Ellen's research interests focus on DNA, from molecules to populations. She works on DNA in a broad sense: from evolution and replication as a molecular process, to medical and population genetics, and the interfaces between these topics, aiming to harness knowledge of population structure and molecular mechanisms to improve the efficacy and design of medical therapies. Her work has appeared in top cross-disciplinary journals from Nature to Antiquity and she has appeared in international TV, radio, and newspaper features disseminating her research.

Following an M.Sc. in cancer genetics at the University of Oslo, Ellen completed a D.Phil. at the University of Oxford as part of the ground-breaking Peoples of the British Isles project, where she coupled genetic analysis of geographically representative blood samples from British and European volunteers with linguistic and archaeological evidence to examine the population structure and history of Britain, allowing her to incorporate her B.A. interests in European archaeology and Celtic and Germanic philology. She then moved to the University of Warwick as a research fellow, where she worked on the molecular mechanisms of DNA replication and elucidating the medical implications of genetic stratification in human populations (with recent work on mtDNA diversity informing UK health policy on so-called "three-parent baby" gene therapies). Her current work focuses on the genetics of autoimmune diseases, specifically Autoimmune Addison's Disease, with continuing work on the history of population structure in northwest Europe.

Academic article

• Artaza, Haydee; Eriksson, Daniel; Lavrichenko, Ksenia et al. (2024). Rare copy number variation in autoimmune Addison’s disease. (external link)
• Artaza Alvarez, Haydee; Lavrichenko, Ksenia; Wolff, Anette Susanne Bøe et al. (2024). Rare copy number variant analysis in case–control studies using snp array data: a scalable and automated data analysis pipeline. (external link)
• Aranda-Guillén, Maribel; Røyrvik, Ellen Christine; Fletcher-Sandersjöö, Sara et al. (2023). A polygenic risk score to help discriminate primary adrenal insufficiency of different etiologies. (external link)
• Giannakis, Konstantinos; Arrowsmith, Samuel J.; Richards, Luke et al. (2022). Evolutionary inference across eukaryotes identifies universal features shaping organelle gene retention. (external link)
• Sjøgren, Thea; Bratland, Eirik; Røyrvik, Ellen Christine et al. (2022). Screening patients with autoimmune endocrine disorders for cytokine autoantibodies reveals monogenic immune deficiencies. (external link)
• Eriksson, Daniel; Røyrvik, Ellen Christine; Aranda-Guillen, Maribel et al. (2021). GWAS for autoimmune Addison's disease identifies multiple risk loci and highlights AIRE in disease susceptibility. (external link)
• Edwards, David; Røyrvik, Ellen Christine; Chustecki, Joanne et al. (2021). Avoiding organelle mutational meltdown across eukaryotes with or without a germline bottleneck. (external link)
• Hellesen, Alexander; Aslaksen, Sigrid; Breivik, Lars Ertesvåg et al. (2021). 21-Hydroxylase-Specific CD8+ T Cells in Autoimmune Addison’s Disease Are Restricted by HLA-A2 and HLA-C7 Molecules. (external link)
• Vogt, Elinor Margrethe Chelsom; Breivik, Lars Ertesvåg; Røyrvik, Ellen Christine et al. (2021). Primary ovarian insufficiency in women with Addison's disease. (external link)
• Johnston, Iain George; Røyrvik, Ellen Christine (2020). Data-Driven Inference Reveals Distinct and Conserved Dynamic Pathways of Tool Use Emergence across Animal Taxa. (external link)
• Røyrvik, Ellen Christine; Johnston, Iain (2020). MtDNA sequence features associated with 'selfish genomes' predict tissue-specific segregation and reversion. (external link)
• Bruun, Jarle; Kolberg, Matthias; Ahlquist, Terje Cruickshank et al. (2015). Regulator of chromosome condensation 2 identifies high-risk patients within both major phenotypes of colorectal cancer. (external link)
• Merok, Marianne Aarstad; Ahlquist, Terje Cruickshank; Røyrvik, Ellen Christine et al. (2013). Microsatellite instability has a positive prognostic impact on stage II colorectal cancer after complete resection: results from a large, consecutive Norwegian series. (external link)

Academic literature review

• Røyrvik, Ellen Christine; Husebye, Eystein Sverre (2022). The genetics of autoimmune Addison disease: past, present and future. (external link)
• Røyrvik, Ellen Christine; Ahlquist, Terje Cruickshank; Rognes, Torbjørn et al. (2007). Slip Slidin' Away: A Duodecennial Review of Targeted Genes in Mismatch Repair Deficient Colorectal Cancer. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

• A. Hellesen, S. Aslaksen, L. Breivik, E.C. Røyrvik, Ø. Bruserud, K. Edvardsen, K.A. Brokstad, A.S.B. Wolff, E.S. Husebye, E. Bratland - Circulating 21-hydroxylase-specific CD8+ T cells in autoimmune Addison’s disease are predominantly restricted by HLA-A2 and HLA-C7 molecules, Frontiers in Immunology, 12:742848 (2021)
• D. Edwards, E.C. Røyrvik, J. Chustecki, K. Giannakis, R. Glastad, A. Radzvilavicius, I.G. Johnston - Avoiding organelle mutational meltdown across eukaryotes with or without a germline bottleneck, PLoS Biology 19 e3001153 (2021)
• E.C. Vogt, L. Breivik, E.C. Røyrvik, M. Grytaas, E.S. Husebye, M. Øksnes - Primary Ovarian Insufficiency in women with Addison’s disease, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 106(7) (2021)
• D. Eriksson, E.C. Røyrvik, M. Aranda-Guillen, A. Berger, N. Landegren, H. Artaza, Å. Hallgren, M. Grytaas, S. Ström, E. Bratland, I. Botusan, B. Oftedal, L. Breivik, M. Vaudel, Ø. Helgeland, A. Falorni, A. Jørgensen, A.-L. Hulting, J. Svartberg, O. Ekwall, K. Fougner, J. Wahlberg, B. Nedrebø, P Dahlqvist, Norwegian Addison Study Group, Swedish Addison Study Group, P. Knappskog, A.B. Wolff, S. Bensing, S. Johansson, O.Kämpe, E.S. Husebye - GWAS of autoimmune Addison’s disease identifies multiple risk loci and highlights AIRE in disease susceptibility, Nature Communications (12) 1 (2021)
• ​​​​​​E.C. Røyrvik, I.G. Johnston – MtDNA sequence features associated with ‘selfish genomes’ predict tissue-specific segregation and reversion, Nucleic Acids Research, 48(15):8290-8301 (2020)
• I.G. Johnston, E. C. Røyrvik – Data-driven inference reveals distinct and conserved dynamic pathways of tool use emergence across animal taxa, iScience, 23: 101245 (2020)
• J. Kershaw, E.C. Røyrvik – The People of the British Isles Project and Viking settlement in England, Antiquity, 90(354):1670-1680 (2016)

 

• E.C. Røyrvik, J.P. Burgstaller, I.G. Johnston – MtDNA diversity in human populations highlights the merit of haplotype matching in gene therapies, Molecular Human Reproduction, 22(11):809-817 (2016)

 

• J. Bruun, M. Kolberg, T. Ahlquist, E. C. Røyrvik, T. Nome, E. Leithe, G. E. Lind, M.A. Merok, T. O. Rognum, G. Bjørkøy, T. Johansen, A. Svindland, E. Rivedal, K. Liestøl,A. Nesbakken, R. I. Skotheim, and R. A. Lothe – Regulator of chromosome condensation 2identifies high-risk patients within both major phenotypes of colorectal cancer, Clinical Cancer Research, 21(16):3759-70 (2015)

 

• S. Leslie, B. Winney, G. Hellenthal, D. Davison, A. Boumertit, T. Day, K. Hutnik, E.C.Røyrvik, B. Cunliffe, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2, International MultipleSclerosis Genetics Consortium, D. Lawson, D. Falush, C. Freeman, M. Pirinen, S. Myers,M. Robinson, P. Donnelly, W.F. Bodmer – The fine-scale genetic structure of the British population, Nature, 519(7543):309-14 (2015)

 

• M.A. Merok, T. Ahlquist, E.C. Røyrvik, K.F. Tufteland, M. Hektoen, O.H. Sjo, T.Mala, A. Svindland, R.A. Lothe, A. Nesbakken Microsatellite instability has positive prognostic impact on stage II colorectal cancer – Results from a large and consecutive series withcomprehensive clinical data, Annals of Oncology, 24(5):1274-82 (2013)

 

• B. Winney, A. Boumertit, T. Day, D. Davison, C. Echeta, I. Evseeva, K. Hutnik, S. Leslie,K. Nicodemus, E.C. Røyrvik, S. Tonks, X. Yang, J. Cheshire, P. Longley, P. Mateos, A.Groom, C. Relton, D.T. Bishop, K. Black, E. Northwood, L Parkinson, T.M. Frayling,A. Steele, J.R. Sampson, T. King, R. Dixon, D. Middleton, B. Jennings, R. Bowden, P.Donnelly, W.F. Bodmer – People of the British Isles: preliminary analysis of genotypes andsurnames in a UK control population, European Journal of Human Genetics, 20(2):203-210 (2012)

 

• E.C. Røyrvik – 'Western Celts? A Genetic Impression of Britain in Atlantic Europe' in B. Cunliffe and J.T. Koch (Eds.) Celtic from the West: Alternative Perspectives fromArchaeology, Genetics, Language and Literature (2010), Oxbow Books, Oxford

 

• E.C. Røyrvik, T. Ahlquist, T. Rognes and R.A. Lothe – Slip Slidin’ Away: A Duode-cennial Review of Targeted Genes in Mismatch Repair Deficient Colorectal Cancer, Critical Reviews in Oncogenesis, 13(3):229-257 (2007)