Endocrine Disease

Many important diseases are influenced by changes in the subtle balance of hormones that make up the endocrine system. The Endocrine Disease group investigates the genetic basis for these diseases as well as a range of measurable traits associated with higher disease risks.

The Endocrine Disease group has several long-standing research efforts. Among them are collaborations with Leif Groop from Lund University to study diabetes and obesity; with Brian Henderson from the University of Southern California to study hormone-dependent cancers, including those of the breast and prostate; and with Larry Kolonel from the University of Hawaii to study cardiovascular traits among members of the Framingham Heart Study.

The group applies modern genomic methods to identify disease-related gene variants, whose frequencies are compared in both healthy individuals and patients. Cross-species methods are also employed; for example, an ongoing collaboration among the Broad Institute, Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Massachusetts General Hospital combines genomic data from humans, worms, and mice to identify genomic pathways for diabetes and obesity.