The study will focus on genetic mechanisms underlying blood cell traits in multi-ethnic cohorts, in particular admixed, under-represented U.S. minority populations such as African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos.
Yun Li, PhD, Associate Professor of Genetics, Biostatistics and Computer Science (adjunct) has been awarded an R01 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for her project titled “Genetic Studies of Blood Cell Traits in Multi-Ethnic Cohorts”. Blood cell traits, including red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin, white blood cell count (WBC) and platelet count, are important intermediate clinical phenotypes for a variety of cardiovascular, hematologic, oncogenic, immunologic and infectious diseases. However, there are very few sequencing-aided GWASs for blood cell traits in ancestrally diverse populations, and none in Hispanics/Latinos. The study will focus on genetic mechanisms underlying blood cell traits in multi-ethnic cohorts, in particular admixed, under-represented U.S. minority populations such as African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos. Co-PI on the project is Alex Reiner, MD, Member of Department of Public Health Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.