Tuesday, December 3, 2024
12/3/2024
Dr. Cruz is a practicing cardiologist with an interest in investigating the genetic underpinnings of circulating biomarkers and their association with health and disease. Dr. Cruz’s research interests primarily focus on historically understudied groups and understanding how varied genetic ancestry plays a role in disease pathogenesis. African Americans suffer disproportionately from many chronic diseases and in particular cardiovascular disease. African Americans have also not been included in many cardiovascular studies, raising the possibility that some results may not be applicable to them. Compounding these issues is the fact that traditional genetic analyses are not designed to account for the relatively complex genetic makeup that African Americans have, due to their African ancestry and admixture with other populations. This project aims to identify the circulating metabolites that are associated with coronary heart disease, investigate the portions of the genome that are of African continental origin, and use this correlation to identify specific genes that are associated both with African ancestry and coronary heart disease. Through intensive laboratory and didactic training in metabolomics and genetics, Dr. Cruz will harness the resources of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and associated institutions to examine a disease of significant societal impact. Situated in a multi-disciplinary laboratory, Dr. Cruz will take advantage of novel metabolomic technologies and novel genetic analytical strategies to better decipher how genetic ancestry influences levels of circulating metabolites. He will use admixture mapping techniques, which take into account the heterogeneous genomic make up of African Americans, to better understand how the unique genomic structure of recently admixed populations may influence baseline circulating levels of metabolites. Using plasma samples from African American participants of the Jackson Heart Study and Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, metabolomics will be used to measure levels of circulating metabolites and assess which metabolites are associated with incident coronary heart disease, with over 15 years of follow up. Clinical traits associated with coronary heart disease like, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and hyperlipidemia will also be analyzed. Using admixture mapping, regions of potential association between the metabolites of interest and African ancestry in the genome will be identified, allowing for higher power in identifying specific associated variants in those regions. As precision medicine offers the promise of more personalized care, it is incumbent on the biomedical research community to take into account the unique genetic makeup of all members of society. This project aims to offer specific pathophysiologic information for a historically understudied group of people. Ultimately Dr. Cruz intends on using his research efforts to provide better medical care to understudied and underserved populations, and in turn improve the health of society as a whole.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
