Sandra Laston, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Research

South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute

School of Medicine

Education

Research Focus

Dr. Laston’s research efforts are focused on oversight of large-scale genetic studies conducted with human populations.   With specialized expertise in medical anthropology and nursing, Dr. Laston has directed the fieldwork for studies of a number of minority populations including Alaska Natives, Zuni Indians and other American Indian tribes.  Her current research is focused on ocular health and disease in the Jirel population of eastern Nepal.  A member of the UTRGV institutional review board, Dr. Laston has strong interests in the design of human subjects research projects and cross-cultural research.    

Publication Highlights

• Siddique AK, Salam A, Islam MS, Akram K, Majumdar RN, Zaman K, Fronczak N, Laston SL. Why treatment centers failed to prevent cholera deaths among Rwandan refugees in Goma, Zaire. Lancet. 1995:345:359-61.
• Ebbesson SOE, Laston S, Wenger CR, Dyke B, Romenesko T, Swenson M, Fabsitz R, MacCluer JW, Devereux R, Roman M, Robbins D, Howard BV. Recruitment and community interactions in the GOCADAN Study. Int. J. Circumpolar Health. 2006:65:55-64. PMID: 16544648
• Laston SL, Voruganti VS, Haack K, Shah VO, Bobelu A, Bobelu J, Ghahate D, Harford AM, Paine SS, Tentori F, Cole SA, MacCluer JW, Comuzzie AG, Zager PG. Genetics of kidney disease and related cardiometabolic phenotypes in Zuni Indians: the Zuni Kidney Project. Front Genet. 2015 Jan 30;6:6. PMID: 25688259; PMCID: PMC4311707. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2015.00006

Recent Publications

• Hou R, Cole SA, Graff M, Wang Y, Haack K, Laston S, Mehta NR, Shypailo RJ, Gourlay ML, Comuzzie AG, North KE, Butte NF, Voruganti VS. Genetic variants and physical activity interact to affect bone density in Hispanic children. BMC Pediatr. 2021 Feb 15;21(1):79. doi: 10.1186/s12887-021-02537-y.PMID: 33588791
• Hou R, Cole SA, Graff M, Haack K, Laston S, Comuzzie AG, Mehta NR, Ryan K, Cousminer DL, Zemel BS, Grant SFA, Mitchell BD, Shypailo RJ, Gourlay ML, North KE, Butte NF, Voruganti VS. Genetic variants affecting bone mineral density and bone mineral content at multiple skeletal sites in Hispanic children. Bone. 2020 Mar; 132:115175. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2019.115175. Epub 2019 Nov 29. PMID: 31790847
• Chittoor G, Haack K, Mehta NR, Laston S, Cole SA, Comuzzie AG, Butte NF, Voruganti VS. Genetic variation underlying renal uric acid excretion in Hispanic children: The Viva La Familia Study. BMC Med Genet. 2017 Jan 17;18(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s12881-016-0366-3. PMID:28095793 
• Johnson MP, Keyho R, Blackburn NB, Laston S, Kumar S, Peralta J, Thapa SS, Towne B, Subedi J, Blangero J, Williams-Blangero S. Glycated serum protein genetics and pleiotropy with cardiometabolic risk factors. J Diabetes Res. 2019 Apr 4;2019:2310235. doi: 10.1155/2019/2310235. eCollection 2019. PMID: 31089471
• Balakrishnan P, Vaidya D, Franceschini N, Voruganti VS, Gribble MO, Haack K, Laston S, Umans JG, Francesconi KA, Goessler W, North KE, Lee E, Yracheta J, Best LG, MacCluer JW, Kent J, Cole SA, Navas-zcien A. Association of cardiometabolic genes with arsenic metabolism biomarkers in American Indian communities: The Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS). Environ Health Perspect.2017 Jan 125(1):15–22. PMID: 27352405

• Baylor College of Medicine
• Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health    
• Texas Biomedical Research Institute    
• Wright State University, Dayton, OH
• Miami University, Oxford, OH
• Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology