SSGAC Social Science Genetic
Association Consortium

News

Consortium announcements, and press coverage of our work, most recent first.

Announcements

September 14, 2026

SSGAC/CESR Social-Science Genetics Methods Workshop

SSGAC and CESR — first session 15 October 2026, online

Interested in using All of Us data but not sure where to start? The SSGAC and CESR are pleased to announce a new workshop providing hands-on training in state-of-the-art methods and tools in social-science genetics using real data from the NIH All of Us Research Program. The workshop is part of the CESR Social Science Genetics Seminar Series and is held on the third Thursday of each month. The first session, on 15 October at 9–10am Pacific / 12–1pm Eastern / 6–7pm CEST, introduces the All of Us data and best practices for integrating this resource into standard genetics workflows, including GitHub.

Because the workshop uses genomic data, participants must have Controlled Tier access to the All of Us Researcher Workbench, which requires both institutional eligibility and completion of the required researcher registration and training. Registration closes 7 October and space is limited. Questions: Patrick Turley.

Generously supported by NIH/NIA Grant R24-AG065184 and the All of Us Research Program.

Register How to get Controlled Tier access All events

Press coverage

July 1, 2021

Gene-Based Embryo Selection: Are ‘Designer Babies’ on the Horizon?

US News

The article examines using polygenic scoring during IVF to select embryos. Researchers warn of limitations and that companies overstate abilities. As the science advances, disparities may grow without guidance on ethics and policy to ensure informed consent.

October 22, 2019

What Your DNA Can’t Tell You

The Scientist

Companies are selling reports about a wide range of physical, cognitive, and behavioral traits to consumers based on their genomic data, but such tests have a number of limitations.

July 23, 2018

Why Study the Genetics of Staying in School?

The Atlantic

Draws attention to the findings, and appropriate interpretations of those findings, for our study of educational attainment in 1.1 million individuals.

July 23, 2018

Wie Gene die Intelligenz beeinflussen

Welt

Summarizes the findings of our study of educational attainment in 1.1 million individuals and discusses its implications in a broad context.

May 11, 2016

The Genetics of Staying in School

The Atlantic

Draws attention to the findings, and appropriate interpretations of those findings, for our study identifying 74 loci associated with educational attainment.

May 5, 2016

The First Happiness Genes Have Been Discovered

Psyblog

Introduces the findings of our study of genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms and neuroticism, including remarks from a few of the authors.

May 30, 2013

Genetic Variants Linked to Educational Attainment

Cornell Chronicle

Notes that the researchers were careful to say they have not discovered “the gene for education”, and that the findings do not imply a person’s educational attainment is determined at birth.

June 21, 2013

Herit-Ability

Science

The article in Science highlights the progress the SSGAC is making toward identifying genes underlying variation in educational attainment, by capitalizing on the wide availability of crude phenotypic measures to identify genes robustly associated with an outcome of broad social relevance.

September 28, 2015

An Introduction to Thinking About Trustworthy Research Into the Genetics of Intelligence

The Hastings Center

In November 2014 the Hastings Center convened a workshop on the ethics of research on the genetics of intelligence. In September 2015 the Hastings Center Report published the results in a special issue, “The Genetics of Intelligence: Ethics and the Conduct of Trustworthy Research”. Introducing the issue, the co-editors wrote:

Despite … concern and skepticism, no one at our workshop argued that such research should come to a halt. Rather, we heard that the right response to research into the genetics of general cognitive ability was to ensure that that research is done in a way that is “trustworthy”. … [The third feature of trustworthy research] entails taking steps to guard against hyperbole about its scientific or social significance. … In 2013, a group of researchers — the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium — published an article in Science on three genetic variants that are associated with educational attainment and simultaneously posted an essay that explained in plain English how the study was conducted and what it did — and did not — find. … [T]he SSGAC may be the best example of prophylaxis against hyperbole to which we can point.