Division Chief
Sarah Williams-Blangero, PhD
Division of Human Genetics
Email: Sarah.Williams-Blangero@utrgv.edu
Grant Awards
| Investigator | Project Title | Grant Period | Funding Agency | Type of Grant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duggirala | Identification of a marker and therapeutic target for pediatric obesity and diabetes | 12/15/2020 - 12/14/2025 | Baptist Health Foundation | Strategic to Mission 2020 |
| Curran | Assessing the influence of the human lipidome on risk of diabetes in a minority population | 01/01/2021 - 12/31/2024 | NIH | R01 DK127636 |
| Maestre | South Texas Alzheimer's Disease Center (STAC) - (REC MM, Genomics, Pop Neurocscience, MA Scholar) | 09/01/2021 - 06/30/2026 | NIH (UTHSCSA) | P30 AG066546 |
| Williams-Blangero | Program Services: Host vaccine events to encourage vaccine update in the Rio Grande Valley | 05/18/2022 - 10/31/2022 | UTHealth Houstin (Contract/PO) | Contract |
| Almeida | Identification of endophenotypes associated with Alzheimer’s disease progression in Hispanic population | 08/01/2022 - 07/31/2024 | NIH | R21 AG077501 |
| Curran | Assessing the influence of the human lipidome on risk of diabetes in a minority population - Supplement | 08/22/2022 - 08/21/2023 | NIH | R01 DK127636 |
| Galan | A systems biology investigation of polyfluoroakyl substances (PFAS) toxicity in an experimental mouse model and associations on human health | 09/01/2022 - 08/31/2023 | UTRGV | Faculty Success and Diversity Seed Grant |
| Ramirez Correa | Molecular determinants of abnormal phosphorylation and O-GlcNAcylation signaling of diabetic cardiomyopathy in Hispanics | 09/01/2022 - 08/31/2023 | UTRGV | Faculty Success and Diversity Seed Grant |
| VandeBerg | Creation of knockout laboratory opossums | 02/01/2023 - 01/31/2025 | NIH | R21 OD026625 |
| VandeBerg | Gestation bioanalysis | 04/21/2023 - 04/20/2025 | Colossal Biosciences Inc. | Sponsored Research Agreement |
| Blangero | Shared genetic and environmental influences on age-related hearing loss, cognitive decline, and dementia risk | 05/15/2023 - 04/30/2028 | NIH (Boston Children's Hospital) | R01 AG078423 |
| Maestre [Analysis Core (Blangero) and REC (Mahaney)] |
Rio Grande Valley Alzheimer's Resource Center for Minority Aging Research: Partnerships for Aging (Competing Renewal) | 08/15/2023 - 06/30/2028 | NIH | P30 AG059305 |
| Blangero Williams-Blangero |
Interactions of SARS-CoV-2 infection and genetic variation on the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease in Ancestral and Admixed Populations | 08/15/2023 - 07/31/2025 | NIH (UTHSCSA) | U19 AG076581 |
| VandeBerg | Creation of knockout laboratory opossums (Supplement) | 09/01/2023 - 01/31/2024 | NIH | R21 OD034473 |
| VandeBerg | Development of new animal models for Aflatoxin-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and abnormal brain development during fetal life | 09/01/2023 - 08/31/2024 | UTRGV | Faculty Success and Diversity Seed Grant |
| Curran | Assessing the influence of the human lipidome on risk of diabetes in a minority population (Supplement) | 09/01/2023 - 08/31/2024 | NIH | R01 DK127636 |
| Curran (Contact PI) Blangero (MPI) Galan (MPI) Kumar (MPI) Parsons (MPI) |
Experimental cellular approaches to genotype × environment interaction | 09/07/2023 - 08/31/2028 | NIH | RM1 GM149403 |
| Williams-Blangero | UTRGV Diversity Center for Genome Research | 09/18/2023 - 05/31/2028 | NIH | U54 HG013247 |
| Kos | DNA methylation signatures of Alzheimer's disease in aged astrocytes | 09/30/2023 - 09/29/2025 | NIH (UTSA) | R21 AG085428 |
| VandeBerg | Individually ventilated cage system for laboratory opossum vivarium | 07/01/2024 - 06/30/2025 | NIH | R24 (PAR-24-028) |
| Howard (Contact PI) Williams-Blangero (MPI) |
Omic approaches to Factor VIII inhibitor development in hemophilia patients of Mexican descent | 09/01/2024 - 06/30/2028 | NIH | R01 HL169763 |
| Kos | Preclinical modeling of neural regulatory networks in baboon epilepsy | 09/18/2024 - 08/31/2025 | NIH | R56 NS135399 |
| Investigator | Project Title | Grant Period | Funding Agency | Type of Grant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Johnson, Subcontract PI | A joint linkage/association strategy to interrogate AMD genetic susceptibility | 09/01/2011 - 08/31/2016 | NIH (Oregon Health & Sci Univ) | R01 EY021532 |
| John Blangero (Contact PI) Joanne Curran (MPI) David Glahn (MPI; Yale) |
Whole genome sequencing to identify causal genetic variants Influencing CVD Risk | 04/15/2012 - 03/31/2018 | NIH | R01 HL113323 |
| Goring | Gene expressioin in an African American schizophrenia dataset | 07/12/2012 - 12/31/2017 | NIH (Northshore Univ Health System) | R01 MH098059 |
| Johnson | Defining the genetic architecture of macular degeneration in Mexican American families | 07/01/2013 - 06/30/2016 (08/31/2015) | Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund | Young Investigator Award |
| Goring | A genetic study of blood metabolites and their relationship to diabetes risk. | 09/01/2013 - 06/30/2018 | NIH | R01 DK099051 |
| Goring | 2/2 - An integrative genetic investigation of schizophrenia | 07/21/2011 - 01/31/2018 | NIH | R01 MH094116 |
| Johnson (Contact PI) Williams-Blangero (PI) |
Genetic epidemiology of ocular health and disease | 06/01/2014 - 05/31/2019 | NIH | R01 EY021532 |
| Almasy | Genetic analysis of common diseases: An evaluation | 08/01/2014 - 07/31/2017 | NIH | R01 GM031575 |
| Almasy | Genetic analysis of common diseases: An evaluation | 08/01/2014 - 07/31/2017 | NIH | R01 GM031575 Program Income |
| Williams-Blangero | Establishment & maintenance of a closed CPRC SPF colony | 09/01/2014 - 04/30/2016 | NIH (Univ of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences) | U42 RR016021 |
| Almasy | Collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism (COGA) | 12/31/2014 - 08/19/2016 | NIH (Res Foundation for the State of New York) | U10 AA00840127 |
| Almasy | 3/3 - A neurobehavioral family study of shizophrenia | 01/01/2015 - 12/31/2018 | NIH | R01 MH061622 |
| Duggirala (Contact PI) Blangero (PI) DeFronzo (PI; UTHSCSA) Lehman (PI; UTHSCSA) Thameem (PI; Kuwait) |
Discovery of functional variants in type 2 diabetes genes in Mexican Americans | 05/01/2015 - 04/30/2016 | NIH | U01 DK085524 |
| Almasy (PI - original Contact PI) Blangero (PI - Contact PI after Transition) Glahn (PI; Yale) Gur (PI; Pennsylvania) |
Neurodevelopment: Genes, environment, and their interactions | 08/01/2015 - 05/31/2018 | NIH | R01 MH107248 |
| Blangero (Contact PI) Curran (PI) |
Examination of sequence variants in large human pedigrees to identify novel genetic variants involved in cardiac (patho)physiology | 11/15/2015 - 11/12/2018 | Eli Lilly | Contract |
| Blangero (PI) Glahn (Contact PI; Yale) Poldrack (PI; Stanford) |
Gene networks influencing psychotic dysconnectivity in African Americans | 12/01/2015 - 11/30/2019 | NIH (Yale) | R01 MH106324 |
| Blangero | 2/3: Pedigree-based whole genome sequencing of affective and psychotic disorders | 12/22/2015 - 02/28/2019 | NIH | U01 MH105632 |
| Williams-Blangero | Caribbean Primate Research Center | 01/15/2016 - 11/30/2020 | NIH (University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences) | P40 OD011217 |
| Duggirala (Contact PI) Sanghera (PI; Oklahoma) |
Genetics of type 2 diabetes in Indian populations: US-India collaboration project | 04/01/2016 - 03/31/2018 | NIH | R21 DK105913 |
| Mummidi | Impact of disease associate noncoding polymorphisms on post-transcriptional gene regulation | 04/01/2016 - 03/31/2020 | NIH | R01 AI119131 |
| Blangero | SOLAR-Eclipse computational tools for imaging genetics | 09/15/2016 - 07/31/2020 | NIH (UMB) | R01 EB015611 |
| Curran (PI) Lee (Contact PI; UTHealth) |
Telomere length dynamics in relation to changes in adiposity and metabolic risk | 09/23/2016 - 08/31/2021 | NIH (UTHealth) | R01 DK111201 |
| Blangero (PI) Glahn (Contact PI; Yale) Poldrack (PI; Stanford) |
Gene networks influencing psychotic dysconnectivity in African Americans (Supplement) | 12/01/2016 - 11/30/2019 | NIH (Yale) | R01 MH106324 |
| VandeBerg | Validation of PCR and other biomarkers for assessing parasitological cure in Chagas disease | 12/21/2016 - 01/21/2019 | Wellcome Trust | Grant |
| VandeBerg (Contact PI) Thomas (PI; Biology Dept.) |
Development of the laboratory opossum as a model for pathologies induced by Zika virus | 02/01/2017 - 08/31/2018 | UTRGV | Seed Grant |
| VandeBerg (PI) Torres-Reveron (Contact PI) |
Sensorimotor and memory assessment in Monodelphis domestica (Laboratory Opposum) as a novel tool for research on neurodevelopmental abnormalities | 02/01/2017 - 08/31/2018 | UTRGV | Seed Grant |
| VandeBerg (PI) Thomas (Contact PI; Biology Dept.) |
Monodelphis project | 05/01/2017 - 12/31/2018 | UTRGV | Research Enhancement Seed Grant (College of Sciences) |
| Blackburn, Nicholas | Tackling a turtle tumor threat: An RGV community partnership to research sea turtle fibropapilloma | 12/01/2017 - 11/30/2018 | UTRGV | UTRGV Transforming Our World Strategic Plan |
| Curran (Contact PI) Blangero (PI) |
Examination of sequence variants and mRNA transcript differences in Cameron County Hispanic Cohort members to identify novel genetic variants involved in cardiometabolic disorders (CVD, NASH, DKD, HF) | 12/01/2017 - 11/30/2020 | Eli Lilly | Contract |
| Lopez Alvarenga, Juan Carlos | Internal Seed Grant | 12/01/2017 - 08/31/2018 | UTRGV | Seed Grant |
| Curran (Contact PI) Meikle (PI; Baker Inst.) |
Genetic determinants of lipidomic variation and their Role in CVD risk | 01/15/2018 - 12/31/2021 | NIH | R01 HL140681 |
| Williams-Blangero | Screening high risk families for diabetes to establish a genomic research center in the Mid-Valley | 04/16/2018 - 04/15/2022 | Knapp | Grant |
| Blangero (Contact PI) Clarke (PI; UTHSCSA) |
Identification of the exposome in fatty liver disease in Mexican American families using genetic correction | 04/27/2018 - 11/30/2022 | NIH | R01 MD012564 |
| Blangero | Genomic sequencing to establish a Macaque genotype and phenotype research resource | 05/01/2018 - 06/30/2020 | NIH (OHSU) | R24 OD021324 |
| Kos | Epigenetics of energy homeostasis, bioenergetics and obesity | 07/01/2018 - 06/30/2023 | NIH (Texas Biomed) | R01 DK118360 |
| Blangero | 2/3: Pedigree-based whole genome sequencing of affective and psychotic disorders Supplement |
07/23/2018 - 02/28/2019 | NIH | U01 MH105632 S1 |
| Blangero | Rio Grande Valley Alzheimer's Resource Center for Minority Aging Research: Partnerships for aging | 09/01/2018 - 06/30/2023 | NIH | P30 AG059305 |
| Mahaney | Rio Grande Valley Alzheimer's Resource Center for Minority Aging Research: Partnerships for aging | 09/01/2018 - 06/30/2023 | NIH | P30 AG059305 |
| Blangero | Human hypothalamic neuronal epigenomics and risk for obesity | 09/15/2018 - 06/30/2022 | NIH (UTHSCSA) | R01 DK114661 |
| Blangero | Imaging genomics of the aging brain | 09/30/2018 - 05/31/2023 | NIH (Boston) | R01 AG058464 |
| Duggirala (Sub Contact PI) Goring (MPI) Sanghera (Prime Contact PI; Oklahoma) |
Genome, metabolome, ancestry and diabetes health disparity | 09/15/2019 - 08/31/2023 | NIH | R01 DK118427 |
| VandeBerg (Contact PI) Kumar (PI) |
Laboratory opossum iPSC lines for biomedical research | 08/15/2019 - 07/31/2021 | NIH | R21 OD026625 |
| Williams-Blangero | THRIVE: A unique medical hub for improving health through advanced research and clinical care for the Rio Grande Valley | 03/01/2020 - 02/28/2023 | Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation | Grant |
| Blangero | Alzheimers-focused administrative supplement to enhance the Imaging Genomics of the Aging Brain roject | 05/01/2020 - 04/30/2021 | NIH (Boston) | R01 AG058464 |
| Curran | mRNA sequencing fee for service | 12/01/2020 - 11/30/2021 | NIH | Contract |