Associate Professor John Pearson, Our people, University of Otago, Christchurch, University of Otago, New Zealand

Research Associate Professor

MSc PhD(Auck)

Email john.pearson@otago.ac.nz

Background

2008 - Biostatistical consultant with the Otago University, Christchurch.
2006 - 2008 Statistical analyst then senior research statistician at Statistics New Zealand where I worked on economic surveys and strategic development
2001 - 2006 Bioinformatics statistician then senior statistician at Vialactia Biosciences (NZ) Ltd, where I worked on animal studies, microarray analysis and design, experimental design, genetics
1998 - 2001 Lecturer in statistics at the University of Auckland
Member of the New Zealand Statistics Association.

Research Interests

Microarrays
Genetics
Bioinformatics
Statistical Computing
Survey Methods

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Publications

Sulit, A. K., Wilson, K., Pearson, J., Silander, O. K., Sampurno, S., Michael, M., … Frizelle, F., & Purcell, R. V. (2023). Human gene and microbial analyses in rectal cancer complete responses to radiotherapy. BJS Open, 7(3), zrad035. doi: 10.1093/bjsopen/zrad035

Leadbetter, R., MacAskill, M., Myall, D. J., Taylor, B. V., Joshi, P., NZMSPS group, including Pearson, J. F., Clarke, G., Abernethy, D. A., & Mason, D. F. (2023). Multiple sclerosis mortality in New Zealand: A nationwide prospective study. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2022-330582

Thompson, N., Gatenby, G., Waddell, O., Purcell, R., Keenan, J., Pearson, J., Frizelle, F., & Glyn, T. (2023). Early onset colorectal cancer in Canterbury, New Zealand. ANZ Journal of Surgery. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/ans.18357

Amir, I., Thomson, B. J., Herrod, J., Souter, M. A., Mustard, J., Pearson, J. F., & Bird, P. (2023). The effect of universal newborn hearing screening on spoken language after cochlear implantation. Otology & Neurotology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000003793

Prickett, T. C. R., Pearson, J. F., Troughton, R. W., Kennedy, M. A., & Espiner, E. A. (2023). The predictive value of A, B, and C-type natriuretic peptides in people at risk of heart disease: Protocol for a longitudinal observational study. JMIR Research Protocols, 12, e37011. doi: 10.2196/37011

Journal - Research Article

Aitchison, A., Pearson, J. F., Purcell, R. V., Frizelle, F. A., & Keenan, J. I. (2022). Detection of Fusobacterium nucleatum DNA in primary care patient stool samples does not predict progression of colorectal neoplasia. PLoS ONE, 17(6), e0269541. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269541

Journal - Research Article

Hakkaart, C., Pearson, J. F., Marquart, L., Dennis, J., Wiggins, G. A. R., Barnes, D. R., Robinson, B. A., Mace, P. D., … Walker, L. C. (2022). Copy number variants as modifiers of breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers. Communications Biology, 5, 1061. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-03978-6

Journal - Research Article

Hitchman, L. M., Faatoese, A., Merriman, T. R., Miller, A. L., Liau, Y., Graham, O. E. E., Kee, P. S., Pearson, J. F., … Cameron, V. A., Kennedy, M. A., & Maggo, S. D. S. (2022). Allelic diversity of the pharmacogene CYP2D6 in New Zealand Māori and Pacific peoples. Frontiers in Genetics, 13, 1016416. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1016416

Journal - Research Article

Lee, M. S., Thomas, A., Pearson, J. F., Purcell, R., Frizelle, F., & Glyn, T. (2022). Risk of colorectal cancer in patients with appendicitis over the age of 40 years. Colorectal Disease. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/codi.16429

Journal - Research Article

Noble, A. J., Pearson, J. F., Noble, A. D., Boden, J. M., Horwood, L. J., Kennedy, M. A., & Osborne, A. J. (2022). DNA methylation analysis using bisulphite-based amplicon sequencing of individuals exposed to maternal tobacco use during pregnancy, and offspring conduct problems in childhood and adolescence. Reproduction, Fertility & Development, 34(7), 540-548. doi: 10.1071/rd21108

Journal - Research Article

Ward, Z., Schmeier, S., Pearson, J., Cameron, V. A., Frampton, C. M., Troughton, R. W., … Richards, A. M., & Pilbrow, A. P. (2022). Identifying candidate circulating RNA markers for coronary artery disease by deep RNA-sequencing in human plasma. Cell, 11, 3191. doi: 10.3390/cells11203191

Journal - Research Article

Gatenby, G., Glyn, T., Pearson, J., Gearry, R., & Eglinton, T. (2021). The long-term incidence of dysplasia and colorectal cancer in a Crohn’s colitis population-based cohort. Colorectal Disease, 23, 2399-2406. doi: 10.1111/codi.15756

Journal - Research Article

Ip, H. F., van der Laan, C. M., Krapohl, E. M. L., Brikell, I., Sánchez-Mora, C., Nolte, I. M., … Miller, A., … Boden, J., Pearson, J., Horwood, L. J., Kennedy, M., Poulton, R., … Boomsma, D. I. (2021). Genetic association study of childhood aggression across raters, instruments, and age. Translational Psychiatry, 11, 413. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01480-x

Journal - Research Article

Lattimore, V., Parsons, M. T., Spurdle, A. B., Pearson, J., Lehnert, K., Sullivan, J., … Morrin, H., Robinson, B., & Walker, L. (2021). Under-ascertainment of breast cancer susceptibility gene carriers in a cohort of New Zealand female breast cancer patients. Breast Cancer Research & Treatment, 185, 583-590. doi: 10.1007/s10549-020-05986-8

Journal - Research Article

Mears, E. R., Handley, R. R., Grant, M. J., Reid, S. J., Day, B. J., Rudiger, S. R., … Pearson, J. F., … Snell, R. G. (2021). A multi-omic Huntington's disease transgenic sheep-model database for investigating disease pathogenesis. Journal of Huntington's Disease, 10, 423-434. doi: 10.3233/jhd-210482

Journal - Research Article

Morley-Bunker, A. E., Wiggins, G. A. R., Currie, M. J., Morrin, H. R., Whitehead, M. R., Eglinton, T., Pearson, J., & Walker, L. C. (2021). RNAscope compatibility with image analysis platforms for the quantification of tissue-based colorectal cancer biomarkers in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. Acta Histochemica, 123, 151765. doi: 10.1016/j.acthis.2021.151765

Journal - Research Article

Munn-Chernoff, M. A., Johnson, E. C., Chou, Y.-L., Coleman, J. R. I., Thornton, L. M., Walters, R. K., … Boden, J. M., … Horwood, L. J., … Pearson, J. F., … Jordan, J., Kennedy, M. A., … Agrawal, A. (2021). Shared genetic risk between eating disorder- and substance-use-related phenotypes: Evidence from genome-wide association studies. Addiction Biology, 26, e12880. doi: 10.1111/adb.12880

Journal - Research Article

Nabais, M. F., Laws, S. M., Lin, T., Vallerga, C. L., Armstrong, N. J., Blair, I. P., … Anderson, T. J., … Kennedy, M., … Pearson, J., Pitcher, T. L., … McRae, A. F. (2021). Meta-analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation identifies shared associations across neurodegenerative disorders. Genome Biology, 22(1), 90. doi: 10.1186/s13059-021-02275-5

Journal - Research Article

Noble, A. J., Pearson, J. F., Boden, J. M., Horwood, L. J., Gemmell, N. J., Kennedy, M. A., & Osborne, A. J. (2021). A validation of Illumina EPIC array system with bisulfite-based amplicon sequencing. PeerJ, 9, e10762. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10762

Journal - Research Article

Sabel, C. E., Pearson, J. F., Mason, D. F., Willoughby, E., Abernethy, D., & Taylor, B. V. (2021). The latitude gradient for multiple sclerosis prevalence is established in the early lifecourse. Brain, 144, 2038-2046. doi: 10.1093/brain/awab104

Journal - Research Article

Sinha, P., Cree, S. L., Miller, A. L., Pearson, J. F., & Kennedy, M. A. (2021). Transcriptional analysis of sodium valproate in a serotonergic cell line reveals gene regulation through both HDAC inhibition-dependent and independent mechanisms. Pharmacogenomics Journal, 21, 359-375. doi: 10.1038/s41397-021-00215-x

Journal - Research Article

Ward, Z., Schmeier, S., Saddic, L., Sigurdsson, M. I., Cameron, V. A., Pearson, J., Miller, A., Morley-Bunker, A., … Pilbrow, A. P. (2021). Novel and annotated long noncoding RNAs associated with ischemia in the human heart. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22, 11324. doi: 10.3390/ijms222111324

Journal - Research Article

Wiggins, G. A. R., Black, M. A., Dunbier, A., Merriman, T. R., Pearson, J. F., & Walker, L. C. (2021). Variable expression quantitative trait loci analysis of breast cancer risk variants. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 7192. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-86690-5

Journal - Research Article

Wiggins, G. A. R., Black, M. A., Dunbier, A., Morley-Bunker, A. E., kConFab Investigators, Pearson, J. F., & Walker, L. C. (2021). Increased gene expression variability in BRCA1-associated and basal-like breast tumours. Breast Cancer Research & Treatment, 189, 363-375. doi: 10.1007/s10549-021-06328-y

Journal - Research Article

Bryois, J., Skene, N. G., Folmann Hansen, T., Kogelman, L. J. A., Watson, H. J., Liu, Z., … Eating Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, including Boden, J., … Jordan, J., … Kennedy, M., … Pearson, J., … Sullivan, P. F. (2020). Genetic identification of cell types underlying brain complex traits yields insights into the etiology of Parkinson’s disease. Nature Genetics, 52, 482-493. doi: 10.1038/s41588-020-0610-9

Journal - Research Article

Chittleborough, T. J., Gutlic, I., Pearson, J. F., Watson, A., Bhatti, L. A., Buchwald, P., … Wakeman, C., Eglinton, T., & Frizelle, F. (2020). Increasing incidence of young-onset colorectal carcinoma: A three-country population analysis. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, 63, 903-910. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0000000000001631

Journal - Research Article

Dickerhof, N., Huang, J., Min, E., Michaëlsson, E., Lindstedt, E.-L., Pearson, J. F., Kettle, A. J., & Day, B. J. (2020). Myeloperoxidase inhibition decreases morbidity and oxidative stress in mice with cystic fibrosis-like lung inflammation. Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 152, 91-99. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2020.03.001

Journal - Research Article

Johnson, E. C., Demontis, D., Thorgeirsson, T. E., Walters, R. K., Polimanti, R., Hatoum, A. S., … Boden, J., … Pearson, J. F., … Horwood, J., … Kennedy, M. A., … Agrawal, A. (2020). A large-scale genome-wide association study meta-analysis of cannabis use disorder. Lancet Psychiatry, 7, 1032-1045. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30339-4

Journal - Research Article

O'Grady, M., Clarke, L., Turner, G., Doogue, M., Purcell, R., Pearson, J., & Frizelle, F. (2020). Statin use and risk of acute diverticulitis: A population-based case-control study. Medicine, 99(20), e20264. doi: 10.1097/md.0000000000020264

Journal - Research Article

Osborne, A. J., Pearson, J. F., Noble, A. J., Gemmell, N. J., Horwood, L. J., Boden, J. M., … Kennedy, M. A. (2020). Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of heavy cannabis exposure in a New Zealand longitudinal cohort. Translational Psychiatry, 10, 114. doi: 10.1038/s41398-020-0800-3

Journal - Research Article

Pearson, A. G., Zawari, M., Pearson, J. F., & Hampton, M. B. (2020). Quantifying mitochondrial respiration in human lymphocytes and monocytes challenged with hydrogen peroxide. Free Radical Research, 54(4), 271-279. doi: 10.1080/10715762.2020.1753722

Journal - Research Article

Porter, J. A., MacKenzie, K. E., Darlow, B. A., Pearson, J. F., & Day, A. S. (2020). A questionnaire-based assessment of gastrointestinal symptoms in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Translational Pediatrics, 9(6), 743-749. doi: 10.21037/tp-20-139

Journal - Research Article

Richardson, A. K., Walker, L. C., Cox, B., Rollag, H., Robinson, B. A., Morrin, H., Pearson, J. F., … Currie, M. J. (2020). Breast cancer and cytomegalovirus. Clinical & Translational Oncology, 22, 585-602. doi: 10.1007/s12094-019-02164-1

Journal - Research Article

Slow, S., Pearson, J. F., Florkowski, C. M., Elder, P. A., Lewis, J. G., Kennedy, M. A., & Murdoch, D. R. (2020). Effect of genetic factors on the response to vitamin D₃ supplementation in the VIDARIS randomised controlled trial. Nutrition, 75-76, 110761. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2020.110761

Journal - Research Article

Taylor, W. S., Pearson, J., Miller, A., Schmeier, S., Frizelle, F. A., & Purcell, R. V. (2020). MinION sequencing of colorectal cancer tumour microbiomes: A comparison with amplicon-based and RNA-sequencing. PLoS ONE, 15(5), e0233170. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233170

Journal - Research Article

Tranter-Entwistle, I., Mullaney, T. G., Noah, K., Pearson, J., Falvey, J., Gearry, R., & Eglinton, T. (2020). Long-term incidence of dysplasia and colorectal cancer in an ulcerative colitis population-based cohort. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 90, 821-825. doi: 10.1111/ans.15686

Journal - Research Article

White, R., Nonis, M., Pearson, J. F., Burgess, E., Morrin, H. R., Pullar, J. M., Spencer, E., Vissers, M. C. M., Robinson, B. A., & Dachs, G. U. (2020). Low vitamin C status in patients with cancer is associated with patient and tumor characteristics. Nutrients, 12(8), 2338. doi: 10.3390/nu12082338

Journal - Research Article

Balasubramanian, D., Pearson, J. F., & Kennedy, M. A. (2019). Gene expression effects of lithium and valproic acid in a serotonergic cell line. Physiological Genomics, 51, 43-50. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00069.2018

Journal - Research Article

Hock, B. D., Mulholland, K. S., Ganly, P., McKenzie, J. L., Pearson, J. F., & Macpherson, S. A. (2019). Impact of increased access to novel agents on the survival of multiple myeloma patients treated at a single New Zealand centre. Internal Medicine Journal, 49, 598-606. doi: 10.1111/imj.14155

Journal - Research Article

Keenan, J., Aitchison, A., Leaman, J., Pearson, J., & Frizelle, F. (2019). Faecal biomarkers do not always identify pre-cancerous lesions in patients who present in primary care with bowel symptoms. New Zealand Medical Journal, 132(1501), 48-56. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

Lattimore, V. L., Pearson, J. F., Morley-Bunker, A. E., kConFab Investigators, Spurdle, A. B., Robinson, B. A., Currie, M. J., & Walker, L. C. (2019). Quantifying BRCA1 and BRCA2 mRNA isoform expression levels in single cells. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(3), 693. doi: 10.3390/ijms20030693

Journal - Research Article

Liau, Y., Cree, S. L., Maggo, S., Miller, A. L., Pearson, J. F., Gladding, P. A., & Kennedy, M. A. (2019). A multiplex pharmacogenetics assay using the MinION nanopore sequencing device. Pharmacogenetics & Genomics, 29(9), 207-215. doi: 10.1097/fpc.0000000000000385

Journal - Research Article

Liau, Y., Maggo, S., Miller, A. L., Pearson, J. F., Kennedy, M. A., & Cree, S. L. (2019). Nanopore sequencing of the pharmacogene CYP2D6 allows simultaneous haplotyping and detection of duplications. Pharmacogenomics, 20(14), 1033-1047. doi: 10.2217/pgs-2019-0080

Journal - Research Article

Lopez-Perolio, I., Leman, R., Behar, R., Lattimore, V., Pearson, J. F., Castéra, L., … Walker, L. C., … de la Hoya, M. (2019). Alternative splicing and ACMG-AMP-2015-based classification of PALB2 genetic variants: An ENIGMA report. Journal of Medical Genetics, 56, 453-460. doi: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2018-105834

Journal - Research Article

Morley-Bunker, A., Pearson, J., Currie, M. J., Morrin, H., Whitehead, M. R., Eglinton, T., & Walker, L. C. (2019). Assessment of intra-tumoural colorectal cancer prognostic biomarkers using RNA in situ hybridisation. Oncotarget, 10(14), 1425-1439. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.26675

Journal - Research Article

Pettersson, E., Lichtenstein, P., Larsson, H., Song, J., Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Working Group of the iPSYCH-Broad-PGC Consortium, Autism Spectrum Disorder Working Group of the iPSYCH-Broad-PGC Consortium, Bipolar Disorder Working Group of the PGC, Eating Disorder Working Group of the PGC, including Kennedy, M. A., Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the PGC, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and Tourette Syndrome Working Group of the PGC, Schizophrenia CLOZUK, Substance Use Disorder Working Group of the PGC, including Horwood, L. J., Pearson, J. F., … Polderman, T. J. C. (2019). Genetic influences on eight psychiatric disorders based on family data of 4 408 646 full and half-siblings, and genetic data of 333 748 cases and controls. Psychological Medicine, 49(7), 1166-1173. doi: 10.1017/S0033291718002039

Journal - Research Article

Prickett, T. C. R., Spittlehouse, J. K., Miller, A. L., Liau, Y., Kennedy, M. A., Cameron, V. A., Pearson, J. F., Boden, J. M., Troughton, R. W., & Espiner, E. A. (2019). Contrasting signals of cardiovascular health among natriuretic peptides in subjects without heart disease. Scientific Reports, 9, 12108. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-48553-y

Journal - Research Article

Purcell, R. V., Schmeier, S., Lau, Y. C., Pearson, J. F., & Frizelle, F. A. (2019). Molecular subtyping improves prognostication of Stage 2 colorectal cancer. BMC Cancer, 19(1), 1155. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-6327-4

Journal - Research Article

Reynolds, R. H., Botía, J., Nalls, M. A., International Parkinson's Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC), including System Genomics of Parkinson's Disease (SGPD), Anderson, T., … Kennedy, M., Pearson, J., … Ryten, M. (2019). Moving beyond neurons: The role of cell type-specific gene regulation in Parkinson's disease heritability. npj Parkinson's Disease, 5, 6. doi: 10.1038/s41531-019-0076-6

Journal - Research Article

Thompson, G., & Pearson, J. F. (2019). No attributable effects of PRP on greater trochanteric pain syndrome. New Zealand Medical Journal, 132(1507), 22-32. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

Watson, H. J., Yilmaz, Z., Thornton, L. M., Hübel, C., Coleman, J. R. I., Gaspar, H. A., … Roberts, M., … Boden, J. M., … Horwood, L. J., … Pearson, J. F., … Jordan, J., Kennedy, M., … Bulik, C. M. (2019). Genome-wide association study identifies eight risk loci and implicates metabo-psychiatric origins for anorexia nervosa. Nature Genetics, 51, 1207-1214. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0439-2

Journal - Research Article

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