discovered loci, including even those that have been the most reproducibly associated, remains unclear. Assigning a causal link to the nearest gene falls short of elucidating a functional connection, as recently demonstrated by the obesity-associated variants within FTO that form long-range functional connections with IRX36. And while GWAS will no doubt continue to identify many more susceptibility loci, the question of how to advance biological knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of disease risk remains a paramount challenge.
