics, the history and ethics of doing sociogenomic research in Germany, and the importance of lifting weights. Don't miss!
3. Laurel Raffington on all things epigenetics | Born and Raised
Curious about epigenetics? Dive right in! In this episode, Laurel Raffington gets a visit from the Born and Raised crew in her beautiful office at the Max Planck institute in Berlin. We learn about al...
essgn.podbean.com
ESSGN doctoral candidate Asya Bülbül reflects on what political scientists can learn from integrating genetics.
Column: Can Genetics Help Explain Political Behavior?
By: Asya Bülbül, ESSGN doctoral candidate at Uppsala universityAll views expressed are those of the author. As political science has matured, it has repeatedly absorbed tools and concepts from neig…
essgn.org
New episode of Born and Raised out now, with @sjoerdalten.bsky.social, covering where economics and modern genetic methods meet. Don't miss!
2. Sjoerd van Alten on economics and genetic methods | Born and Raised
In this episode, our hosts visit economist Sjoerd van Alten in his office at the Vrije Universiteit. Why would an economist be interested in genetics? How does one use molecular genetic data to study ...
essgn.podbean.com
Article alert!🚨 1/11 Parents matter - and we can quantify part of that influence genetically. Our new JCPP paper on multivariate indirect maternal genetic effects across internalizing and externalizing symptoms. doi.org/10.1111/jcpp... #jcpp @uio.no @unioslo-svfak.bsky.social @unioslo-uv.bsky.social
<em>Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</em> | ACAMH Pediatric Journal | Wiley Online Library
Background From a functionalist perspective, parenting behaviors have adaptive functions and are partly expressions of genetic variation. Maternal genes that have effects on children are often refer...
doi.org