Frederik Filip Vinggaard Stæger - Postdoctoral Fellowship 2025
Project summary:
First Cardiovascular GWAS in Greenland
We hypothesise that the genetic contribution to cardiovascular disease (CVD) is distributed differently in the Greenlandic population compared to the European. There might exist undiscovered genetic variants that are common and have a large effect on CVD in Greenland. We will investigate this by performing the first genome-wide association studies for CVD in the Greenlandic population. To support the findings, we will carry out gene-based replication and causal inference in two large European cohorts.
Project Title
First Cardiovascular GWAS in Greenland
Background
The genetic architecture of disease differs between populations. Geneticstudies of CVD have mainly been carried out with participants of European or Asian genetic ancestry and thus, little is known about the genetic contribution in other populations. One of these underrepresented populations is the Greenlandic. Previous studies have shown a larger proportion of common variants in the Greenlandic population as well as the existence of arctic-specific variants. This constitutes an untapped potential for precision medicine.
Aim
The overall aim of the project is to investigate the genetic architecture of CVD in Greenland. We aim to identify novel genetic variants associated with CVD and also evaluate the population impact of known CVD variants in Greenland. Moreover, we aim to quantify CVD risk based on measured and genetically predicted endophenotypes such as LDL-cholesterol. Finally, we aim to replicate the findings in the European population, using gene-based association tests.
Methods
We will be working with data from approximately 6000 participants from the Greenlandic Public Health Surveys. These surveys are population-based with participants selected by age and location representing all parts of Greenland with deep, highly curated phenotypes and multi-omics data. The population is genetically structured which will confound survival analysis. To accommodate this, we will use a mixed model with an unstructured covariance matrix.
Frederik Filip Vinggaard Stæger
- MSc and PhD
- Rigshospitalet - Copenhagen University Hospital, Department of Cardiology, Denmark
Main supervisor:
Professor Henning Bundgaard, Department of Cardiology, Rigshospitalet - Copenhagen University Hospital.
Collaborators:
Marit Eika Jørgensen. Professor, MD, PhD. Steno Diabetes Center, Greenland
Professor Torben Hansen, Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen