The Quertermous Laboratory

The Quertermous laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms that mediate vascular disease pathophysiology and the risk for these diseases. The approach is primarily genetic, using human cohorts and large-scale genome wide studies to identify genes that associate with disease and risk, and molecular genetic studies to define the mechanisms of these associations. At the human level, we collaborate with a number of centers around the world through the CARDIoGRAM+C4D consortium to further identify coronary heart disease loci, and our group serves as the organizing center searching for loci that associate with gold standard measures of insulin sensitivity, the GENESIS study. Numerous large-scale genomic studies are underway to annotate regulatory sequences in the human genome and relate these sequences to causal disease variation. Further, we work to identify mechanisms by which causal variation is responsible for altered gene structure or function, and employ cellular and genetic mouse models to identify how encoded factors participate in the disease process.