MPRG Biosocial | Biology, Social Disparities, and Development

February 09, 2026

Human development unfolds in transactions between biology, such as genetics, and social environments. The Max Planck Research Group Biosocial examines how genetic influences and social inequality combine to shape life-course trajectories with downstream consequences for adult socioeconomic attainments and aging-related health.

Three overlapping circles can be seen. In the green circle, a house and trees are visible in green. In the blue circle, a mother with a child is visible in blue. In the red circle, a strand of DNA is visible. Arrows point from one circle to the other. In the middle, above all the circles, a child is visible in blue. — © Max Planck Institute for Human Development

© Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Families transmit their social status, education levels, and health advantages to their children, leading to disparities in important life outcomes that persist across generations. These disparities are the focus of policy efforts across many levels and facets of government, but our efforts to ameliorate inequality are hampered by how little is known about the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission. It is now known, in general terms, that both nature and nurture are involved in intergenerational transmission, but understanding specific mechanisms, and combatting the misuse of genetics requires novel data, measures, study designs, and concepts.

The Max Planck Research Group Biosocial investigates how genetic influences and social inequality interact to shape life-course trajectories, with lasting implications for adult socioeconomic attainment and aging-related health.

Our work centers on three lines of inquiry:

(1) gene-environment interplay in behavior across social and historical change;

(2) using epigenetic indices to link childhood exposures and development to aging-related health in adulthood; and

(3) the social and ethical dimensions of sociogenomic research and its potential applications.

We leverage recent genomic innovations, including polygenic and epigenetic methods, in longitudinal population cohorts and randomized trials to clarify how social inequality is transmitted across generations. Using a biosocial lens, we examine the dynamic loops through which genes “get out of the skin” and environments “get under the skin.” Our goal is to identify modifiable environmental factors that promote more equitable outcomes and reduce the impact of social inequality on child and adolescent well-being.

Our research commenced in August 2022 and is financially supported by the Max Planck Society, the National Institutes of Health, the EU Horizon European program, and the Jacobs Foundation.