Two new publications focused on coding variants illuminate genes involved in blood lipid levels

Department of Human Genetics faculty member, Cristen Willer, is  a senior author of two recent publications  in Nature Genetics. The major finding, aside from new loci, is that coding variants explain about 1/3 of the lipid loci in Europeans. East Asian variants confirm many of the same genes, but we often see different variants in East Asians. 

• “Exome chip meta-analysis identifies novel loci and East Asian–specific coding variants that contribute to lipid levels and coronary artery disease” 

• “Exome-wide association study of plasma lipids in >300,000 individuals”