NIH Awards Stephen Rich, PhD, $2.8 Million to Study Large-Scale Data to Analyze Risk Factors for Developing Obesity

Stephen Rich, PhD, the Harrison Professor in the Department of Genome Sciences, was awarded a new $2.8 million R01 grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for research leveraging large-scale, multi-ethnic, and multi-omic data to analyze risk factors for developing central obesity.

Obesity, defined as an abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat, is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases (heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoarthritis, some cancers) and is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. Rates of obesity have been increasing worldwide, nearly tripling since 1975. Central obesity is more strongly associated with detrimental body fat accumulation and is a better predictor of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and mortality than body mass index (BMI) that is often used in basic and clinical research.

Dr. Rich’s research will identify genes that affect an individual’s risk of developing central obesity, using multiple analytic methods applied to data from nine longitudinal studies in the NHLBI TOPMed (Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine) program. These nine studies were selected to include participants of diverse genetic ancestry and data, including whole genome sequencing, gene expression, and proteins.  The most likely central obesity genes will be validated using experiments in human cells and diet-induced mouse models.

The outcome of this research will increase our understanding of genes and biologic pathways contributing to the development of central obesity. In addition, these studies will link genes with potential markers involved in central obesity that could identify new targeted interventions and therapeutics.

Collaborators on the project include Mete Civelek, PhD (UCLA), Leslie Lange, PhD (University of Colorado), and Laura Raffield, PhD (UNC).