Tim Frayling is a human geneticist with a career spanning several decades in the field of both common and rare diseases. He obtained his PhD in 1998, under the supervision of Andrew Hattersley and Sian Ellard, by identifying mutations responsible for monogenic forms of diabetes.

Before focusing on human genetic research, Tim Frayling trained as a molecular diagnostic geneticist at the Oxford Regional Health Authority (UK). There, he learned the fundamentals of linkage analysis and Bayesian modelling for risk assessment in families affected by genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy, within the National Health Service (NHS).

Before joining Geneva, Tim Frayling was based at the University of Exeter (UK). His research teams are internationally recognised as world leaders in the genetics of common traits and diseases, contributing to the discovery of the first genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes, fetal and childhood growth, and obesity.

Since 2023, Tim Frayling has led a new team at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, where his research focuses on the genetics and genomics of common metabolic diseases, particularly type 2 diabetes and obesity. His team employs combined approaches of human genetics, bioinformatics, and clinical studies to better understand the underlying mechanisms of excess weight and its impacts on human health.

Research Aims

Common Disease Genetics and Genomics

Professor Frayling’s team aims to understand the genetic foundations of common metabolic diseases, particularly type 2 diabetes and obesity, and their consequences on human health.

His research focuses on:

• Identifying the genetic mechanisms underlying pathological weight gain.

• Exploiting whole genome sequencing data coupled with large-scale medical information.

• Studying the metabolic, physiological, and clinical consequences of genetic variants involved in these diseases.

• The approach integrates human genetics, biostatistics, bioinformatics, and clinical research, with the aim of identifying new therapeutic targets and improving our understanding of genetic risk factors linked to environmental influences.