Princeton University
Biosociology Research Group
FACULTY
HENRY PUTNAM UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY
Sam Trejo⟿ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY
DOCTORAL STUDENTS
ALUMNI & AFFILIATES
Jinyuan Qi ⟿
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 Spring 2026 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.
Leveraging Genomic Data to Document Within-Race Attractiveness Penalties Among Black Americans
Beza Taddess, Luyin Zhang, and Sam Trejo. SocArXiv.
Within-Family GWAS does not Ameliorate the Decline in Prediction Accuracy across Populations
Luyin Zhang and Dalton Conley. bioRxiv.
Does Standard Adjustment for Genomic Population Structure Capture Direct Genetic Effects?
Ramina Sotoudeh, Sam Trejo, Arbel Harpak, and Dalton Conley. bioRxiv.
2026
US Black Women’s Health Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Socioeconomic and Temporal Patterns
Beza Taddess, Jolene Tan, and Sanyu Mojola. Forthcoming at American Journal of Public Health.
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.
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.
Does Genetic Predisposition Explain the “Immigrant Health Paradox”? Evidence for Non-Hispanic White Older Adults in the US
Zoya Gubernskaya and Dalton Conley. Populations.
2024
Using the Phenotype Differences Model to Identify Genetic Effects in Samples of Partially Genotyped Sibling Pairs
Sam Trejo and Klint Kanopka. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Influence of Extended Kin on Educational Achievement: An Examination of Cousin Order and Cousin Group Size
Kieron Barclay and Dalton Conley. American Journal of Sociology.
The Effects of the Flint Water Crisis on the Educational Outcomes of School-Age Children
Sam Trejo, Gloria Yeomans-Maldonado, and Brian Jacob. Science Advances.
2023
Beware the Phony Horserace between Genes and Environments
Sam Trejo and Daphne Martschenko. Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
Child-Driven Parenting: Differential Early Childhood Investment by Offspring Genotype
Asta Breinholt and Dalton Conley. Social Forces.
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.
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.
The Production of Inequalities Within Families and Across Generations: The Intergenerational Effects of Birth Order on Educational Attainment
Kieron Barclay, Torkild Lyngstad, and Dalton Conley. European Sociological Review.
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.
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.
Genetics and Education: Recent Developments in the Context of an Ugly History and an Uncertain Future
Daphne Martschenko, Sam Trejo, and Benjamin Domingue. AERA Open.
2018
Schools as Moderators of Genetic Associations with Life Course Attainments: Evidence from the WLS and Add Health
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.