Research overview

Our mission is to identify and characterise causal biological pathways in cardiovascular disease. Large-scale genome-wide association studies have been very fruitful in pinpointing genomic regions that associate with the disease. However, the precise biological mechanisms underlying most of these genetic associations remain elusive. To this end, we combine systematic computational and experimental approaches to expose new mechanisms leading to atherosclerosis, the major cause of cardiovascular disease. We apply cutting-edge technology, including human induced pluripotent stem cells and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, to elucidate the molecular, cellular, and physiological underpinnings of candidate causal variants and genes. In parallel, we conduct recall-by-genotype studies, in which individuals with a functional genetic variant are called back for additional hypothesis-driven "deep phenotyping". Our efforts, which integrate genetic epidemiology, functional genomics/epigenomics, and clinical medicine, facilitate a better understanding of the aetiology of cardiovascular disease to inform the development of new therapeutics.