Veronique Vitart Research Group (Affiliate)

Section: Disease Mechanisms

Research in a Nutshell 

My overall interest is in using genetics to gain insight into biology. A very successful approach I am contributing to is to decipher the genetic basis of natural variation in quantitative traits (QTs) associated with diseases and conditions, as QTs are more amenable to analysis than the disease as a whole. Although the contribution of the associated genetic variants into variation of the studied trait is generally small, the findings can illuminate or highlight novel biological pathways and functions. I focus my research on two very different types of exemplar traits:

1. Morphologic : eye biometric traits pertaining to the development of myopia and hyperopia. The quantitative genetics approach is complemented by seeking disease risk variants, segregating within families or enriched in disease cohorts. In collaboration with researchers at Moorfield’s Eye Hospital, London and others, we performed a genome-wide association study that identifies genetic risk underlying primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), and are extending this work using the UK Biobank resource.
2. Metabolic : urate levels. A high level of serum urate is a primary causal factor in the development of gout, a common rheumatic disease, and is associated with the cluster of metabolic syndrome components (central obesity, hypertension, high triglycerides &  LDL-cholesterol levels, hyperglycaemia).

Eye research

Quantitative Trait Loci Research