Michèle M. Sale

Degree(s): PhD
Graduate School: University of Tasmania, Australia
Primary Appointment: Associate Professor, Public Health Sciences
Research Interests: Genetics of complex disease
Email Address: ms5fe@virginia.edu

Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program(s)

Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Genetics

Research Description

My group’s research is aimed at identifying and characterizing genetic contributors to complex disease susceptibility.

Type 2 diabetes: We are using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach to: (1) identify and characterize genetic variants that contribute to type 2 diabetes susceptibility in African American Sea Islanders of coastal South Carolina and Georgia, and (2) identify variants contributing to lipoprotein subclasses – predictors of cardiovascular outcomes – measured using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). [NIH Grant DK084350]

Stroke: About 25 percent of people who recover from their first stroke will have another stroke within 5 years. The Vitamin Intervention for Stroke Prevention (VISP) trial enrolled ischemic stroke patients, randomized them to either high or low dose folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, then documented incident vascular events over 2 years. Our studies aim to (1) identify genetic variants associated with recurrent ischemic stroke and combined vascular endpoints; (2) gain insights into individual responses to B vitamin therapy; (3) develop predictive models of recurrent stroke, incorporating genetic and clinical information. This study is part of GARNET, the Genomics and Randomized Trials Network. [NIH Grant HG005160]

Otitis media is an inflammation of the middle ear caused by infection. Family studies have demonstrated a role for genetic factors in disease susceptibility. Projects underway aim to (1) identify susceptibility variants for chronic and recurrent otitis media using both GWAS and linkage approaches, (2) characterize their role in disease, and (3) survey the microbial diversity of the adenoid surface in children with a history of chronic infection. [NIH Grant DC00316]

Selected Publications

Frazier-Wood AC, Manichaikul A, Aslibekyan S, Borecki IB, Goff DC, Hopkins PN, Lai CQ, Ordovas JM, Post WS, Rich SS, Sale MM, Siscovick D, Straka RJ, Tiwari HK, Tsai MY, Rotter JI, Arnett DK. Genetic variants associated with VLDL, LDL and HDL particle size differ with race/ethnicity). Hum Genet. 2012 Dec 22. [Epub ahead of print].
Ren T, Glatt DU, Nguyen TN, Allen EK, Early SV, Sale M, Winther B, Wu M. rRNA survey revealed complex bacterial communities and evidence of bacterial interference on human adenoids. Environ Microbiol. 2012 Sep 28. [Epub ahead of print].
Elbers CC, Guo Y, Tragante V, van Iperen EP, Lanktree MB, Castillo BA, Chen F, Yanek LR, Wojczynski MK, Li YR, Ferwerda B, Ballantyne CM, Buxbaum SG, Chen YD, Chen WM, Cupples LA, Cushman M, Duan Y, Duggan D, Evans MK, Fernandes JK, Fornage M, Garcia M, Garvey WT, Glazer N, Gomez F, Harris TB, Halder I, Howard VJ, Keller MF, Kamboh MI, Kooperberg C, Kritchevsky SB, Lacroix A, Liu K, Liu Y, Musunuru K, Newman AB, Onland-Moret NC, Ordovas J, Peter I, Post W, Redline S, Reis SE, Saxena R, Schreiner PJ, Volcik KA, Wang X, Yusuf S, Zonderland AB, Anand SS, Becker DM, Psaty B, Rader DJ, Reiner AP, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Sale MM, Tsai MY, Borecki IB, Hegele RA, Kathiresan S, Nalls MA, Taylor HA Jr, Hakonarson H, Sivapalaratnam S, Asselbergs FW, Drenos F, Wilson JG, Keating BJ. Gene-centric meta-analysis of lipid traits in african, East asian and Hispanic populations). PLoS One. 2012; 7:e50198. PMC3517599.
Traylor M, Farrall M, Holliday EG, Sudlow C, Hopewell JC, Cheng YC, Fornage M, Ikram MA, Malik R, Bevan S, Thorsteinsdottir U, Nalls MA, Longstreth W, Wiggins KL, Yadav S, Parati EA, Destefano AL, Worrall BB, Kittner SJ, Khan MS, Reiner AP, Helgadottir A, Achterberg S, Fernandez-Cadenas I, Abboud S, Schmidt R, Walters M, Chen WM, Ringelstein EB, O’Donnell M, Ho WK, Pera J, Lemmens R, Norrving B, Higgins P, Benn M, Sale M, Kuhlenbäumer G, Doney AS, Vicente AM, Delavaran H, Algra A, Davies G, Oliveira SA, Palmer CN, Deary I, Schmidt H, Pandolfo M, Montaner J, Carty C, de Bakker PI, Kostulas K, Ferro JM, van Zuydam NR, Valdimarsson E, Nordestgaard BG, Lindgren A, Thijs V, Slowik A, Saleheen D, Paré G, Berger K, Thorleifsson G; Australian Stroke Genetics Collaborative, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2), Hofman A, Mosley TH, Mitchell BD, Furie K, Clarke R, Levi C, Seshadri S, Gschwendtner A, Boncoraglio GB, Sharma P, Bis JC, Gretarsdottir S, Psaty BM, Rothwell PM, Rosand J, Meschia JF, Stefansson K, Dichgans M, Markus HS; International Stroke Genetics Consortium. Genetic risk factors for ischaemic stroke and its subtypes (the METASTROKE collaboration): a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies. Lancet Neurol. 2012; 11:951-62. PMC3490334.
Rasmussen-Torvik LJ, Guo X, Bowden DW, Bertoni AG, Sale MM, Yao J, Bluemke DA, Goodarzi MO, Chen YI, Vaidya D, Raffel LJ, Papanicolaou GJ, Meigs JB, Pankow JS. Fasting glucose GWAS candidate region analysis across ethnic groups in the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Genet Epidemiol. 2012; 36:384-91.

PubMed Link for this Faculty Member

Contact Information
Mailing Address: PO Box 800717, Charlottesville, VA 22908
Phone: 434-982-0368
Fax: 434-982-1815