Lindsay Farrer, PhD Hear my name
Boston University Distinguished Professor of Genetics
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Medicine
Biomedical Genetics

PhD, Indiana University School of Medicine
BA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill



Dr. Lindsay Farrer is a medical geneticist at Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health where he is the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine Distinguished Professor of Genetics, Chief of Biomedical Genetics, and a Professor of Medicine, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics. Dr. Farrer is a graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, received his Ph.D. from the Indiana University School of Medicine, and gained additional training in genetic epidemiology at Yale University. He holds adjunct faculty positions at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Bedford, Massachusetts. He is a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics. Dr. Farrer teaches several courses in human genetics and addiction science at Boston University, directs the BU Transformative Training Program in Addiction Science (TTPAS) that features transdisciplinary training for students enrolled in PhD programs across the Medical and Charles River campuses, directs Boston University’s Molecular Genetics Core Facility which offers DNA genotyping and sequencing services to investigators at Boston University and elsewhere, and provides genetic counseling and testing to patients with a variety of inherited conditions.

Dr. Farrer’s research has lead to more than 450 publications on genetic risk factors for several familial neurodegenerative and other chronic diseases. In collaboration with other laboratories worldwide, his group has localized genes causing a variety of rare and common disorders, most notably Alzheimer disease (AD), substance use disorders (SUDs), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Wilson disease, Machado-Joseph disease, Waardenburg syndrome, hypertension, sensorineural deafness, and osteoarthritis. His group identified a functional genetic variant in the complement factor H gene which accounts for more than 30% of the attributable risk for AMD, the leading cause of progressive vision loss and blindness in the elderly. In collaboration with other researchers, Dr. Farrer is conducting genome wide association studies (GWAS) and whole genome/exome sequencing studies for several disorders including AD, SUDs (cocaine, opiates, nicotine, alcohol and cannabis), and AMD. Dr. Farrer’s team is also developing methods for locating genes that influence the natural history of complex diseases and pharmacogenetic response.

Under Dr. Farrer’s leadership, the MIRAGE Project, a multi-center study of AD funded since 1991 by the National Institute on Aging, has made several important contributions to our understanding of the interactions between genetic and environmental factors for the disorder. This study has a particular emphasis on the genetics of AD in African Americans. MIRAGE was the first study to demonstrate that genetic factors have a major role in the development of AD and that APOE e4 is more weakly associated with disease in men and persons older than 75 years. Dr. Farrer co-directed the international effort which demonstrated that SORL1 is genetically and functionally associated with AD, thus implicating intracellular protein trafficking as integral pathway in AD. His laboratory conducted genome wide association studies (GWAS) for AD in several populations including African Americans and an inbred Israeli-Arab community, and identified rare AD causal mutations in the AKAP9 gene which are specific to African Americans. Dr. Farrer serves on the Executive Committee of the national Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium and co-directs the data analysis effort for this large NIH-funded project. He is also a Principal Investigator of the national Alzheimer Disease Sequencing Project and a study to identify AD risk and protective variants in Koreans. in 2020, Dr. Farrer co-founded the Framingham Heart Study Brain Aging Program (FHS-BAP), an NIH-funded infrastructure program that continues surveillance of FHS participants for cognitive decline and dementia, conducts neuropsychological and brain MRI exams, houses the FHS brain tissue repository, and conducts several projects utilizing genetics, various omics, and wealth of phenotype data on FHS participants to develop predictive models, identify biomarkers and discern vascular and inflammatory processes leading to AD.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

My doctoral training in medical genetics introduced me to disorders whose risk and impact on families vary widely according to cultural, social and economic circumstances. This experience also convinced me that the impact of physical and mental disability is greatly influenced by access to treatment and support programs, as well as the family and community environment.

I have designed and led studies, and published many papers about the genetic basis of Alzheimer disease (AD), age-related macular degeneration, hypertension and sickle cell disease in marginalized populations. Many of these papers highlight the population genetic differences related to disease and the scientific and translational medicine benefits of trans-ethnic studies. My lab discovered two rare African-American specific variants in a novel gene that are associated with greatly elevated risk of AD in African Americans. Currently, I am the Principal Investigator (PI) of grants focused on AD genetics in African Americans and Koreans, respectively.

As PI of the Framingham Heart Study Brain Aging Program (FHS-BAP), my research team launched several initiatives to attract and train a diverse group of individuals, particularly those who are not well-represented in biomedical research, at the undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral and junior faculty levels. International symposia organized by the FHS-BAP emphasize DEIA issues including enrolling marginalized populations in research, the incorporation of social determinants of health in genetic and epidemiological studies, and female and non-White speakers.

As a mentor and Chief of a research section in which White male faculty are the minority, I have sought and promoted the advancement of female and non-White trainees, many of whom have advanced to successful careers in academia and private industry. Since 2007, I have served on Steering Committee of PhenX, a project funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute that is building a set of consensus standards for measures of phenotypes and exposures with particular emphasis on protocols that consider diversity and accessibility.

Section Chief
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Medicine
Biomedical Genetics

Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Medicine
Biomedical Genetics

Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Ophthalmology


Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Neurology


Professor
Boston University School of Public Health
Biostatistics


Professor
Boston University School of Public Health
Epidemiology


Investigator
Framingham Heart Study


Member
Boston University
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research


Member
Boston University
Genome Science Institute


Member
Boston University
Bioinformatics Graduate Program


Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences




Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
08/15/2021 - 06/30/2026 (Key Person)
PI: Ann C. McKee, MD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
5P30AG072978-02

Precision Monitoring and Assessment in the Framingham Study: Cognitive, MRI, Genetic and Biomarker Precursors of AD & Dementia
09/15/2020 - 05/31/2025 (Multi-PI)
PI: Lindsay Farrer, PhD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
5U19AG068753-03

Alzheimer Disease Genetic Architecture in African Americans
05/15/2020 - 04/30/2025 (PI)
NIH/National Institute on Aging
5R01AG048927-09

Genetic Studies of Alzheimer Disease in Koreans
09/15/2019 - 08/31/2024 (PI)
NIH/National Institute on Aging
5U01AG062602-04

Metabolomic Signatures for Disease Sub-classification and Target Prioritization in AMP-AD
01/21/2019 - 08/31/2023 (Subcontract PI)
Duke University NIH NIA
5U01AG061359-05

The Alzheimer Disease Sequencing Analysis Collaborative
09/30/2018 - 08/31/2023 (Subcontract PI)
Case Western Reserve University NIH NIA
5U01AG058654-05

Effects of Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy on Long-term Maternal and Child Outcomes
09/15/2018 - 06/30/2023 (Subcontract PI)
Trustees of Indiana University NIH NICHD
5R01HD096800-03

Genome Center for Alzheimer's Disease
04/15/2021 - 03/31/2023 (Subcontract PI)
The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania NIH NIA
5U54AG052427-07

Genome Center for Alzheimer's Disease (GCAD) - Core B
04/15/2021 - 03/31/2023 (Subcontract PI)
The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania NIH NIA
5U54AG052427-07

Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium
04/15/2020 - 03/31/2023 (Subcontract PI)
The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania NIH NIA
5U01AG032984-13

Showing 10 of 41 results. Show All Results


Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs
2023 Alzheimer Disease Genetic Architecture in African Americans 5R01AG048927-09
2022 Core G: Genetics and Molecular Profiling 5P30AG072978-02-9747
2022 Admin Core 5U19AG068753-03-8035
2022 Genomic, physiological, and environmental predictors of AD risk, resilience and resistance 5U19AG068753-03-8039
2022 Precision Monitoring and Assessment in the Framingham Study: Cognitive, MRI, Genetic and Biomarker Precursors of AD & Dementia 5U19AG068753-03
2022 Genetic Studies of Alzheimer Disease in Koreans 5U01AG062602-04
2022 The Alzheimer Disease Sequence Analysis Collaborative 5U01AG058654-05
2021 Core G: Genetics and Molecular Profiling 1P30AG072978-01-9747
2021 Precision Monitoring and Assessment in the Framingham Study: Cognitive, MRI, Genetic and Biomarker Precursors of AD & Dementia 3U19AG068753-02S1
2021 Precision Monitoring and Assessment in the Framingham Study: Cognitive, MRI, Genetic and Biomarker Precursors of AD & Dementia 3U19AG068753-02S2
Showing 10 of 74 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. Lee Y, Park JY, Lee JJ, Gim J, Do AR, Jo J, Park J, Kim K, Park K, Jin H, Choi KY, Kang S, Kim H, Kim S, Moon SH, Farrer LA, Lee KH, Won S. Heritability of cognitive abilities and regional brain structures in middle-aged to elderly East Asians. Cereb Cortex. 2023 May 09; 33(10):6051-6062. PMID: 36642501
     
  2. Bai H, Naj AC, Benchek P, Dumitrescu L, Hohman T, Hamilton-Nelson K, Kallianpur AR, Griswold AJ, Vardarajan B, Martin ER, Beecham GW, Below JE, Schellenberg G, Mayeux R, Farrer L, Pericak-Vance MA, Haines JL, Bush WS. A haptoglobin (HP) structural variant alters the effect of APOE alleles on Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2023 Apr 12. PMID: 37051669
     
  3. Le Guen Y, Raulin AC, Logue MW, Sherva R, Belloy ME, Eger SJ, Chen A, Kennedy G, Kuchenbecker L, O'Leary JP, Zhang R, Merritt VC, Panizzon MS, Hauger RL, Gaziano JM, Bu G, Thornton TA, Farrer LA, Napolioni V, He Z, Greicius MD. Association of African Ancestry-Specific APOE Missense Variant R145C With Risk of Alzheimer Disease. JAMA. 2023 Feb 21; 329(7):551-560.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36809323; PMCID: PMC9945061; DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.0268;
     
  4. Puri S, Hu J, Sun Z, Lin M, Stein TD, Farrer LA, Wolozin B, Zhang X. Identification of circRNAs linked to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Alzheimers Dement. 2023 Feb 16.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36795937
     
  5. de Rojas I, Moreno-Grau S, Tesi N, Grenier-Boley B, Andrade V, Jansen IE, Pedersen NL, Stringa N, Zettergren A, Hernández I, Montrreal L, Antúnez C, Antonell A, Tankard RM, Bis JC, Sims R, Bellenguez C, Quintela I, González-Perez A, Calero M, Franco-Macías E, Macías J, Blesa R, Cervera-Carles L, Menéndez-González M, Frank-García A, Royo JL, Moreno F, Huerto Vilas R, Baquero M, Diez-Fairen M, Lage C, García-Madrona S, García-González P, Alarcón-Martín E, Valero S, Sotolongo-Grau O, Ullgren A, Naj AC, Lemstra AW, Benaque A, Pérez-Cordón A, Benussi A, Rábano A, Padovani A, Squassina A, de Mendonça A, Arias Pastor A, Kok AAL, Meggy A, Pastor AB, Espinosa A, Corma-Gómez A, Martín Montes A, Sanabria Á, DeStefano AL, Schneider A, Haapasalo A, Kinhult Ståhlbom A, Tybjærg-Hansen A, Hartmann AM, Spottke A, Corbatón-Anchuelo A, Rongve A, Borroni B, Arosio B, Nacmias B, Nordestgaard BG, Kunkle BW, Charbonnier C, Abdelnour C, Masullo C, Martínez Rodríguez C, Muñoz-Fernandez C, Dufouil C, Graff C, Ferreira CB, Chillotti C, Reynolds CA, Fenoglio C, Van Broeckhoven C, Clark C, Pisanu C, Satizabal CL, Holmes C, Buiza-Rueda D, Aarsland D, Rujescu D, Alcolea D, Galimberti D, Wallon D, Seripa D, Grünblatt E, Dardiotis E, Düzel E, Scarpini E, Conti E, Rubino E, Gelpi E, Rodriguez-Rodriguez E, Duron E, Boerwinkle E, Ferri E, Tagliavini F, Küçükali F, Pasquier F, Sanchez-Garcia F, Mangialasche F, Jessen F, Nicolas G, Selbæk G, Ortega G, Chêne G, Hadjigeorgiou G, Rossi G, Spalletta G, Giaccone G, Grande G, Binetti G, Papenberg G, Hampel H, Bailly H, Zetterberg H, Soininen H, Karlsson IK, Alvarez I, Appollonio I, Giegling I, Skoog I, Saltvedt I, Rainero I, Rosas Allende I, Hort J, Diehl-Schmid J, Van Dongen J, Vidal JS, Lehtisalo J, Wiltfang J, Thomassen JQ, Kornhuber J, Haines JL, Vogelgsang J, Pineda JA, Fortea J, Popp J, Deckert J, Buerger K, Morgan K, Fließbach K, Sleegers K, Molina-Porcel L, Kilander L, Weinhold L, Farrer LA, Wang LS, Kleineidam L, Farotti L, Parnetti L, Tremolizzo L, Hausner L, Benussi L, Froelich L, Ikram MA, Deniz-Naranjo MC, Tsolaki M, Rosende-Roca M, Löwenmark M, Hulsman M, Spallazzi M, Pericak-Vance MA, Esiri M, Bernal Sánchez-Arjona M, Dalmasso MC, Martínez-Larrad MT, Arcaro M, Nöthen MM, Fernández-Fuertes M, Dichgans M, Ingelsson M, Herrmann MJ, Scherer M, Vyhnalek M, Kosmidis MH, Yannakoulia M, Schmid M, Ewers M, Heneka MT, Wagner M, Scamosci M, Kivipelto M, Hiltunen M, Zulaica M, Alegret M, Fornage M, Roberto N, van Schoor NM, Seidu NM, Banaj N, Armstrong NJ, Scarmeas N, Scherbaum N, Goldhardt O, Hanon O, Peters O, Skrobot OA, Quenez O, Lerch O, Bossù P, Caffarra P, Dionigi Rossi P, Sakka P, Mecocci P, Hoffmann P, Holmans PA, Fischer P, Riederer P, Yang Q, Marshall R, Kalaria RN, Mayeux R, Vandenberghe R, Cecchetti R, Ghidoni R, Frikke-Schmidt R, Sorbi S, Hägg S, Engelborghs S, Helisalmi S, Botne Sando S, Kern S, Archetti S, Boschi S, Fostinelli S, Gil S, Mendoza S, Mead S, Ciccone S, Djurovic S, Heilmann-Heimbach S, Riedel-Heller S, Kuulasmaa T, Del Ser T, Lebouvier T, Polak T, Ngandu T, Grimmer T, Bessi V, Escott-Price V, Giedraitis V, Deramecourt V, Maier W, Jian X, Pijnenburg YAL, Kehoe PG, Garcia-Ribas G, Sánchez-Juan P, Pastor P, Pérez-Tur J, Piñol-Ripoll G, Lopez de Munain A, García-Alberca JM, Bullido MJ, Álvarez V, Lleó A, Real LM, Mir P, Medina M, Scheltens P, Holstege H, Marquié M, Sáez ME, Carracedo Á, Amouyel P, Schellenberg GD, Williams J, Seshadri S, van Duijn CM, Mather KA, Sánchez-Valle R, Serrano-Ríos M, Orellana A, Tárraga L, Blennow K, Huisman M, Andreassen OA, Posthuma D, Clarimón J, Boada M, van der Flier WM, Ramirez A, Lambert JC, van der Lee SJ, Ruiz A. Author Correction: Common variants in Alzheimer's disease and risk stratification by polygenic risk scores. Nat Commun. 2023 Feb 09; 14(1):716.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36759603; PMCID: PMC9911386; DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36192-x;
     
  6. Marini S, Chung J, Han X, Sun X, Parodi L, Farrer LA, Rosand J, Romero JR, Anderson CD. Pleiotropy analysis between lobar intracerebral hemorrhage and CSF ß-amyloid highlights new and established associations. Int J Stroke. 2023 Feb 07; 17474930231155816.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36705426
     
  7. Wang Y, Huang J, Ang TFA, Zhu Y, Tao Q, Mez J, Alosco M, Denis GV, Belkina A, Gurnani A, Ross M, Gong B, Han J, Lunetta KL, Stein TD, Au R, Farrer LA, Zhang X, Qiu WQ. Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease. medRxiv. 2023 Jan 18.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36711847; PMCID: PMC9882408; DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.16.23284571;
     
  8. Chung J, Vig V, Sun X, Han X, O'Connor GT, Chen X, DeAngelis MM, Farrer LA, Subramanian ML. Genome-Wide Pleiotropy Study Identifies Association of PDGFB with Age-Related Macular Degeneration and COVID-19 Infection Outcomes. J Clin Med. 2022 Dec 23; 12(1).View Related Profiles. PMID: 36614910; PMCID: PMC9821609; DOI: 10.3390/jcm12010109;
     
  9. Sherva R, Zhang R, Sahelijo N, Jun G, Anglin T, Chanfreau C, Cho K, Fonda JR, Gaziano JM, Harrington KM, Ho YL, Kremen WS, Litkowski E, Lynch J, Neale Z, Roussos P, Marra D, Mez J, Miller MW, Salat DH, Tsuang D, Wolf E, Zeng Q, Panizzon MS, Merritt VC, Farrer LA, Hauger RL, Logue MW. African ancestry GWAS of dementia in a large military cohort identifies significant risk loci. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Mar; 28(3):1293-1302.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36543923; PMCID: PMC10066923; DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01890-3;
     
  10. Huang J, Tao Q, Ang TFA, Farrell J, Zhu C, Wang Y, Stein TD, Lunetta KL, Massaro J, Mez J, Au R, Farrer LA, Qiu WQ, Zhang X. The impact of increasing levels of blood C-reactive protein on the inflammatory loci SPI1 and CD33 in Alzheimer's disease. Transl Psychiatry. 2022 Dec 22; 12(1):523.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36550123; PMCID: PMC9780312; DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02281-6;
     
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