Academic Appointments
- Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology (in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain) at CUMC
Current Administrative Positions
- Assistant Medical Director, Laboratory of Personalized Genomic Medicine
Email: lc654@cumc.columbia.edu
Dr. Clark’s research uses genetic and genomic approaches to study the basis of neurodegenerative disease with a focus on common age-related neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease and Essential Tremor.
Genomic technologies including next generation high throughput sequencing platforms together with computational approaches are enabling rapid advances in genetic analysis and human genetics. Her laboratory uses this technology to identify variation in both DNA sequence and gene expression levels in families, patient populations and autopsy material to determine the genetic contribution to disease pathogenesis. To identify causal and susceptibility genes they are using a variety of approaches including, exome and whole genome sequencing, SNP analysis and case-control association studies, copy number variation discovery (CNV) and analysis, genome wide association studies (GWAS), fine mapping and gene identification, resequencing and mutation analysis, transcriptomics, miRNA analysis and methylation analysis.
Dr Clark's laboratory also uses cellular and animal models to study the disease mechanism of neurodegenerative candidate genes identified and to further our understanding of disease pathogenesis.
Departments and Divisions
- Department of Pathology & Cell Biology
Division of Personalized Genomic Medicine
Division of Laboratory Medicine
Education and Training
- BS, 1990 Biology (Genetics), London University (United Kingdom)
- PhD, 1995 Molecular Biology/genetics, Manchester University
Lab Locations
William Black Building
650 West 168th Street
1206
New York, NY 10032- Phone:
- (212) 304-5268
- Lab Phone:
- (212) 304-5481
- Email:
- lc654@cumc.columbia.edu
Global Health Countries
- Turkey
Global Health Activities
We currently have a NIH funded (Fogarty International Center; FOA: [PAR14-331]-Global brain and nervous system disorders research across the lifespan) research development/planning grant to initiate collaborative studies with investigators at Bilkent University in Turkey to study the genetics of Essential Tremor. Essential Tremor(ET) is one of the most common neurological diseases, with an estimated 7 million affected individuals in the United States. The most characteristic clinical feature of ET is a kinetic tremor in the hands or arms, which early in the disease process is mild. As the disease progresses, tremor becomes more severe and more anatomically widespread (e.g., head, trunk). Aside from tremor, patients with ET may also present with other motor features including gait ataxia. Non-motor features can include psychiatric manifestations, cognitive decline and dementia. Despite its extraordinarily high prevalence the genetic causes of ET are largely unknown. We propose to develop a genetic study of ET focusing on consanguineous families in Turkey. Turkey with a population of about 70 million has a high rate of consanguineous marriages. The rate of consanguinity is estimated to be as much as 20-25% with approximately 70% of all consanguineous marriages involving first cousins. Studying the genetics of ET in the Turkish population, particularly in large consanguineous families may identify novel genetic causes of ET that are also relevant to ET populations in the US and worldwide. The proposed research has a high probability of success with our collaborators, Drs Ozcelik and Tekinay’s expertise in human genetics and functional studies together with an established resource of large consanguineous ET families. The specific aims of this planning grant are to: (1) further develop and solidify collaborations with the team in Bilkent and define the scope of the research that will be the focus of an R01 application; (2) assess the Bilkent team's resources and needs in order to successfully conduct the research; (3) implement cross-training between the U.S. and Turkish groups in the areas of human genetics, genetic epidemiology and risk factor assessment, genomics, clinical diagnosis, functional studies and personalized genomic medicine; and (4) conduct pilot studies to generate preliminary data necessary for an R01 application.
Research Interests
- Genetics of neurological and neurodegenerative disease
- Human Genetics
- Personalized genomic medicine
NIH Grants
BIOMARKERS OF ALZHEIMER S DISEASE IN ADULTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME (Federal Gov)
Sep 30 2015 - Apr 30 2021
DEVELOPMENT OF A GBA P.E326K ASSOCIATED PARKINSONS DISEASE AND DEMENTIA WITH LEWY BODY MOUSE MODEL (Federal Gov)
Sep 15 2019 - Aug 31 2020
IDENTIFICATION OF SUSCEPTIBILITY GENES FOR ESSENTIAL TREMOR (Federal Gov)
Aug 1 2015 - May 31 2020
IDENTIFICATION OF SUSCEPTIBILITY GENES FOR ESSENTIAL TREMOR (Federal Gov)
May 1 2015 - May 31 2020
BIOMARKERS OF ALZHEIMER S DISEASE IN ADULTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME (Federal Gov)
Sep 30 2015 - Apr 30 2020
BIOMARKERS OF ALZHEIMER S DISEASE IN ADULTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME (Federal Gov)
Sep 30 2015 - Apr 30 2020
PLANNING GRANT: COLUMBIA-YALE-BILKENT STUDY: GENETIC STUDY OF ESSENTIAL TREMOR (Federal Gov)
Sep 1 2016 - Aug 31 2019
PLANNING GRANT: COLUMBIA-YALE-BILKENT STUDY: GENETIC STUDY OF ESSENTIAL TREMOR (Federal Gov)
Sep 1 2016 - Aug 31 2018
ANALYSIS AND REPLICATION OF A GENETIC INTERACTION BETWEEN LRRK2 AND PARK16 (Private)
Oct 2 2013 - Jul 31 2016
PARKINSONS DISEASE FOUNDATION RESEARCH CENTER GRANT (Private)
Jul 1 2000 - Jun 30 2016
MECHANISMS OF DOPAMINE NEURON DEGENERATION (Federal Gov)
Aug 1 2000 - Jul 31 2015
ASYN 3 UTR MODULATION IN PARKINSON S DISEASE (Private)
Oct 1 2013 - Jun 30 2015
ALZHEIMER S DISEASE RESEARCH CENTER AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY (Federal Gov)
Jun 1 2010 - May 31 2015
ALZHEIMER S DISEASE RESEARCH CENTER AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY (Federal Gov)
Jun 1 2010 - May 31 2015
AGING AND DEMENTIA IN ADULTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME (Federal Gov)
Jul 1 2010 - May 31 2015
PARKINSON S DISEASE FOUNDATION RESEARCH CENTE (Private)
Jul 1 2000 - Jun 30 2014
PARKINSONS DISEASE FOUNDATION RESEARCH CENTER GRANT (Private)
Jul 1 2000 - Jun 30 2014
MOLECULAR GENETIC ANALYSIS OF LYSOSOMAL STORAGE DISORDER GEN ES IN PD (Federal Gov)
Sep 29 2008 - Aug 31 2013
PARKINSON S DISEASE GENETICS INITIATIVE (Private)
Jul 1 2005 - Jun 30 2013
PARKINSONS DISEASE FOUNDATION (PDF) RESEARCH CENTER GRANT 2012-2013 (Private)
Jul 1 2009 - Jun 30 2013
PARKINSON'S DISEASE IPS CELL LINE RESEARCH (Federal Gov)
Sep 30 2009 - Aug 31 2012
PARKINSONS DISEASE, ASHKENAZI JEWS AND LRRK2-A CONSORTIUM PROPOSAL (Private)
Jun 30 2009 - Jun 29 2012
AGING AND DEMENTIA IN ADULTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME (Federal Gov)
Jul 1 2010 - May 31 2012
GENETICS OF ESTROGEN AND ALZHEIMER"S DISEASE IN A MULTIETHNI C COHORT (Private)
Sep 1 2008 - Aug 31 2011
GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE (Federal Gov)
Jul 1 1998 - Sep 29 2010
BETA-GLUCOCEREBROSIDASE MUTATIONS AND PARKINSON'S DISEASE IN THE ASHKENAZIM (Federal Gov)
Sep 16 2005 - Jun 30 2008
Lab Projects
R01NS073872 "Identification of Susceptibility Genes for Essential Tremor"
R21NS098930 "Planning grant: Columbia-Yale-Bilkent Study: Genetic Study of Essential Tremor"
Lab Members
- Dr Zagaa Odgerel, Postdoctoral research scientist
- Dr Shilpa Sonti, Postdoctoral research scientist
Collaborators
Elan D. Louis, MD, MS
Chief, Division of Movement Disorders
Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology
Departments of Neurology and Chronic Disease Epidemiology
Yale School of Medicine and Yale School of Public Health
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Academic Telephone: (203) 785 - 6599
Clinical Telephone: (203) 785 – 4085
Email: elan.louis@yale.edu
Dr James Hodge
Senior Lecturer
School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience
University of Bristol
Biomedical Sciences building
University Walk
Bristol
BS8 1TD
++44 (0) 117 331 1416
Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova
Professor of Mathematics for Healthcare
Department of Mathematics &
Living Systems Institute, T02.17
University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
email: k.tsaneva-atanasova@exeter.ac.uk
tel: +44 (0) 1392 723615