Mete Civelek, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles

Seminar will be made available via videoconference in the Health Sciences Research Building, room E 160 and Technology Enterprise Park, room 104.

Metabolic Syndrome is a group of risk factors that raise the risk for heart disease and diabetes. These risk factors have a significant genetic component. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous genomic loci associated with the complex cardiometabolic traits. However, the molecular mechanisms of how the genes in these loci affect these complex traits are usually not known suggesting that key pathways leading to increased risk are yet to be discovered. We characterized a population of Finnish Men for metabolic traits and molecular phenotypes. Using a systems genetics approach, we identified regulatory pathways that are perturbed by genetic loci associated with metabolic disorders in humans and mice. We also observed sex specific differences in some of the regulatory pathways. Our studies highlight the power of GWAS across species and systems genetics approaches for dissecting genetics of complex traits.

Faculty Host: Mike Davis, Ph.D.