Princeton University

Biosociology Research Group


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FACULTY


Dalton Conley ⟿

HENRY PUTNAM UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY

Sam Trejo ⟿

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY




WHAT WE STUDY


The Princeton University Biosociology Research Group was founded by Professor Dalton Conley in 2016, and Professor Sam Trejo joined in 2021. Broadly, the research lab seeks to thoughtfully integrate genomic data and other novel biomarkers into social, behavioral, health, and demographic research in humans. A key substantive focus of the lab is the complex ways in which social and biological factors interact to shape educational, behavioral, and health outcomes across the life-course. Lab members have access to a variety of restricted-use genomic data sources, ranging from in-depth longitudinal studies to large-scale biobanks. Although the lab has a special focus on the analysis of genotype and/or DNA sequence data, its members utilize various types of other biological data (e.g., DNAm, CRP, and other blood-based biomarkers) to conduct a wide range of biosocial analyses.

Completed and ongoing research projects include:

  • Integrating polygenic scores – individual-level measures which summarize genetic
    • predisposition widely dispersed across the genome – into social scientific models of human behavior
  • Developing and applying novel methods for detecting gene-environment interactions for complex traits
  • Identifying indirect genetic effects among family members and social peers (e.g., genetic nurture)
  • Exploring socioeconomic gradients in epigenetic aging at different stages of the life-course
  • Drawing on genotyped sibling pairs and/or parent-child pair data to estimate causal genetic effects
  • Documenting historical and contemporary patterns of genetic and phenotypic assortative mating
  • Leveraging genetic similarity proportions – also known as genetic ancestry proportions – in the study of racial/ethnic identity formation and demographic change
  • Grappling with ethical and regulatory questions raised by rapidly emerging genomic tools


During the Fall 2025 semester, lab meetings will be held weekly on Tuesdays from 10:30am to 12:00pm. While the lab is largely comprised of doctoral students from the Department of Sociology and/or the Office of Population Research at Princeton University, graduate students and researchers from other academic departments and institutions are welcome. Please email Dalton and Sam if you would like to be added to the Biosoc email listserv.


RESEARCH




Working Papers


DNA Reveals the Growing Ancestral Diversity of the United States

Sam Trejo and Marissa Thompson. APC Working Paper.



DNA, Self-Reported Ancestry, and Social Scientific Inquiry

Luyin Zhang and Sam Trejo. SocArXiv.



Does Standard Adjustment for Genomic Population Structure Capture Direct Genetic Effects?

Ramina Sotoudeh, Sam Trejo, Arbel Harpak, and Dalton Conley. bioRxiv.


2026


Policing the Boundaries of Blackness: How Black and White Americans Evaluate Racial Self-identifications

Marissa Thompson, Sam Trejo, AJ Alvero, and Daphne Martschenko. Forthcoming at American Journal of Sociology.

PRE-REGISTRATION ⟿

REPLICATION CODE ⟿


2025


A Tale of Two Sociogenomics: Shall the Twain Ever Meet?

Gene Robinson and Dalton Conley. Trends in Genetics.



Genetics, Stratification, and Meritocracy

Fumiya Uchikoshi and Dalton Conley. Oxford Handbook of Social Stratification.



2023


Beware the Phony Horserace between Genes and Environments

Sam Trejo and Daphne Martschenko. Behavioral and Brain Sciences.



2022


Polygenic Scores for Plasticity: A New Tool for Studying Gene-Environment Interplay

Rebecca Johnson, Ramina Sotoudeh, and Dalton Conley. Demography.


2021



Gene-environment Interactions and School Tracking During Secondary Education: Evidence From the U.S.

Fumiya Uchikoshi and Dalton Conley. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility.



FoGS Provides a Public FAQ Repository for Social and Behavioral Genomic Discoveries

Daphne Martschenko, Benjamin Domingue, Lucas Matthews, and Sam Trejo. Nature Genetics.

REPOSITORY ⟿



Genome-wide Heritability Estimates For Family Life Course Complexity

Zachary Van Winkle and Dalton Conley. Demography.



Public Attitudes Toward Genetic Risk Scoring in Medicine and Beyond

Simone Zhang, Rebecca Johnson, John Novembre, Edward Freeland, Dalton Conley. Social Science and Medicine.



2020


Mendelian Randomization and Education — Challenges Remain

Andrew McMartin and Dalton Conley. International Journal of Epidemiology.



Interactions Between Polygenic Scores and Environments: Methodological and Conceptual Challenges

Benjamin Domingue, Sam Trejo, Emma Armstrong-Carter, and Elliot Tucker-Drob. Sociological Science.

REPLICATION CODE ⟿



The Earliest Origins of Genetic Nurture: The Prenatal Environment Mediates the Association Between Maternal Genetics and Child Development

Emma Armstrong-Carter, Sam Trejo, Liam Hill, Kirsty Crossley, Dan Mason, and Benjamin Domingue. Psychological Science.


2019


Birth Weight and Development: Bias or Heterogeneity by Polygenic Risk Factors?

Dalton Conley, Ramina Sotoudeh, and Thomas Laidley. Population Research and Policy Review.



Effects of the Peer Metagenomic Environment on Smoking Behavior

Ramina Sotoudeh, Kathleen Mullan Harris, and Dalton Conley. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.



2018


Schools as Moderators of Genetic Associations with Life Course Attainments: Evidence from the WLS and Add Heath

Sam Trejo, Daniel Belsky, Jason Boardman, Jeremy Freese, Kathleen Mullan Harris, Pamela Herd, Kamil Sicinski, and Benjamin Domingue. Sociological Science.



The Promise of Genes for Understanding Cause and Effect

Dalton Conley and Simone Zhang. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.



A Sibling Method for Identifying vQTLs

Dalton Conley, Rebecca Johnson, Benjamin Domingue, Christopher Dawes, Jason Boardman, and Mark Siegal. PLOS One.

REPLICATION CODE ⟿

SUMMARY STATISTICS ⟿