How does the interaction between genes and the environment shape our lives?

Social scientists are increasingly mapping how genes affect socio-economic factors, but the impact of a genetic factor can vary in different environments. Wallenberg Academy Fellow Rafael Ahlskog will construct a large database of environmental factors and then study the interactive effect of genes and the environment on outcomes such as income or educational choices.

In science, genes and the environment are often treated as two independent forces, each of which shape our traits and personalities. However, someone with a genetic predisposition to risk-taking may become a bank robber in a destructive environment, but a stockbroker in a society that provides them with the opportunity for a good education.

To study the environment’s role in the impact of different genetic factors, Dr Rafael Ahlskog at Uppsala University will create a large database of environmental exposure. He will compile information from social registers that can show which kinds of environments people have spent their lives in. Using revolutionary analytical methods, he will then combine this information with maps of these individuals’ genomes.

The goal is to understand how inheritance and environment work together and shape key life outcomes such as education and income. The results may provide a more nuanced picture of how inequalities arise in society – and show in which environments, and for which individuals, social interventions can make the biggest difference. 

Photo: Patrik Lundin