World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Michael Conlon O'Donovan

Michael Conlon O'Donovan

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Best Scientists
2025
Award Badge
Genetics
UK
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Best Scientists

D-Index
171
Citations
163497
World Ranking
818
National Ranking
84

Genetics

D-Index
174
Citations
168994
World Ranking
58
National Ranking
9

Medicine

D-Index
175
Citations
170768
World Ranking
420
National Ranking
51

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Genetics in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2026 - Research.com Medicine in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Best Scientists Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Genetics in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Medicine in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2024 - Research.com Genetics in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2024 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Genetics in United Kingdom Leader Award

Overview

Michael Conlon O'Donovan is affiliated with Cardiff University in the United Kingdom and has contributed extensively to genetics and psychiatric research. Their work spans several intersecting disciplines within biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and medicine.

The scientist's research covers a range of main fields and subfields including:

  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • Medicine

  • Genetics
  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Clinical Psychology

Key topics of their research focus on:

  • Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Genomics and Rare Diseases
  • Genomic variations and chromosomal abnormalities
  • Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Michael Conlon O'Donovan has published frequently in several academic venues, with a significant number of contributions to:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • European Neuropsychopharmacology
  • UNC Libraries
  • Biological Psychiatry
  • Molecular Psychiatry

The recent papers illustrating their research include:

  • Genome-wide analyses of ADHD identify 27 risk loci, refine the genetic architecture and implicate several cognitive domains, 2023, Nature Genetics
  • Mapping genomic loci prioritises genes and implicates synaptic biology in schizophrenia, 2020, bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Exome sequencing in bipolar disorder identifies AKAP11 as a risk gene shared with schizophrenia, 2022, Nature Genetics
  • A Population-Based Cohort Study Examining the Incidence and Impact of Psychotic Experiences From Childhood to Adulthood, and Prediction of Psychotic Disorder, 2020, American Journal of Psychiatry
  • Association of Antihypertensive Drug Target Genes With Psychiatric Disorders, 2021, JAMA Psychiatry

Frequent collaborators in their research include:

  • Michael J. Owen
  • James Walters
  • Antonio F. Pardiñas
  • Peter Holmans
  • Sophie E. Legge

Best Publications

  • Genome-wide association study of 14,000 cases of seven common diseases and 3,000 shared controls

    Paul R. Burton;David G. Clayton;Lon R. Cardon;Nick Craddock

  • A novel gene containing a trinucleotide repeat that is expanded and unstable on Huntington's disease chromosomes

    Marcy E. MacDonald;Christine M. Ambrose;Mabel P. Duyao;Richard H. Myers

  • Biological insights from 108 schizophrenia-associated genetic loci

    Stephan Ripke;Stephan Ripke;Benjamin M. Neale;Benjamin M. Neale;Aiden Corvin;James T. R. Walters

  • A novel gene containing a trinucleotide repeat that is expanded and unstable on Huntington's disease chromosomes. The Huntington's Disease Collaborative Research Group.

    M Shah;N Datson;L Srinidhi;VP Stanton

  • Meta-analysis of 74,046 individuals identifies 11 new susceptibility loci for Alzheimer's disease

    Jean-Charles Lambert;Jean-Charles Lambert;Jean-Charles Lambert;Carla A Ibrahim-Verbaas;Denise Harold;Adam C Naj

  • Common polygenic variation contributes to risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

    Shaun M. Purcell;Shaun M. Purcell;Naomi R. Wray;Jennifer L. Stone;Jennifer L. Stone;Peter M. Visscher

  • Identification of risk loci with shared effects on five major psychiatric disorders: a genome-wide analysis

    Jordan W. Smoller;Kenneth Kendler;Nicholas John Craddock;Phil Hyoun Lee

  • Genome-wide association study identifies variants at CLU and PICALM associated with Alzheimer's disease

    Denise Harold;Richard Abraham;Paul Hollingworth;Rebecca Sims

  • Genome-wide association analyses identify 44 risk variants and refine the genetic architecture of major depression

    Naomi R. Wray;Stephan Ripke;Stephan Ripke;Stephan Ripke;Manuel Mattheisen;MacIej Trzaskowski

  • Erratum: Genome-wide association study identifies variants at CLU and PICALM associated with Alzheimer's disease (Nature Genetics (2009) 41 (1088-1093))

    D Harold;R Abraham;P Hollingworth;R Sims

  • Genome-wide association study identifies five new schizophrenia loci

    Stephan Ripke;Alan R. Sanders;Kenneth S. Kendler;Douglas F. Levinson

  • Genetic relationship between five psychiatric disorders estimated from genome-wide SNPs

    S. Hong Lee;Stephan Ripke;Stephan Ripke;Benjamin M. Neale;Benjamin M. Neale;Stephen V. Faraone

  • Common variants at ABCA7, MS4A6A/MS4A4E, EPHA1, CD33 and CD2AP are associated with Alzheimer's disease.

    Paul Hollingworth;Denise Harold;Rebecca Sims;Amy Gerrish

  • De novo mutations in schizophrenia implicate synaptic networks

    Menachem Fromer;Andrew Pocklington;David Kavanagh;Hywel John Williams

  • Genome-wide association analysis identifies 13 new risk loci for schizophrenia

    Stephan Ripke;Stephan Ripke;Colm T. O'Dushlaine;Kimberly D. Chambert;Jennifer L. Moran

  • Common schizophrenia alleles are enriched in mutation-intolerant genes and in regions under strong background selection

    Antonio F. Pardiñas;Peter Holmans;Andrew J. Pocklington;Valentina Escott-Price

  • Large-scale genome-wide association analysis of bipolar disorder identifies a new susceptibility locus near ODZ4

    Pamela Sklar;Pamela Sklar;Stephan Ripke;Stephan Ripke;Laura J. Scott;Ole A. Andreassen

  • Genome Scan Meta-Analysis of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder, Part II: Schizophrenia

    Cathryn M. Lewis;Douglas F. Levinson;Lesley H. Wise;Lynn E. DeLisi

  • Genome-wide association study identifies eight loci associated with blood pressure

    Christopher Newton-Cheh;Christopher Newton-Cheh;Toby Johnson;Toby Johnson;Vesela Gateva;Martin D. Tobin

  • Rare chromosomal deletions and duplications increase risk of schizophrenia

    Jennifer L. Stone;Jennifer L. Stone;Jennifer L. Stone;Michael C. O’Donovan;Hugh Gurling;George K. Kirov

Frequent Co-Authors

Michael John Owen
Michael John Owen Cardiff University
Peter Holmans
Peter Holmans Cardiff University
George Kirov
George Kirov Cardiff University
Nicholas John Craddock
Nicholas John Craddock Cardiff University
James T.R. Walters
James T.R. Walters Cardiff University
Nigel Williams
Nigel Williams Cardiff University
Stephan Ripke
Stephan Ripke Massachusetts General Hospital
Patrick F. Sullivan
Patrick F. Sullivan University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Marian L. Hamshere
Marian L. Hamshere Cardiff University
Michael Gill
Michael Gill Trinity College Dublin

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