Many autoimmune diseases are characterized by the presence of autoantibodies. These may be present long before disease starts, but what triggers the transition from autoimmunity (the presence of the antibodies) to disease is unknown, but is likely to include both environmental exposures and genetic susceptibility. What are the risk factors for the transition to disease? Are these modifiable? In which patients is the risk... more »

Aggressive periodontitis (AgP) is a severe type of periodontal disease (PD) that affects younger patients (< 30 years), with the highest prevalence in populations of African descent. Features include bone loss around teeth, familial aggregation, and altered neutrophil function. Unraveling the genetic architecture of AgP may help us understand the molecular mechanisms underlying AgP and chronic PD, and could identify... more »

Tobacco and alcohol use and persistent oral infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) are risk factors for oral cancer (OC) and oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). CDC estimates that approximately 60% of OPC cases in the United States are caused by HPV types 16/18. Previous studies (GWAS) suggest genetic factors are associated with an increased risk of developing HPV-related OPCs. Assessing genetic factors in a large population... more »

Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), is a group of conditions that cause pain and dysfunction in the jaw joint and muscles that control jaw movement. The 2014 US National Health Interview Survey reported 4.6% of adults reported pain in the face or jaw in the previous 3 months. TMD often overlaps with other pain disorders, including headache, low back pain, and chronic widespread pain. Identification of genes and gene... more »

Dental caries affects 90% of US adults and is more severe in underserved populations. Caries is caused by a complex biofilm and severity is influenced by dietary intake of sugars. Recent studies have identified caries-susceptibility alleles, some of which may be modified by fluoride use. However, more studies are needed in diverse populations. Understanding genetic factors influencing dental caries may improve caries... more »

The top four causes of deaths in the U.S. are diet related and many other troublesome diseases are affected by diet, It will be important therefore to capture nutritional status, food environment, and repeated 24h (ASA24s) dietary intakes along with measures that can validate dietary measures of public policy interest including added sugar, energy, protein, sodium, iron, vitamins, dietary supplements, potassium, fruits... more »

Would like to look at dietary features and compare with incidence of hypertension, diabetes, cancer and alzheimers.

What oil (s) people use?

Whether they avoid gluten?

Whether they eat moderate red meat?

Whether they eat low-fat or fat-free foods?

Whether they eat cold breakfast cereal?

How often they eat nitrate containing meats (bacon, salami, etc.)?

Are there any proven dietary correlations with Alzheimer's?

The goals of the study would be to consider factors that might contribute to longevity and rank their importance based on how well they correlate with individuals who live over a target age such as 90 compared with individuals who died at a younger age. Examples of factors to consider include individual genetic variations, environment, behavior, diet, and temperament.

Economic and sociological drivers impact access to individualized specialty health care. This study would examine the role of age (pediatric, geriatric), gender, or ethnicity specialty expertise on patient outcomes. Demographic information would be combined with survey information about access to specialty medical care expertise. Outcomes would be determined by PPI and EHR, to include admissions, length of stay, disability... more »

Use of EHRs in interventional trials is challenging due to lack of standardization and harmonization. There is a need to incorporate common data elements (developmental data, symptoms), establish linkages (event flags; real-time links for diagnosis, treatment and adherence), enhance interoperability across vendor systems, standardize adverse event capture, develop identification for phenotypes or rare diseases, and streamline... more »

Screen school-age children for ADHD by testing, if feasible, or by electronic health record search. Perform WGS on children as the preferred strategy to identify new genetic associations and confirm previously reported genetic associations. If WGS is not possible, develop a marker panel and test children who have ADHD for known or suspected genetic factors. Follow children by periodic medical evaluations and school performance... more »

This study will focus on women who are pregnant when they enroll, or become pregnant during the study, in order to follow their infants from birth to 8 years of age to determine trajectories of growth over time and identify genomic and epigenomic factors related to development of obesity. Critical to obtaining this information will be the review of Electronic Health Records of providers who have the correct measuring... more »

This study will focus on the entire cohort (infant-19 y/o) to provide health and behavior outcomes associated with sleep characteristics, including environmental and demographic factors. This information will help better define the development of sleep, help develop more precise strategies to target children with sleep characteristics predictive of poor health outcomes, and develop more precise strategies for children... more »

This study will focus on a subsample of all pregnant women and follow them throughout pregnancy to obtain serial assessments and measurements, including laboratory microbiologic evaluation testing of oral, skin and vaginal specimens. Follow-up would end at delivery of the infant; serial pregnancies would be eligible to re-enroll. Assessments and measures would be used along with health outcomes to determine associations... more »

Follow a subsample of all infants and children (< 3 years of age) throughout childhood to obtain the following serial assessments: blood tests, medication history, neonatal, infant and childhood health outcomes; physical measurements and laboratory microbiologic evaluations of oral, skin and vaginal specimens. Assessments and measures would be used along with health outcomes to determine associations and develop predictive... more »