Laboratory of Genomic Instability and Cardiopulmonary Outcomes

Chronic lung and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are consistently among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. There is limited understanding of the pathobiological mechanisms underlying how chemical compounds in the air and everyday consumer products influence lung disease and CVD onset. To address these knowledge gaps, Dr. Wong leads epidemiologic studies to understand how these exposures -originating in the home, community, and workplace- influence the risk of chronic lung diseases and CVDs through pathways involving changes to our DNA. Dr. Wong is focused on identifying novel omics biomarkers that capture in unison environmental exposures, disease risk, and genomic instability. These candidate biomarkers include somatic chromosomal mosaicisms, DNA methylation, Alu retroelement insertions, telomere length, and others, which can be directly measured in easily accessible biospecimens or statistically predicted using advanced algorithms.

To gain etiologic and mechanistic insight, his dry laboratory uses cutting-edge multiomic methods in observational mega cohorts, as well as repeated-measures, case-control, and cross-sectional studies in the United States. Dr. Wong’s ultimate scientific goal is to support chronic disease prevention efforts to reduce morbidity and mortality, by aiding in the identification of high-risk groups that might benefit from early targeted intervention.