Genetic Risk and Gene Regulation Across Changing Environments, Francesca Luca

Human traits result from a complex interaction between Genotypes and Environmental exposures (GxE). Personal and global changes in environmental exposures can have profound effects on human health. Understanding human ability to respond to these environmental changes is key to comprehending the plasticity of human phenotypes and the factors that push this response toward pathological outcomes. Studies from my group and others have shown that environmental effects on complex traits are mediated by changes in gene expression and other gene regulatory mechanisms. I will provide a perspective on GxE for gene regulation and their impact on genetic risk for disease. We have identified GxE across different types of environments, including shifts in life-style, exposures to environmental contaminants and complex psychosocial experiences. These results highlight the need for a paradigm shift that jointly accounts for genetic and environmental risk in human health and phenotype predictions.