Research Interests
Keywords: genetic epidemiology, human genetics, genome-wide association studies, precision medicine, multi-omics, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, hemostasis, inflammation, hematological traits
In my research program, I use human genomics and multi-omics to understand inherited and environmental risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and related quantitative traits. I work to link genetic variants to function through integration with multi-omics data, including transcriptomic, methylation, proteomic, and metabolomic measures. This work has important implications for disease risk prediction across diverse populations and improved understanding of disease biology. A focus on understudied Black and Hispanic/Latinx populations is a central theme of my research; human genetics research is dramatically unrepresentative of global populations, with ~95% of genome-wide association study participants of European or East Asian ancestry. As complex trait genetics moves into the clinic, increasing diversity is essential to ensure that all populations benefit from the promise of precision medicine.
I play a leadership role in collaborative efforts in human genetics, for example serving as a Genetics Working Group co-chair for the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), one of the largest population based studies of African Americans, and an Inflammation/Hematology working group co-chair for the Population Architecture Using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) consortium. I am also a co-convener of the Multi-Omics working group for the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program and of the Phenotype Harmonization working group for NHGRI’s Polygenic RIsk MEthods in Diverse populations (PRIMED) consortium.
Mentor Training:
- Bias 101
- REI Racial Equity Workshop Phase 1
- Safe Zone
- Unconscious Bias
Publications
Laura Raffield in UNC Genetics News

February 27, 2023
Department of Genetics Publications for February 12th – 25th, 2023
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 9 papers during February 12th – 25th, 2023.

February 13, 2023
Department of Genetics Publications for January 29th – February 11th, 2023
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 7 papers during January 29th – February 11th, 2023.

January 30, 2023
Department of Genetics Publications for January 15th – 28th, 2023
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 16 papers during January 15th – 28th, 2023.

January 2, 2023
Department of Genetics Publications for December 18th – 31st, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 10 papers during December 18th – 31st, 2022.

December 18, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications for December 4th – 17th, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 8 papers during December 4th – 17th, 2022.

December 13, 2022
Genetics Faculty Awarded Subcontracts
Genetics faculty members Dr. Laura Raffield (Assistant Professor) and Dr. Lisa Tarantino (Professor) awarded subcontracts.

December 5, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications for November 20th – December 3rd, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 12 papers during November 20th – December 3rd, 2022.

November 7, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications for October 23rd – November 5th, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 19 papers during October 23rd – November 5th, 2022.

October 24, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications for October 9th – 22nd, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 10 papers during October 9th – 22nd, 2022.

October 10, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications for September 25th – October 8th, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 10 papers during September 25th – October 8th, 2022.