Daniel J Rader

faculty photo
Seymour Gray Professor of Molecular Medicine
Director, Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine and Lipid Clinic, University of Pennsylvania Health System
Associate Director, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Director, Cardiovascular Metabolism Unit, Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Program Director, General Clinical Research Center, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Bridge Funding Program Committee, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Committee on Appointments and Promotions, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Scientific Director, Clinical and Translational Research, Cardivascular Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Chief, Division of Translational Medicine and Human Genetics, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Director, PennMedicine BioBank, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Chair, Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine at The University of Pennsylvania
Department: Medicine

Contact information
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
11-125 Smilow Center for Translational Research
3400 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104-5158
Office: (215) 573-4176
Fax: (215) 573-8606
Education:
B.A.
Lehigh University, 1981.
M.D.
Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1984.
Post-Graduate Training
Internship, Internal Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT, 1984-1985.
Residency, Internal Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT, 1985-1987.
Chief Resident, Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 1987-1988.
Medical Staff Fellow, Molecular Disease Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, 1988-1991.
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Description of Research Expertise

Research Interests
The Rader laboratory is focused on two major themes: 1) novel pathways regulating lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis inspired by unbiased studies of human genetics; 2) factors regulating the structure and function of high density lipoproteins and the process of reverse cholesterol transport and their relationship to atherosclerosis. A variety of basic cell and molecular laboratory techniques, mouse models, and translational research approaches are used in addressing these questions.

Some examples of ongoing projects are:
1) The roles of sortilin (gene SORT1) and tribbles-1 (gene TRIB1) in lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis. Variants at the SORT1 locus are among the most strongly associated with LDL cholesterol and (coronary artery disease) in the human genome, and variants at the TRIB1 locus are significantly associated with all major plasma lipid traits and CAD. A variety of tissue-specific deleted mouse models, gene targeting in iPS cells with differentiation to hepatocytes, and cell biologic and biochemical approaches are being employed.

2) Functional genomics and mechanistic studies of a number of additional genes at loci significantly associated with lipid and metabolic traits, CAD, or other cardiovascular traits. Most of these genes harbor rare coding variants associated with these traits. In addition to elucidating fundamental mechanisms by which the protein influences relevant biology, the influence of specific mutations on protein structure and function are being explored.

3) Molecular regulation of HDLmetabolism and reverse cholesterol transport using cells, mice, and humans

4) Deep phenotyping of humans with low-frequency and rare variants in genes influencing lipid and cardiovascular traits, including the generation of iPS cells and differentiation to a variety of relevant cell types

Research Lab:
11th floor, Smilow Center for Translational Research

Clinical Research:
9th floor Maloney Building, Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania

Description of Itmat Expertise

Research Interests
The Rader laboratory is focused on two major themes: 1) novel pathways regulating lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis inspired by unbiased studies of human genetics; 2) factors regulating the structure and function of high density lipoproteins and the process of reverse cholesterol transport and their relationship to atherosclerosis. A variety of basic cell and molecular laboratory techniques, mouse models, and translational research approaches are used in addressing these questions.

Some examples of ongoing projects are:
1) The roles of sortilin (gene SORT1) and tribbles-1 (gene TRIB1) in lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis. Variants at the SORT1 locus are among the most strongly associated with LDL cholesterol and (coronary artery disease) in the human genome, and variants at the TRIB1 locus are significantly associated with all major plasma lipid traits and CAD. A variety of tissue-specific deleted mouse models, gene targeting in iPS cells with differentiation to hepatocytes, and cell biologic and biochemical approaches are being employed.

2) Functional genomics and mechanistic studies of a number of additional genes at loci significantly associated with lipid and metabolic traits, CAD, or other cardiovascular traits. Most of these genes harbor rare coding variants associated with these traits. In addition to elucidating fundamental mechanisms by which the protein influences relevant biology, the influence of specific mutations on protein structure and function are being explored.

3) Molecular regulation of HDLmetabolism and reverse cholesterol transport using cells, mice, and humans

4) Deep phenotyping of humans with low-frequency and rare variants in genes influencing lipid and cardiovascular traits, including the generation of iPS cells and differentiation to a variety of relevant cell types


Administrative Assistant:
Linda Carmichael, 215-573-4176

Executive Assistant:
Cathy Warford, 215-573-7272

Grants Manager:
Michael S. Kelly, 215-573-1264


Research Lab:
11th floor, Smilow Center for Translational Research

Clinical Research:
9th floor Maloney Building, Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania


Research Group:

Research Associate Professors:
Marina Cuchel, MD PhD

Research Assistant Professors:
Yanqing (Anna) Gong, PhD
Nicholas Hand, PhD

Adjunct Professors:
Sissel Lund-Katz, PhD
Michael C. Phillips, PhD

Senior Research Investigators:
Jeffrey Billheimer, PhD
John Millar, PhD
Athanasia (Nancy) Skoura, PhD

Research Associates:
Nicholas Lyssenko, PhD
Sony Tuteja, PharmD

Post-doctoral Fellows:
Deepti Abbey, PhD
Ezimamaka Ajufo, MD
Robert Bauer, PhD
Xin Bi, PhD
Donna Conlon, PhD
Marie Guerraty, MD/PhD
Ali Javaheri, MD/PhD
Sylvia Nürnberg, PhD
Evanthia Pashos, PhD
Swapnil Shewale, PhD

Doris Duke Fellow:
Aeron Small

Visiting Scientists:
Jian Cui, MD
Marjolein van den Boogert
Bijun Zhao

Graduate Students:
Devin Christopher
Sumeet Khetarpal
Hye In Kim
Wen Lin
Minal Mehta
Cecilia Vitali
Christopher Yu

Project Managers:
Stephanie DerOhannessian, MB
Dawn Marchadier, MS

Bioinformatician:
H. Shanker Rao, MS

Biostatisticians:
Wei Zhao, MS
Jung-Jin Lee

Data Analyst:
Khalif Coaxum

Research Specialists:
Debra Cromley
Edwige Edouard
Susannah Elwyn, MS
Mayda Hernandez, MS
James McParland
Linda Morrell
Amrith Rodrigues, MS
Mikhaila Smith
Maosen Sun, MD/PhD
Teo Tran
Kevin Trindade
Aisha Wilson, MLAS


Clinical Research Personnel:

Project Managers:
Amanda Baer, MB MBA

Data Coordinators:
Marjorie Risman, MS

Clinical Research Coordinators:
Canita Brent
Maria Escobar
Polina Ferd
Dusanka Lalic
Karen Monono
Anna Sicilia
Tracey Sikora
Karen Terembula
Masako Ueda, MD
Rahma Warsi

Clinical Research Assistants:
Muhamad Farhan
Jamila Hoque
Lauren Vincent
Laura Walters
Katy Wong

Selected Publications

Rader DJ.: Apolipoprotein A-I Infusion Therapies for Coronary Disease: Two Outs in the Ninth Inning and Swinging for the Fences. JAMA Cardiol 3(9): 799-801, Sep 2018.

Sturm AC, Knowles JW, Gidding SS, Ahmad ZS, Ahmed CD, Ballantyne CM, Baum SJ, Bourbon M, Carrié A, Cuchel M, de Ferranti SD, Defesche JC, Freiberger T, Hershberger RE, Hovingh GK, Karayan L, Kastelein JJP, Kindt I, Lane SR, Leigh SE, Linton MF, Mata P, Neal WA, Nordestgaard BG, Santos RD, Harada-Shiba M, Sijbrands EJ, Stitziel NO, Yamashita S, Wilemon KA, Ledbetter DH, Rader DJ; Convened by the Familial Hypercholesterolemia Foundation.: Clinical Genetic Testing for Familial Hypercholesterolemia: JACC Scientific Expert Panel. J Am Coll Cardiol 72(6): 662-680, Aug 2018.

Pirro M, Ricciuti B, Rader DJ, Catapano AL, Sahebkar A, Banach M.: High density lipoprotein cholesterol and cancer: Marker or causative? Prog Lipid Res 71: 54-69, Jul 2018.

Khetarpal SA, Babb PL, Zhao W, Hancock-Cerutti WF, Brown CD, Rader DJ, Voight BF.: Multiplexed Targeted Resequencing Identifies Coding and Regulatory Variation Underlying Phenotypic Extremes of High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Humans. Circ Genom Precis Med 11(7): e002070, Jul 2018.

Toth PP, Dwyer JP, Cannon CP, Colhoun HM, Rader DJ, Upadhyay A, Louie MJ, Koren A, Letierce A, Mandel J, Banach M.: Efficacy and safety of lipid lowering by alirocumab in chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int 93(6): 1397-1408, Jun 2018.

Mehta NN, Shin DB, Joshi AA, Dey AK, Armstrong AW, Duffin KC, Fuxench ZC, Harrington CL, Hubbard RA, Kalb RE, Menter A, Rader DJ, Reilly MP, Simpson EL, Takeshita J, Torigian DA, Werner TJ, Troxel AB, Tyring SK, Vanderbeek SB, Van Voorhees AS, Playford MP, Ahlman MA, Alavi A, Gelfand JM.: Effect of 2 Psoriasis Treatments on Vascular Inflammation and Novel Inflammatory Cardiovascular Biomarkers: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 11(6): e007394, Jun 2018.

Daugherty A, Lu HS, Hegele RA, Mackman N, Rader DJ, Schmidt AM, Weber C.: Response by Daugherty et al to Letter Regarding Article, "Consideration of Sex Differences in Design and Reporting of Experimental Arterial Pathology Studies: A Statement From the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Council" Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 38(6): e101-e102, Jun 2018.

Gusarova V, O'Dushlaine C, Teslovich TM, Benotti PN, Mirshahi T, Gottesman O, Van Hout CV, Murray MF, Mahajan A, Nielsen JB, Fritsche L, Wulff AB, Gudbjartsson DF, Sjögren M, Emdin CA, Scott RA, Lee WJ, Small A, Kwee LC, Dwivedi OP, Prasad RB, Bruse S, Lopez AE, Penn J, Marcketta A, Leader JB, Still CD, Kirchner HL, Mirshahi UL, Wardeh AH, Hartle CM, Habegger L, Fetterolf SN, Tusie-Luna T, Morris AP, Holm H, Steinthorsdottir V, Sulem P, Thorsteinsdottir U, Rotter JI, Chuang LM, Damrauer S, Birtwell D, Brummett CM, Khera AV, Natarajan P, Orho-Melander M, Flannick J, Lotta LA, Willer CJ, Holmen OL, Ritchie MD, Ledbetter DH, Murphy AJ, Borecki IB, Reid JG, Overton JD, Hansson O, Groop L, Shah SH, Kraus WE, Rader DJ, Chen YI, Hveem K, Wareham NJ, Kathiresan S, Melander O, Stefansson K, Nordestgaard BG, Tybjærg-Hansen A, Abecasis GR, Altshuler D, Florez JC, Boehnke M, McCarthy MI, Yancopoulos GD, Carey DJ, Shuldiner AR, Baras A, Dewey FE, Gromada J.: Genetic inactivation of ANGPTL4 improves glucose homeostasis and is associated with reduced risk of diabetes. Nat Commun 9(1): 2252, Jun 2018.

Roselli C, Chaffin MD, Weng LC, Aeschbacher S, Ahlberg G, Albert CM, Almgren P, Alonso A, Anderson CD, Aragam KG, Arking DE, Barnard J, Bartz TM, Benjamin EJ, Bihlmeyer NA, Bis JC, Bloom HL, Boerwinkle E, Bottinger EB, Brody JA, Calkins H, Campbell A, Cappola TP, Carlquist J, Chasman DI, Chen LY, Chen YI, Choi EK, Choi SH, Christophersen IE, Chung MK, Cole JW, Conen D, Cook J, Crijns HJ, Cutler MJ, Damrauer SM, Daniels BR, Darbar D, Delgado G, Denny JC, Dichgans M, Dörr M, Dudink EA, Dudley SC, Esa N, Esko T, Eskola M, Fatkin D, Felix SB, Ford I, Franco OH, Geelhoed B, Grewal RP, Gudnason V, Guo X, Gupta N, Gustafsson S, Gutmann R, Hamsten A, Harris TB, Hayward C, Heckbert SR, Hernesniemi J, Hocking LJ, Hofman A, Horimoto ARVR, Huang J, Huang PL, Huffman J, Ingelsson E, Ipek EG, Ito K, Jimenez-Conde J, Johnson R, Jukema JW, Kääb S, Kähönen M, Kamatani Y, Kane JP, Kastrati A, Kathiresan S, Katschnig-Winter P, Kavousi M, Kessler T, Kietselaer BL, Kirchhof P, Kleber ME, Knight S, Krieger JE, Kubo M, Launer LJ, Laurikka J, Lehtimäki T, Leineweber K, Lemaitre RN, Li M, Lim HE, Lin HJ, Lin H, et al.: Multi-ethnic genome-wide association study for atrial fibrillation. Nat Genet 50(9): 1225-1233, Jun 2018.

Olshan DS, Rader DJ.: Angiopoietin-like protein 4: A therapeutic target for triglycerides and coronary disease? J Clin Lipidol 12(3): 583-587, May-Jun 2018.

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Last updated: 02/15/2023
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