Alistair Pagnamenta

Work summary

Since joining the Oxford BRC in 2010, I‘ve been involved with a wide range of studies ranging from learning disability to pharmacogenomics. I have been in the sequencing and experimental follow-up team for the WGS500 project and subsequently a data analyst for a clinical exome sequencing project and ongoing HICF2 WGS sequencing programme [hyperlinks?].  More recently I have been involved with analysis of data generated as part of the 100K genomes project as part of the paediatric and musculoskeletal GeCIPs.

Current interests include the genetics of epilepsy and structural brain malformations, de novo mutations in adolescent schizophrenia and the GPI anchor biosynthesis pathway. A significant proportion of our work relates to uncovering causative mutations using NGS analysis of either i) parent-parent-child trios or ii) consanguineous families. Recent studies using these methods helped uncover PGAP3 as a new disease gene for learning disability and hyperphosphatasia and a collaboration with the DDD project showed more broadly that GPI-anchor biogenesis defects are a rare cause of developmental disorder.  Other interests include the analysis of structural variation using NGS data, UPD and genetic mosaicism. Previously I worked on autism genetics with Professor Anthony Monaco and on mitochondrial disorders with Dr Jan-Willem Taanman and Dr Shamima Rahman.