Reprogramming the Wellderly and studying genomic risk for common human disease using genome editing

Induced pluripotent stem cells capture the genome of the somatic cells of an individual and may be used to produce diverse cell types to explore the impact of human genetic diversity on a wide variety of diseases. We have been generating iPSCs from a cohort of patients called the "Wellderly" in collaboration with the lab of Eric Topol. We are investigating the impact of long life and healthy aging on the
somatic genomes of these individuals and employing genome editing to address the role of a risk locus for coronary artery disease. These lines and our experience with genome editing open the door to better modeling for other later onset diseases of interest such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
somatic genomes of these individuals and employing genome editing to address the role of a risk locus for coronary artery disease. These lines and our experience with genome editing open the door to better modeling for other later onset diseases of interest such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.