The central focus of research in her laboratory includes the mapping of Mendelian and complex inherited diseases. Recently, she has been involved in the localization of genes for several Mendelian (single-gene) disorders including: the autosomal dominant disorders familial primary pulmonary hypertension and multiple system presenile dementia. In the past, Dr. Foroud has been involved in linkage of the autosomal recessive disorder ataxia-telangiectasia as well as studies in the autosomal dominant prion disease Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease and the autosomal recessive disorder limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.

In addition, her laboratory is actively involved in linkage studies in non-Mendelian disorders. These disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis and alcoholism, are typically quite common and while family studies indicate a genetic component to disease susceptibility, it is also clear that a single gene is unlikely to account for all the observed genetic effect. Rather, these disorders are termed complex diseases because multiple genes are believed to be acting together in an additive, multiplicative or epistatic fashion.

In order to study the genetics of these disorders, it is necessary to collect large samples of families with multiple individuals affected with the disease. Her laboratory is involved in several large collaborative efforts to analyze data from families with alcoholism, bipolar manic-depressive illness, Parkinson's disease and osteoporosis. Genome screens are underway in each of these disorders and suggestive regions for possible genes are being identified.

Dr. Foroud also teaches one  of the courses in the Hereditary Diseases and Family Studies Division: Q630: Population Genetics.

PUBLICATIONS

Nichols WC, Elsaesser VE, Pankratz N, Pauciulo MW, Marek DK, Halter CA, Rudolph A, Shults CW, Foroud T, for the Parkinson Study Group-PROGENI Investigators. LRRK2 mutation analysis in Parkinson disease families with evidence of linkage to PARK8. Neurology 69(18):1737-1744, 2007

Foroud T, Ichikawa S, Koller D, Lai D, Curry L, Xuei X, Edenberg HJ, Hui S, Peacock M, Econs MJ. Association studies of ALOX5 and bone mineral density in healthy adults. Osteoporosis International 19(5):637-43, 2008

Foroud T, Wetherill LF, Kramer J, Tischfield JA, Nurnberger JI, Schuckit MA, Xuei X, Edenberg HJ. The tachykinin receptor 3 is associated with alcohol and cocaine dependence. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 32(6):1023-1030, 2008

Foroud T, Sauerbeck L, Brown R, Anderson C, Woo D, Kleindorfer D, Flaherty ML, Deka R, Hornung R, Meissner I, Bailey-Wilson J, Rouleau G, Connolly ES, Lai D, Huston J, Broderick JP. Genome screen to detect linkage to intracranial aneurysm susceptibility genes: the Familial Intracranial Aneurysm (FIA) study. Stroke 39:1434-1440, 2008

O'Donnell BF, Blekher T, Weaver M, White K, Marshall J, Beristain X, Stout JC, Gray J, Wojcieszek J, Foroud T. Visual perception in prediagnostic and early stage Huntington disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 14(3):446-53, 2008 May.

Search Pub Med