A University of Toronto researcher has found strong evidence that environmental exposures, including air pollution, affect gene expressions associated with respiratory diseases much more than genetic ancestry.
Senior author Philip Awadalla, a professor in the department of molecular genetics, analyzed more than 1.6 million data points from biological specimens, health questionnaires and environmental data sets. His study is one of the largest ever to examine the relationship between gene expression and environmental stimuli.
His findings, published March 6 in Nature Communications, represent a groundbreaking use of big data to uncover the environmental factors that are behind diseases and inform strategies for prevention, an approach that would apply to a number of diseases, including cancer.
“Our study shows how one can use the large scope and scale of data in Canada’s largest health cohort to better understand how our genes interact with environmental exposures and shape individual health,” says Awadalla (pictured left). “I encourage all those engaged in this type of research, both in Canada and around the world, to take advantage of this resource.”
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