Avshalom Caspi
· Edward M. Arnett Distinguished Professor of Psychology and NeuroscienceDuke University · Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
Active 1984–2025
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About
Avshalom Caspi is a professor affiliated with the Psychology & Neuroscience department at Duke University. His research involves investigating biomarkers related to Alzheimer's disease (AD), particularly focusing on plasma pTau181 as a potential preclinical biomarker in middle-aged community-based cohorts. Caspi's work includes longitudinal studies, such as the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which tracks a cohort born in New Zealand in 1972-1973. This study assesses various health and cognitive measures at multiple ages, including age 45, to understand the early indicators of AD risk. Caspi's research has demonstrated a wide range of plasma pTau181 levels in middle-aged individuals, with findings suggesting that blood biomarkers of AD may increase early in middle age, decades before any potential disease onset or measurable cognitive decline. His work contributes to the understanding of how early biomarkers can predict Alzheimer's disease onset later in life, providing valuable insights into the preclinical stages of neurodegenerative disorders.
Research topics
- Psychology
- Medicine
- Internal medicine
- Information Retrieval
- Demography
- Clinical psychology
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
- Political Science
- Computer Science
Selected publications
Psychological Science · 2020 · 743 citations
= 20) were poor (ICCs = .067-.485). Collectively, these findings demonstrate that common task-fMRI measures are not currently suitable for brain biomarker discovery or for individual-differences research. We review how this state of affairs came to be and highlight avenues for improving task-fMRI reliability.
Investigating the genetic architecture of noncognitive skills using GWAS-by-subtraction
Nature Genetics · 2021 · 291 citations
Nature Biomedical Engineering · 2020 · 286 citations
JAMA Pediatrics · 2021 · 221 citations
Importance: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are well-established risk factors for health problems in a population. However, it is not known whether screening for ACEs can accurately identify individuals who develop later health problems. Objective: To test the predictive accuracy of ACE screening for later health problems. Design, Setting, and Participants: This study comprised 2 birth cohorts: the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study observed 2232 participants born during th…
Resource profile and user guide of the Polygenic Index Repository
Nature Human Behaviour · 2021 · 178 citations
Polygenic indexes (PGIs) are DNA-based predictors. Their value for research in many scientific disciplines is growing rapidly. As a resource for researchers, we used a consistent methodology to construct PGIs for 47 phenotypes in 11 datasets. To maximize the PGIs' prediction accuracies, we constructed them using genome-wide association studies-some not previously published-from multiple data sources, including 23andMe and UK Biobank. We present a theoretical framework to help interpret analyses…
Recent grants
NIH · $7.9M · 2009–2027
NIH · $1.6M · 2012
Neuropsychological and genomic signatures of violence exposure in childhood
NIH · $2.8M · 2013–2019
Frequent coauthors
- 2234 shared
Terrie E. Moffitt
Center for Genomic Science
- 657 shared
Richie Poulton
University of Otago
- 361 shared
Renate Houts
Duke University
- 344 shared
Sandhya Ramrakha
University of Otago
- 338 shared
Daniel W. Belsky
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
- 286 shared
Karen Sugden
Duke University
- 273 shared
HonaLee Harrington
Duke University
- 257 shared
Louise Arseneault
University of the West of England
Education
- 1987
Ph.D., Psychology
University of Cambridge
- 1984
M.A., Psychology
University of Cambridge
- 1981
B.A., Psychology
University of California, Los Angeles
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