Featured Publications
Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of cannabis use disorder yields insight into disease biology and public health implications
Levey D, Galimberti M, Deak J, Wendt F, Bhattacharya A, Koller D, Harrington K, Quaden R, Johnson E, Gupta P, Biradar M, Lam M, Cooke M, Rajagopal V, Empke S, Zhou H, Nunez Y, Kranzler H, Edenberg H, Agrawal A, Smoller J, Lencz T, Hougaard D, Børglum A, Demontis D, Gaziano J, Gandal M, Polimanti R, Stein M, Gelernter J. Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of cannabis use disorder yields insight into disease biology and public health implications. Nature Genetics 2023, 55: 2094-2103. PMID: 37985822, PMCID: PMC10703690, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-023-01563-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSingle nucleotide polymorphism-based heritabilityMulti-ancestry genome-wide association studyAssociation studiesMillion Veteran ProgramGenome-wide association studiesWide significant lociWide association studySignificant lociReference panelSmall populationDisease biologyAncestryAmerican ancestryHeritabilityVeteran ProgramNumerous medical comorbiditiesLung cancer riskRelationship analysisLociBiologyPublic health implicationsEast AsiansPublic health consequencesMedical comorbiditiesCigarette smokingBi-ancestral depression GWAS in the Million Veteran Program and meta-analysis in >1.2 million individuals highlight new therapeutic directions
Levey DF, Stein MB, Wendt FR, Pathak GA, Zhou H, Aslan M, Quaden R, Harrington KM, Nuñez YZ, Overstreet C, Radhakrishnan K, Sanacora G, McIntosh AM, Shi J, Shringarpure SS, Concato J, Polimanti R, Gelernter J. Bi-ancestral depression GWAS in the Million Veteran Program and meta-analysis in >1.2 million individuals highlight new therapeutic directions. Nature Neuroscience 2021, 24: 954-963. PMID: 34045744, PMCID: PMC8404304, DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00860-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTranscriptome-wide association studyMillion Veteran ProgramTranscriptome-wide association study (TWAS) analysisGenomic risk lociComplex psychiatric traitsGenetic architectureRisk lociGene expressionAssociation studiesLikely pathogenicityPsychiatric traitsVeteran ProgramNew therapeutic directionEuropean ancestryNew insightsAncestryUK BiobankAfrican ancestrySubstantial replicationExpressionLarge independent cohortsGWASTherapeutic directionsGenesLociReproducible Genetic Risk Loci for Anxiety: Results From ∼200,000 Participants in the Million Veteran Program
Levey DF, Gelernter J, Polimanti R, Zhou H, Cheng Z, Aslan M, Quaden R, Concato J, Radhakrishnan K, Bryois J, Sullivan PF, Stein M. Reproducible Genetic Risk Loci for Anxiety: Results From ∼200,000 Participants in the Million Veteran Program. American Journal Of Psychiatry 2020, 177: 223-232. PMID: 31906708, PMCID: PMC7869502, DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19030256.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNovel genome-wide significant associationsGene expressionGenome-wide significant signalsGenome-wide significant associationMillion Veteran ProgramWide association studyGenetic risk lociSignificant genetic correlationsGenetic risk mechanismsGenetic architectureGlobal regulatorChromosome 3Risk lociChromosome 6Chromosome 7Association studiesLargest GWASLarge biobanksGlobal regulationGenetic correlationsContinuous traitsVeteran ProgramGWASsLociPrevious GWASsGenome-wide association analyses of post-traumatic stress disorder and its symptom subdomains in the Million Veteran Program
Stein MB, Levey DF, Cheng Z, Wendt FR, Harrington K, Pathak GA, Cho K, Quaden R, Radhakrishnan K, Girgenti MJ, Ho YA, Posner D, Aslan M, Duman RS, Zhao H, Polimanti R, Concato J, Gelernter J. Genome-wide association analyses of post-traumatic stress disorder and its symptom subdomains in the Million Veteran Program. Nature Genetics 2021, 53: 174-184. PMID: 33510476, PMCID: PMC7972521, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-020-00767-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenome-wide association analysisAssociation analysisMillion Veteran ProgramGenomic structural equation modelingSignificant lociGenetic varianceGene expressionDrug repositioning candidatesBiological coherenceVeteran ProgramMultiple testing correctionSymptom phenotypeLociRepositioning candidatesAfrican ancestryHeritabilityPhenotypeAncestryExpressionPTSD symptom factorsRegionSubdomainsEnrichment
2024
Diversity and scale: Genetic architecture of 2068 traits in the VA Million Veteran Program
Verma A, Huffman J, Rodriguez A, Conery M, Liu M, Ho Y, Kim Y, Heise D, Guare L, Panickan V, Garcon H, Linares F, Costa L, Goethert I, Tipton R, Honerlaw J, Davies L, Whitbourne S, Cohen J, Posner D, Sangar R, Murray M, Wang X, Dochtermann D, Devineni P, Shi Y, Nandi T, Assimes T, Brunette C, Carroll R, Clifford R, Duvall S, Gelernter J, Hung A, Iyengar S, Joseph J, Kember R, Kranzler H, Kripke C, Levey D, Luoh S, Merritt V, Overstreet C, Deak J, Grant S, Polimanti R, Roussos P, Shakt G, Sun Y, Tsao N, Venkatesh S, Voloudakis G, Justice A, Begoli E, Ramoni R, Tourassi G, Pyarajan S, Tsao P, O'Donnell C, Muralidhar S, Moser J, Casas J, Bick A, Zhou W, Cai T, Voight B, Cho K, Gaziano J, Madduri R, Damrauer S, Liao K. Diversity and scale: Genetic architecture of 2068 traits in the VA Million Veteran Program. Science 2024, 385: eadj1182. PMID: 39024449, DOI: 10.1126/science.adj1182.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMillion Veteran ProgramNon-European populationsVeteran ProgramGenetic architectureAtlas of genetic associationsVeterans Affairs Million Veteran ProgramVA Million Veteran ProgramGenomic risk lociGenome-wide associationHuman genetic studiesHealth disparitiesUnited States veteransCausal variantsRisk lociGenetic insightsGenetic studiesGenetic associationGenetic causeStates veteransDiverse populationsDisease factorsLack of inclusionLongitudinal studyParticipantsTraits
2023
Modeling the longitudinal changes of ancestry diversity in the Million Veteran Program
Wendt F, Pathak G, Vahey J, Qin X, Koller D, Cabrera-Mendoza B, Haeny A, Harrington K, Rajeevan N, Duong L, Levey D, De Angelis F, De Lillo A, Bigdeli T, Pyarajan S, Gaziano J, Gelernter J, Aslan M, Provenzale D, Helmer D, Hauser E, Polimanti R. Modeling the longitudinal changes of ancestry diversity in the Million Veteran Program. Human Genomics 2023, 17: 46. PMID: 37268996, PMCID: PMC10239111, DOI: 10.1186/s40246-023-00487-3.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2022
Factor structure of the posttraumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL-17) in 279,897 million veteran program participants
Overstreet C, Levey D, Zhou H, Harrington K, Quaden R, Stein M, Gelernter J, Pietrzak R, Program M. Factor structure of the posttraumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL-17) in 279,897 million veteran program participants. Psychiatry Research 2022, 319: 114994. PMID: 36516638, PMCID: PMC10184787, DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114994.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchGenome-Wide Investigation of Maximum Habitual Alcohol Intake in US Veterans in Relation to Alcohol Consumption Traits and Alcohol Use Disorder
Deak JD, Levey DF, Wendt FR, Zhou H, Galimberti M, Kranzler HR, Gaziano JM, Stein MB, Polimanti R, Gelernter J, Muralidhar S, Moser J, Deen J, Gaziano J, Beckham J, Chang K, Tsao P, Luoh S, Casas J, Churby L, Whitbourne S, Brewer J, Brophy M, Selva L, Shayan S, Cho K, Pyarajan S, DuVall S, Connor T, Argyres D, Aslan M, Stephens B, Concato J, Gelernter J, Gleason T, Huang G, Koenen K, Marx C, Radhakrishnan K, Schork N, Stein M, Zhao H, Kaufman J, Nunez Y, Pietrzak R, Beck D, Cissell S, Crutchfield P, Lance W, Cheung K, Li Y, Sun N, Chen Q, Rajeevan N, Sayward F, Gagnon D, Harrington K, Quaden R, O'Leary T, Ramoni R. Genome-Wide Investigation of Maximum Habitual Alcohol Intake in US Veterans in Relation to Alcohol Consumption Traits and Alcohol Use Disorder. JAMA Network Open 2022, 5: e2238880. PMID: 36301540, PMCID: PMC9614582, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.38880.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenome-wide association studiesGenome-wide significant lociGenomic structural equation modelingSignificant lociAlcohol traitsAssociation studiesAfrican ancestry participantsGenome-wide investigationAncestry-specific genome-wide association studiesGenetic correlationsPsychiatric traitsLinkage disequilibrium score regressionGenetic associationStrong genetic correlationSingle nucleotide variantsGenetic architectureGenetic association studiesGenetic lociTop associationsNegative rgEuropean ancestry participantsNucleotide variantsFunctional variantsScore regressionTraitsIntegrating human brain proteomes with genome-wide association data implicates novel proteins in post-traumatic stress disorder
Wingo TS, Gerasimov ES, Liu Y, Duong DM, Vattathil SM, Lori A, Gockley J, Breen MS, Maihofer AX, Nievergelt CM, Koenen KC, Levey DF, Gelernter J, Stein MB, Ressler KJ, Bennett DA, Levey AI, Seyfried NT, Wingo AP. Integrating human brain proteomes with genome-wide association data implicates novel proteins in post-traumatic stress disorder. Molecular Psychiatry 2022, 27: 3075-3084. PMID: 35449297, PMCID: PMC9233006, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01544-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsProteome-wide association studyTranscriptome-wide association studyGenome-wide association studiesBrain protein abundanceHuman brain proteomeBrain proteomeAssociation studiesProtein abundanceGenome-wide association dataHuman brain transcriptomePost-traumatic stress disorderGWAS resultsNovel proteinBrain transcriptomeRisk lociProteomeGenesAssociation dataPrecursor cellsPTSD pathogenesisBrain mRNA levelsMRNA levelsOligodendrocyte precursor cellsPromising targetNew insightsGenetically regulated multi-omics study for symptom clusters of posttraumatic stress disorder highlights pleiotropy with hematologic and cardio-metabolic traits
Pathak GA, Singh K, Wendt FR, Fleming TW, Overstreet C, Koller D, Tylee DS, De Angelis F, Cabrera Mendoza B, Levey DF, Koenen KC, Krystal JH, Pietrzak RH, O’ Donell C, Gaziano JM, Falcone G, Stein MB, Gelernter J, Pasaniuc B, Mancuso N, Davis LK, Polimanti R. Genetically regulated multi-omics study for symptom clusters of posttraumatic stress disorder highlights pleiotropy with hematologic and cardio-metabolic traits. Molecular Psychiatry 2022, 27: 1394-1404. PMID: 35241783, PMCID: PMC9210390, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01488-9.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLocal genetic correlationsCell type-specific expressionVanderbilt University biorepositoryMulti-omics studiesMulti-omics investigationsDorsolateral prefrontal cortex tissueGenomic evidenceLaboratory traitsSpecific expressionCardio-metabolic traitsMillion Veteran ProgramPrefrontal cortex tissueMiR-148GenesGenetic correlationsRegulatory profileTraitsProtein expressionCardiometabolic traitsExpressionVeteran ProgramCortex tissueBiological heterogeneitySplicingPrioritization approach
2021
Psychosocial moderators of polygenic risk for suicidal ideation: Results from a 7-year population-based, prospective cohort study of U.S. veterans
Na PJ, De Angelis F, Nichter B, Wendt FR, Krystal JH, Southwick SM, Levey DF, Gelernter J, Polimanti R, Pietrzak RH. Psychosocial moderators of polygenic risk for suicidal ideation: Results from a 7-year population-based, prospective cohort study of U.S. veterans. Molecular Psychiatry 2021, 27: 1068-1074. PMID: 34725455, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01352-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNew-onset suicidal ideationChronic suicidal ideationPolygenic risk scoresSuicidal ideationProspective cohort studyPolygenic riskRisk of SIHigher baseline levelsHigh polygenic riskModifiable psychosocial factorsSocial supportDispositional optimismCohort studyProspective cohortUS veteransSymptomatic courseRisk scorePsychosocial factorsGenome-wide association studiesBaseline levelsU.S. veteransSuicidal thoughtsPsychosocial moderatorsStudy periodLarge genome-wide association studies
2019
International meta-analysis of PTSD genome-wide association studies identifies sex- and ancestry-specific genetic risk loci
Nievergelt CM, Maihofer AX, Klengel T, Atkinson EG, Chen CY, Choi KW, Coleman JRI, Dalvie S, Duncan LE, Gelernter J, Levey DF, Logue MW, Polimanti R, Provost AC, Ratanatharathorn A, Stein MB, Torres K, Aiello AE, Almli LM, Amstadter AB, Andersen SB, Andreassen OA, Arbisi PA, Ashley-Koch AE, Austin SB, Avdibegovic E, Babić D, Bækvad-Hansen M, Baker DG, Beckham JC, Bierut LJ, Bisson JI, Boks MP, Bolger EA, Børglum AD, Bradley B, Brashear M, Breen G, Bryant RA, Bustamante AC, Bybjerg-Grauholm J, Calabrese JR, Caldas- de- Almeida J, Dale AM, Daly MJ, Daskalakis NP, Deckert J, Delahanty DL, Dennis MF, Disner SG, Domschke K, Dzubur-Kulenovic A, Erbes CR, Evans A, Farrer LA, Feeny NC, Flory JD, Forbes D, Franz CE, Galea S, Garrett ME, Gelaye B, Geuze E, Gillespie C, Uka AG, Gordon SD, Guffanti G, Hammamieh R, Harnal S, Hauser MA, Heath AC, Hemmings SMJ, Hougaard DM, Jakovljevic M, Jett M, Johnson EO, Jones I, Jovanovic T, Qin XJ, Junglen AG, Karstoft KI, Kaufman ML, Kessler RC, Khan A, Kimbrel NA, King AP, Koen N, Kranzler HR, Kremen WS, Lawford BR, Lebois LAM, Lewis CE, Linnstaedt SD, Lori A, Lugonja B, Luykx JJ, Lyons MJ, Maples-Keller J, Marmar C, Martin AR, Martin NG, Maurer D, Mavissakalian MR, McFarlane A, McGlinchey RE, McLaughlin KA, McLean SA, McLeay S, Mehta D, Milberg WP, Miller MW, Morey RA, Morris CP, Mors O, Mortensen PB, Neale BM, Nelson EC, Nordentoft M, Norman SB, O’Donnell M, Orcutt HK, Panizzon MS, Peters ES, Peterson AL, Peverill M, Pietrzak RH, Polusny MA, Rice JP, Ripke S, Risbrough VB, Roberts AL, Rothbaum AO, Rothbaum BO, Roy-Byrne P, Ruggiero K, Rung A, Rutten BPF, Saccone NL, Sanchez SE, Schijven D, Seedat S, Seligowski AV, Seng JS, Sheerin CM, Silove D, Smith AK, Smoller JW, Sponheim SR, Stein DJ, Stevens JS, Sumner JA, Teicher MH, Thompson WK, Trapido E, Uddin M, Ursano RJ, van den Heuvel LL, Van Hooff M, Vermetten E, Vinkers CH, Voisey J, Wang Y, Wang Z, Werge T, Williams MA, Williamson DE, Winternitz S, Wolf C, Wolf EJ, Wolff JD, Yehuda R, Young RM, Young KA, Zhao H, Zoellner LA, Liberzon I, Ressler KJ, Haas M, Koenen KC. International meta-analysis of PTSD genome-wide association studies identifies sex- and ancestry-specific genetic risk loci. Nature Communications 2019, 10: 4558. PMID: 31594949, PMCID: PMC6783435, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12576-w.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenome-wide association studiesDisease genesAssociation studiesGenome-wide significant lociAfrican-ancestry analysesNon-coding RNAsGenetic risk lociParkinson's disease genesEuropean ancestry populationsNovel genesSignificant lociGenetic variationSpecific lociRisk lociAdditional lociLociAncestry populationsCommon variantsHeritability estimatesGenesGWASRNABiologySNPsPARK2Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism, posttraumatic stress disorder, and cognitive function in older U.S. veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study
Averill LA, Abdallah CG, Levey DF, Han S, Harpaz‐Rotem I, Kranzler HR, Southwick SM, Krystal JH, Gelernter J, Pietrzak RH. Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism, posttraumatic stress disorder, and cognitive function in older U.S. veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Depression And Anxiety 2019, 36: 834-845. PMID: 31385647, DOI: 10.1002/da.22912.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPosttraumatic stress disorderExecutive functionCognitive functioningStress disorderΕ4 carrier statusΕ4 carriersVeterans StudyCognitive dysfunctionAttention/concentrationGreater cognitive difficultiesLower cognitive functioningOlder U.S. veteransΕ4 allele carrier statusPerseverative errorsCognitive difficultiesReplication sampleCarrier statusCognitive functionImportance of assessingNational HealthCognitive declinePredictive effectApolipoprotein E gene polymorphismE gene polymorphismΕ4 allele carriersGenome-wide association study of post-traumatic stress disorder reexperiencing symptoms in >165,000 US veterans
Gelernter J, Sun N, Polimanti R, Pietrzak R, Levey DF, Bryois J, Lu Q, Hu Y, Li B, Radhakrishnan K, Aslan M, Cheung KH, Li Y, Rajeevan N, Sayward F, Harrington K, Chen Q, Cho K, Pyarajan S, Sullivan PF, Quaden R, Shi Y, Hunter-Zinck H, Gaziano JM, Concato J, Zhao H, Stein MB. Genome-wide association study of post-traumatic stress disorder reexperiencing symptoms in >165,000 US veterans. Nature Neuroscience 2019, 22: 1394-1401. PMID: 31358989, PMCID: PMC6953633, DOI: 10.1038/s41593-019-0447-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenome-wide association studiesAssociation studiesHigh linkage disequilibrium regionLinkage disequilibrium regionWide association studyDisequilibrium regionBioinformatics analysisTranscriptomic profilesMillion Veteran ProgramChromosome 17Genetic risk factorsNew insightsUK Biobank dataReexperiencing of traumaStriatal medium spiny neuronsVeteran ProgramSignificant regionsCAMKVEuropean AmericansBiobank dataMedium spiny neuronsTCF4BiologyKANSL1African American cohortGenome-wide Association Study of Maximum Habitual Alcohol Intake in >140,000 U.S. European and African American Veterans Yields Novel Risk Loci
Gelernter J, Sun N, Polimanti R, Pietrzak RH, Levey DF, Lu Q, Hu Y, Li B, Radhakrishnan K, Aslan M, Cheung KH, Li Y, Rajeevan N, Sayward F, Harrington K, Chen Q, Cho K, Honerlaw J, Pyarajan S, Lencz T, Quaden R, Shi Y, Hunter-Zinck H, Gaziano JM, Kranzler HR, Concato J, Zhao H, Stein MB, Program D, Program M. Genome-wide Association Study of Maximum Habitual Alcohol Intake in >140,000 U.S. European and African American Veterans Yields Novel Risk Loci. Biological Psychiatry 2019, 86: 365-376. PMID: 31151762, PMCID: PMC6919570, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.03.984.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAdditional genome-wide significant lociRisk lociWide association study (GWAS) analysisAssociation studiesGenome-wide significant lociGenome-wide association studiesGenetic correlationsWide association studyNovel risk lociAlcohol-related traitsStrong statistical supportSmoking-related traitsAdditional genomesSignificant lociPancreatic delta cellsChromosome 4Chromosome 11Protein productsChromosome 8Quantitative phenotypesMillion Veteran ProgramVeterans Affairs Million Veteran ProgramLociCell typesChromosome 17