Mete Civelek, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Center for Public Health Genomics
University of Virginia

Primary Research:

The goal of our laboratory is to understand the genetic mechanisms that lead to increased susceptibility to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The interactions among hundreds of genes and gene networks along with environmental factors such as diet affect our health status. We use systems genetics to uncover this complexity. We employ a range of experimental and computational methods to quantitate and integrate intermediate phenotypes, such as transcript, protein or metabolite levels in human and mouse populations. We also test our predictions using standard biochemistry and molecular biology approaches in cell cultures and animal models. Our results provide insights into both the molecular underpinnings of complex traits and the understanding of common, complex diseases.

Lab Web Site: http://civeleklab.org/

Members of the laboratory:
Ingrid Braenne, Senior Scientist
Redouane Aherrahrou, Postdoctoral Fellow
Warren Anderson, Postdoctoral Fellow
Jameson Hinkle, Laboratory Manager

Recent Publications:

• Civelek M., Wu Y., Pan C., Raulerson C.K., Ko A., He A., Tilford C., Saleem N.K., Stancakova A., Scott L.J., Fuchsberger C., Stringham H.M., Jackson A.U., Narisu N., Chines P.S., Small K.S., Kuusisto J., Parks B.W., Pajukanta P., Kirchgessner T., Collins F.S., Gargalovic P.S., Boehnke M., Laakso M., Mohlke K.L., Lusis A.J. Genetic Regulation of Adipose Gene Expression and Cardio-Metabolic Traits. Am J Hum Genet. 2017;100(3):428-43.
• Romay M.C., Che N., Becker S.N., Pouldar D., Hagopian R., Xiao X., Lusis A.J., Berliner J.A., Civelek M. Regulation of NF-kappaB signaling by oxidized glycerophospholipid and IL-1beta induced miRs-21-3p and -27a-5p in human aortic endothelial cells. J Lipid Res. 2015;56(1):38-50.
• Braenne I., Civelek M., Vilne B., Di Narzo A., Johnson A.D., Zhao Y., Reiz B., Codoni V., Webb T.R., Foroughi Asl H., Hamby S.E., Zeng L., Tregouet D.A., Hao K., Topol E.J., Schadt E.E., Yang X., Samani N.J., Bjorkegren J.L., Erdmann J., Schunkert H., Lusis A.J., Leducq Consortium C.A.D.G.d. Prediction of Causal Candidate Genes in Coronary Artery Disease Loci. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2015;35(10):2207-17.
• Civelek M., Lusis A.J. Systems genetics approaches to understand complex traits. Nat Rev Genet. 2014;15(1):34-48.

Collaborative Relationships:
Markku Laakso (University of Eastern Finland)
Kerrin Small (University College London)
Yun Fang (University of Chicago)
Karen Mohlke (University of North Carolina)
Heribert Schunkert (Technical University of Munich)
David Tregouet (Sorbonne-Universités)
Jeanette Erdmann (University of Luebeck)