Stephen Watt

Senior Staff Scientist

My research focuses on understanding how genetic variation drives differences in transcriptional regulation and gene expression programs. By integrating genomics, transcriptomics, and computational approaches, I aim to uncover the molecular mechanisms linking genotype to phenotype.

Within the group of Professor Nicole Soranzo, my research combines experimental and computational approaches to uncover the genetic mechanisms underlying autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases. I focus on using quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses integrated with genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify how genetic variation influences molecular and cellular phenotypes relevant to disease.

I have developed high-throughput laboratory pipelines for generating population-scale multi-omic datasets, enabling the systematic investigation of gene regulation across diverse cohorts. Currently, I lead a high-throughput single-cell genomics laboratory, where we apply cutting-edge technologies to dissect gene expression and chromatin dynamics at single-cell resolution.

These approaches have been applied to assay transcriptomic and epigenomic landscapes across large-scale population cohorts, including the EU Blueprint, UK Biobank, and Genes & Health studies, providing new insights into how genetic variation shapes human health and disease.

My timeline

• Senior Staff Scientist, Human Complex Traits laboratory, WTSI

• Senior Scientific Officer, Regulatory systems biology laboratory, CRUK

• Senior Research Assistant, Fission Yeast Functional Genomics Group, WTSI

• Research Assistant, Cancer Genome Project, WTSI

• Human Genome Project Sequencing team, WTSI

• Bsc Biology, University of Paisley