Caroline Hayward (Affiliate)

Section: Biomedical Genomics

Research in a Nutshell 

My core research interest is in the study of the genetics of quantitative traits (QTs) and their relationship to health and disease. I study the genetics of populations from Croatia and Scotland, in which a wide range of data was collected from medical examinations, questionnaires and biochemical assays.  Plasma, serum and urine have been stored from each cohort participant, allowing additional lab-based measures to be derived, and new hypotheses to be tested. Recent advances in Electronic Health Record linkage has increased the availability of clinical measures and enables the longitudinal follow-up of participants which can then be associated with genetic factors. 

I have a major interest in kidney-related traits and lead a European Consortium of Urinary Traits as well as being a participating member of the Chronic Kidney Disease Genetic consortium (CKDGen).

The diversity of phenotypes measured in these cohorts has enabled my research to cover quantitative traits relevant to a very broad spectrum of medically relevant conditions including lung function, pain, heart disease and the consequences of germline viral integration.

Research Programme

Contact

caroline.hayward@ed.ac.uk

Collaborations

• Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh: Professor Malcolm Dunlop, Dr Toby Hurd, Professor Andrew Jackson, Professor David Porteous, Professor Colin Semple, Professor Martin Taylor, Dr Pippa Thomson, Professor Wendy Bickmore.
• University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK: Professor Harry Campbell, Professor Ian Deary, Professor Andrew McIntosh, Professor Igor Rudan,  Professor Brian Walker, Professor Sarah Wild
• University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK Professor Sandosh Padmanabhan and Professor Christian Delles (Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences); Professor Ruth Jarrett (Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation)
• University of Dundee, Dundee, UK Professor Colin Palmer, Professor Blair Smith (School of Medicine).
• University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen UK Dr Lynne Hocking (Institute of Medical Sciences)
• University of Split, Croatia, Dr Ozren Polasek and Dr Ivana Kolcic  (Public Health Sciences)
• University of Zagreb, Croatia Professor Gordan Lauc (Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry)
• Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia, Dr Branca Janicijevic, Dr Nina Smolej-Narancic
• University of Zurich, Switzerland, Professor Olivier Devuyst
• University of Leicester, Leicester, UK, Professor Martin Tobin (Department of Health Sciences)
• University of Lausanne, Switzerland, Professor Murielle Bochud (CHUV) Dr Zoltan Kutalik (Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics)

Partners and Funders

• CROATIA Cohorts
• Generation Scotland
• VIKING Health Study