Vascular Genetics and Genomics Research

Vascular disease has been the leading cause of death worldwide for decades and has a strong genetic component. While many disorders of the vascular system follow a Mendelian pattern of inheritance, the most prevalent conditions, like atherosclerosis and hypertension are polygenic with multiple incompletely understood mechanisms and pathways involved. In our lab we push the boundaries of genetics research using vascular disease as our focus. We utilize and develop probabilistic methods to decipher complex trait heritability and genetic regulatory networks involved in human disease. We also leverage in vitro genome editing models, stem cell differentiation paradigms and genetically engineered mouse models as tools to delve into mechanistic pathways of vascular disease.