Kathryn L Lunetta, PhD
Professor
Boston University School of Public Health
Biostatistics

PhD, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
MS, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
BA, Grinnell College

Pronouns: she/her/hers



Kathryn L. Lunetta, Ph.D. is a Professor of Biostatistics and a statistical geneticist with more than 20 years of experience in statistics and genetics research. She has extensive experience with the design and analysis of genome- wide association studies and sequencing studies and collaborate on several large, national and international genetic epidemiology studies at Boston University and with the Framingham Heart study. Her methodological research focuses on statistical problems and study design and analysis issues in human genetics, particularly in the mapping of complex genetic diseases. Her collaborative work spans several fields, including the genetics of atrial fibrillation and related phenotypes, the genetics of healthy aging and reproduction, and Alzheimer disease. She is a member of the CHARGE (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research) consortium and participates on the Steering and Analysis committees, and also a TOPMed investigator and analysis committee member. She is senior/primary statistician on several Alzheimer Disease related projects and for the Framingham Heart Study Atrial Fibrillation working groups, where she advises on methodology and long-term goals and provide day- to-day supervision of analyses. She is multi-PI of a Framingham Immune cell and brain aging project that seeks to identify immune cell and inflammatory biomarkers related to cognitive aging.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

To improve DEIJ in admissions, I have worked with others to revise our admissions rubrics to be more holistic, with the goal of increasing the diversity of our student body.
In my teaching, I have worked to find new genetic data sets that are less European ancestry-centric, and revised language to reflect current/changing best practices. In my research, I have mentored one of my students to focus her research on methods to ameliorate the effects of lack of diverse representation in genetic studies on underrepresented populations through improved statistical methods, while at the same time advocating for the improved representation that is of critical importance.

Investigator
Framingham Heart Study


Member
Boston University
Genome Science Institute


Member
Boston University
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research




Identification of Common Genetic Variants for Atrial Fibrillation and PR Interval
04/01/2022 - 03/31/2027 (Multi-PI)
PI: Kathryn L Lunetta, PhD
The General Hospital Corporation d/b/a Massachusetts General Hospital NIH NHLBI
5R01HL092577-16

BUSPH Interdisciplinary Training Program for Biostatisticians
07/01/2021 - 06/30/2026 (Multi-PI)
PI: Kathryn L Lunetta, PhD
NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences
5T32GM140972-04

Using Electrocardiogram Genetics to Inform Arrhythmia Risk
01/20/2022 - 12/31/2025 (Subcontract PI)
The General Hospital Corporation d/b/a Massachusetts General Hospital NIH NHLBI
5R01HL157635-03

CHARGE consortium: omics discovery for CVD and aging phenotypes
08/01/2022 - 06/30/2025 (Subcontract PI)
University of Washington NIH NHLBI
5R01HL105756-13

Role of peripheral immune cells in cognitive aging: The Framingham Offspring Study
04/15/2020 - 03/31/2025 (Multi-PI)
PI: Kathryn L Lunetta, PhD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
5R01AG067457-05

Winter 2018 CENTER strategically focused Atrial Fibrillation Research Network
07/01/2018 - 06/30/2024 (Multi-PI)
PI: Kathryn L Lunetta, PhD
American Heart Association


Novel Statistical Methods for Development of Polygenic Scores in Multi-Ancestry Cohorts
05/01/2022 - 04/30/2024 (Key Person / Mentor)
NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
5F31HL163952-02

Identification of Common Genetic Variants for Atrial Fibrillation and PR Interval
04/01/2018 - 03/31/2023 (Multi-PI)
PI: Kathryn L Lunetta, PhD
The General Hospital Corporation d/b/a Massachusetts General Hospital NIH NHLBI
5R01HL092577-13

CHARGE (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research) Consortium: Gene discovery for CVD and aging phenotypes
07/15/2018 - 07/31/2022 (Subcontract PI)
University of Washington NIH NHLBI
5R01HL105756-10

Genetics and Epigenetics of Atrial Fibrillation
07/01/2018 - 06/30/2022 (Subcontract PI)
The General Hospital Corporation d/b/a Massachusetts General Hospital American Heart Assoc


Showing 10 of 17 results. Show All Results


Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs
2024 BUSPH Interdisciplinary Training Program for Biostatisticians 5T32GM140972-04
2024 Role of Peripheral Immune Cells in Cognitive Aging: The Framingham Offspring Study 5R01AG067457-05
2024 IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON GENETIC VARIANTS FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION AND PR INTERVAL 5R01HL092577-16
2023 BUSPH Interdisciplinary Training Program for Biostatisticians 5T32GM140972-03
2023 Role of Peripheral Immune Cells in Cognitive Aging: The Framingham Offspring Study 5R01AG067457-04
2023 IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON GENETIC VARIANTS FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION AND PR INTERVAL 5R01HL092577-15
2022 BUSPH Interdisciplinary Training Program for Biostatisticians 5T32GM140972-02
2022 Role of Peripheral Immune Cells in Cognitive Aging: The Framingham Offspring Study 5R01AG067457-03
2022 IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON GENETIC VARIANTS FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION AND PR INTERVAL 2R01HL092577-14
2021 BUSPH Interdisciplinary Training Program for Biostatisticians 1T32GM140972-01
Showing 10 of 28 results. Show All Results

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

iCite Analysis       Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

  1. Han X, Zhang Y, Petrosky JN, Bald S, Sherva RM, Labadorf A, Cherry JD, Chung J, Farrell K, Abdolmohammadi B, Durape S, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Farrell JJ, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Dwyer B, Daneshvar DH, Dams-O'Connor K, Jun GR, Lunetta KL, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Cantu RC, Shenton ME, Cummings JL, Reiman EM, Stern RA, Alosco ML, Tripodis Y, Farrer LA, Stein TD, Crary JF, McKee AC, Mez J. A structural haplotype in the 17q21.31 MAPT region is associated with increased risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy endophenotypes. Cell Rep Med. 2025 May 20; 6(5):102084.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40239644
      Article has an altmetric score of 12
  2. Cao Y, Salvati LR, Chen J, Ragab A, Mez J, Satizabal CL, Alosco ML, Fang Y, Qiu WQ, Lunetta KL, Murabito JM, Doyle MF. The Association of Circulating Immune Cells with Cognitive Function, Brain Imaging, and Incident all-cause and Alzheimer's Dementia: The Framingham Offspring Study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2025 Apr 01.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40168089
      Article has an altmetric score of 1
  3. Choi SH, Jurgens SJ, Xiao L, Hill MC, Haggerty CM, Sveinbjörnsson G, Morrill VN, Marston NA, Weng LC, Pirruccello JP, Arnar DO, Gudbjartsson DF, Mantineo H, von Falkenhausen AS, Natale A, Tveit A, Geelhoed B, Roselli C, Van Wagoner DR, Darbar D, Haase D, Soliman EZ, Davogustto GE, Jun G, Calkins H, Anderson JL, Brody JA, Halford JL, Barnard J, Hokanson JE, Smith JD, Bis JC, Young K, Johnson LSB, Risch L, Gula LJ, Kwee LC, Chaffin MD, Kühne M, Preuss M, Gupta N, Nafissi NA, Smith NL, Nilsson PM, van der Harst P, Wells QS, Judy RL, Schnabel RB, Johnson R, Smit RAJ, Gabriel S, Knight S, Furukawa T, Blackwell TW, Nauffal V, Wang X, Min YI, Yoneda ZT, Laksman ZWM, Bezzina CR, Alonso A, Psaty BM, Albert CM, Arking DE, Roden DM, Chasman DI, Rader DJ, Conen D, McManus DD, Fatkin D, Benjamin EJ, Boerwinkle E, Marcus GM, Christophersen IE, Smith JG, Roberts JD, Raffield LM, Shoemaker MB, Cho MH, Cutler MJ, Rienstra M, Chung MK, S Olesen M, Sinner MF, Sotoodehnia N, Kirchhof P, Loos RJF, Nazarian S, Mohanty S, Damrauer SM, Kaab S, Heckbert SR, Redline S, Shah SH, Tanaka T, Ebana Y, Holm H, Stefansson K, Ruff CT, Sabatine MS, Lunetta KL, Lubitz SA, Ellinor PT. Sequencing in over 50,000 cases identifies coding and structural variation underlying atrial fibrillation risk. Nat Genet. 2025 Mar; 57(3):548-562.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40050430; DOI: 10.1038/s41588-025-02074-9;
      Article has an altmetric score of 154
  4. Roselli C, Surakka I, Olesen MS, Sveinbjornsson G, Marston NA, Choi SH, Holm H, Chaffin M, Gudbjartsson D, Hill MC, Aegisdottir H, Albert CM, Alonso A, Anderson CD, Arking DE, Arnar DO, Barnard J, Benjamin EJ, Braunwald E, Brumpton B, Campbell A, Chami N, Chasman DI, Cho K, Choi EK, Christophersen IE, Chung MK, Conen D, Crijns HJ, Cutler MJ, Czuba T, Damrauer SM, Dichgans M, Dörr M, Dudink E, Duong T, Erikstrup C, Esko T, Fatkin D, Faul JD, Ferreira M, Freitag DF, Ganesh SK, Gaziano JM, Geelhoed B, Ghouse J, Gieger C, Giulianini F, Graham SE, Gudnason V, Guo X, Haggerty C, Hayward C, Heckbert SR, Hveem K, Ito K, Johnson R, Jukema JW, Jurgens SJ, Kääb S, Kane JP, Kany S, Kardia SLR, Kavousi M, Khurshid S, Kamanu FK, Kirchhof P, Kleber ME, Knight S, Komuro I, Krieger JE, Launer LJ, Li D, Lin H, Lin HJ, Loos RJF, Lotta L, Lubitz SA, Lunetta KL, Macfarlane PW, Magnusson PKE, Malik R, Mantineo H, Marcus GM, März W, McManus DD, Melander O, Melloni GEM, Meyre PB, Miyazawa K, Mohanty S, Monfort LM, Müller-Nurasyid M, Nafissi NA, Natale A, Nazarian S, Ostrowski SR, Pak HN, Pang S, Pedersen OB, Pedersen NL, Pereira AC, Pirruccello JP, Preuss M, Psaty BM, Pullinger CR, Rader DJ, Rämö JT, Ridker PM, Rienstra M, Risch L, Roden DM, Rotter JI, Sabatine MS, Schunkert H, Shah SH, Shim J, Shoemaker MB, Simonson B, Sinner MF, Smit RAJ, Smith JA, Smith NL, Smith JG, Soliman EZ, Sørensen E, Sotoodehnia N, Strbian D, Stricker BH, Teder-Laving M, Sun YV, Thériault S, Thorolfsdottir RB, Thorsteinsdottir U, Tveit A, van der Harst P, van Meurs J, Wang B, Weiss S, Wells QS, Weng LC, Wilson PW, Xiao L, Yang PS, Yao J, Yoneda ZT, Zeller T, Zeng L, Zhao W, Zhou X, Zöllner S, Ruff CT, Bundgaard H, Willer C, Stefansson K, Ellinor PT. Meta-analysis of genome-wide associations and polygenic risk prediction for atrial fibrillation in more than 180,000 cases. Nat Genet. 2025 Mar; 57(3):539-547.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40050429; DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-02072-3;
      Article has an altmetric score of 79
  5. Kang M, Ang TFA, Devine SA, Sherva R, Mukherjee S, Trittschuh EH, Gibbons LE, Scollard P, Lee M, Choi SE, Klinedinst B, Nakano C, Dumitrescu LC, Hohman TJ, Cuccaro ML, Saykin AJ, Kukull WA, Bennett DA, Wang LS, Mayeux RP, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA, Schellenberg GD, Crane PK, Au R, Lunetta KL, Mez J, Farrer LA. Genome-wide pleiotropy analysis of longitudinal blood pressure and harmonized cognitive performance measures. medRxiv. 2025 Feb 13.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39990565; PMCID: PMC11844603; DOI: 10.1101/2025.02.11.25322014;
      Article has an altmetric score of 2
  6. Tack RWP, Tan BYQ, Senff JR, Prapiadou S, Kimball TN, Khurshid S, Ashburner JM, Jurgens SJ, Singh SD, Weng LC, Gunn S, Roselli C, Lunetta KL, Benjamin EJ, Ellinor PT, Rosand J, Mayerhofer E, Lubitz SA, Anderson CD. Predicting Atrial Fibrillation After Stroke by Combining Polygenic Risk Scores and Clinical Features. Stroke. 2025 Apr; 56(4):878-886.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39882610; PMCID: PMC11932782; DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.124.050123;
      Article has an altmetric score of 2
  7. Sheehy S, Friedman D, Liu C, Lunetta KL, Zirpoli G, Palmer JR. Association between Apolipoprotein L1 genetic variants and risk of preeclampsia and preterm birth among U.S. Black women. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol X. 2025 Mar; 25:100365.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39895997; PMCID: PMC11783058; DOI: 10.1016/j.eurox.2025.100365;
     
  8. Weng LC, Rämö JT, Jurgens SJ, Khurshid S, Chaffin M, Hall AW, Morrill VN, Wang X, Nauffal V, Sun YV, Beer D, Lee S, Nadkarni GN, Duong T, Wang B, Czuba T, Austin TR, Yoneda ZT, Friedman DJ, Clayton A, Hyman MC, Judy RL, Skanes AC, Orland KM, Treu TM, Oetjens MT, Alonso A, Soliman EZ, Lin H, Lunetta KL, van der Pals J, Issa TZ, Nafissi NA, May HT, Leong-Sit P, Roselli C, Choi SH, Khan HR, Knight S, Karlsson Linnér R, Bezzina CR, Ripatti S, Heckbert SR, Gaziano JM, Loos RJF, Psaty BM, Smith JG, Benjamin EJ, Arking DE, Rader DJ, Shah SH, Roden DM, Damrauer SM, Eckhardt LL, Roberts JD, Cutler MJ, Shoemaker MB, Haggerty CM, Cho K, Palotie A, Wilson PWF, Ellinor PT, Lubitz SA. The impact of common and rare genetic variants on bradyarrhythmia development. Nat Genet. 2025 Jan; 57(1):53-64.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39747593; PMCID: PMC11735381; DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01978-2;
      Article has an altmetric score of 21
  9. Chen J, Murabito JM, Lunetta KL. ONDSA: a testing framework based on Gaussian graphical models for differential and similarity analysis of multiple omics networks. Brief Bioinform. 2024 Nov 22; 26(1).View Related Profiles. PMID: 39581869; PMCID: PMC11586129; DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbae610;
     
  10. Tong T, Zhu C, Farrell JJ, Khurshid Z, Martin ER, Pericak-Vance MA, Wang LS, Bush WS, Schellenberg GD, Haines JL, Qiu WQ, Lunetta KL, Farrer LA, Zhang X. Blood-derived mitochondrial DNA copy number is associated with Alzheimer disease, Alzheimer-related biomarkers and serum metabolites. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2024 Oct 23; 16(1):234.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39444005; PMCID: PMC11515778; DOI: 10.1186/s13195-024-01601-w;
      Article has an altmetric score of 10
Showing 10 of 332 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 332 publications over 33 distinct years, with a maximum of 27 publications in 2017

YearPublications
19911
19922
19941
19953
19963
19972
19982
19993
20005
20015
20021
20041
20054
20062
20079
20089
200911
201012
201116
201214
201317
201418
201517
201622
201727
201816
201919
20209
202119
202218
202319
202417
20258

In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

Statistical genetics
Genetic Epidemiology
Healthy Aging
Atrial Fibrillation
Alzheimer's Disease
Contact for Mentoring:

801 Massachusetts Ave Crosstown Center
Boston MA 02118
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