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PPM2-0226-170020
Project Information

Proposal Number:  PPM2-0226-170020

Program Cycle

: PPM 02

Submitting Institution Name

: Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar

 

Project Status

Award Active

Start Date

15/12/2017

Lead Investigator

Dr. Noha Yousri

Project Duration

3 Year(s)

End Date

30/06/2021

Submission Type

New

Proposal Title

Qatar Epigenome: Profiling of Epigenetic modifications and identification of Epigenome Wide predictors of Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity in Qataris from the QGP pilot study.

Project Summary

Proposal Description:

Epigenetics have long been known for their role in understanding the pathology of diseases, where both genetics and epigenetics are used to decipher the missing heritability. T2D and obesity are prevalent metabolic diseases/disorders in the Qatari population, and where genetics can only explain a small percent of the missing heritability for those phenotypes. Thus, several studies have investigated Epigenome Wide associations with T2D and linked those findings with genetic variants associated with the phenotype. BMI has also been investigated for epigenetic biomarkers and found to be associated with numerous epigenetic loci. Previous studies have only included 123 individuals from the Qatari population and discovered one significant methylation site associated with T2D and few others with BMI. This study will profile DNA methylation sites for 1000 samples (850,000 sites per sample) from the Qatar Genome samples which are already Whole Genome Sequenced. The DNA of the 1000 samples will be obtained from Qatar Bio-Bank, and ~50% of the samples will be selected to be T2D. BMI information will also be requested for all 1000 samples, and groups of obese, overweight and normal BMI samples will be included. The main objectives are A) Profiling epigenomics data for 1000 Qataris from the QGP, B) Identifying Epigenome Wide Associations (EWAS) with T2D and obesity (BMI) separately, to discover the epigenetic markers that associate with those phenotypes, and find genetic variants from WGS that affect the identified associations, C) Identifying T2D and obesity EWAS loci that gain power from meta-analysis with cohorts of different ethnicities (5000 samples (140 samples with T2D) from "Generation Scotland" study), and D) Investigate the efficiency of using the identified markers in each of T2D or obesity for predicting the phenotype. The main outcomes of the project will be A) Epigenomics profiles of 1000 Qataris that will be available for future studies that want to link other omics with epigenetic modifications, B) the identified epigenetic markers associated with T2D and obesity, and C) statistical results indicating the strength of those markers in predicting or diagnosing the phenotypes. The results will be disseminated by publishing in international journals and presentation in conferences. Epigenomics data fro 1000 Qataris and an EWAS pipeline will be available for future collaborations. This is the first time for epigenomic profiling of a large number of Qataris that is used for EWAS on T2D or obesity and for meta-analysis in this population.

Research Area Keywords:

Epigenomics; Epigenome Wide Association Studies; Genome Wide Association Studies; Type 2 Diabetes; Obesity/BMI

Research Type

Translational Research / Experimental Development

Research AreaSub Research AreaSub SpecialityPrimarySecondary
3. Medical and Health Sciences
3.1 Basic Medicine
Human Genetics
Yes
No
3. Medical and Health Sciences
3.2 Clinical Medicine
Endocrinology and Metabolism (Including Diabetes, Hormones)
No
Yes
Project Summary
InstitutionCountryInstitution Role
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
Qatar
Submitting Institution
University of Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Collaborative Institution
Hamad Bin Khalifa University
Qatar
Collaborative Institution
Personnel
RoleNameAffiliation
Lead PI
Dr. Noha Yousri
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
PI
Prof. Steven Hunt
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
PI
Prof. Omar Albagha
Hamad Bin Khalifa University
PI
Dr. Kathryn Evans
University of Edinburgh
PI
Prof. Andrew McIntosh
University of Edinburgh