IBCS Seminar Series

Abstract

Distinct growth patterns during adolescence correlate with adverse health outcomes such as poor cardiometabolic health and risk for osteoporosis, but the genetic mechanisms mediating differences in growth trajectories remain largely unknown. Longitudinal modeling using SuperImposition by Translation and Rotation (SITAR) breaks down complex growth trajectories into three components, “size”, “timing”, and “velocity.” We utilize these parameters as phenotypes for input into genome-wide association studies (GWAS), to better understand the genetic determinants of increase in bone mineral density at distinct skeletal sites and height growth.

Biog

Dr. Diana Cousminer is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. She received her PhD in Medical Genetics from the University of Helsinki and the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland. Dr. Cousminer’s work focuses on the genetics of early life traits, in particular the timing of puberty and pubertal growth, and how these traits are linked to later life health outcomes such as diabetes, cardiometabolic health, and osteoporosis.