# Multi-omic Characterization of COPD in Females

> **NIH NIH R01** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV HERSHEY MED CTR · 2024 · $572,076

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
COPD is the fourth leading cause of death for women in the United States, which has a strong genetic basis.
Studies have demonstrated the heritability of COPD to be ~40%. Despite the enormous burden of COPD, there
are still no pharmacologic therapies that slow progression of disease or reduce mortality, indicating the need
for a better understanding of the genetic basis of the disease.
 Notably, COPD shows sex differences in disease prevalence, pathology, and symptoms. Although
historically thought to affect primarily men, the risk of COPD in women has increased over time due to growing
prevalence of smoking and exposure to harmful pollutants. Thus, over the past decade, age-adjusted
prevalence of COPD has been consistently higher in women than in men. Moreover, women report greater
breathlessness at similar degrees of airflow obstruction and emphysema severity, and experience >25% more
exacerbations than men.
 Despite the sex differences, most omics studies of COPD combine both sexes together and large-scale female
specific COPD studies are lacking. In this application, we propose novel approaches to conduct female-specific
GWAS, borrowing strength from summary statistics from large sex-combined GWAS of COPD. We will also
generate single cell RNASeq data from female lung and integrate cell type specific eQTLs with GWAS to identify
risk genes. Besides, we will assemble a large multi-ancestry plasma proteomics dataset, generate female specific
pQTLs, and use them to identify COPD biomarkers. Results from this study will bring novel insights into the
mechanisms of COPD in females and identify protein biomarkers to aid in the diagnosis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10882086
- **Project number:** 1R01HL173869-01
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV HERSHEY MED CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Dajiang Liu
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $572,076
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2028-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10882086

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10882086, Multi-omic Characterization of COPD in Females (1R01HL173869-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10882086. Licensed CC0.

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