# Methylomic and metabolomic determinants of Lung Function in Asthmatics

> **NIH NIH R00** · RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $249,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Asthma progression is associated with reduced growth and an increased decline in lung function (LF) that is
thought to arise from a complex interplay of genes and environment. While several asthma genetic risk loci have
been identified to-date, an in-depth utilization of how environmental factors interact with these loci remains
limited. The methylome and the metabolome are both heavily influenced by the environment and recent studies
confirm a link between both omes. Integrating DNA methylation with the metabolome could be a powerful
approach to obtain converging evidence of specific pathways influencing asthmatic lung function trajectories at
the genome-wide level. While previous studies have investigated the role of the metabolome or methylome with
regard to lung function, none have investigated both “omes” simultaneously for lung function outcomes in
asthmatics. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that DNA methylation (CpG sites) plays a critical
role in modulating downstream metabolites and thus metabolic pathways, some of which may be driven
by an underlying genetic effect on lung function in children with asthma. We want to specifically investigate
multi-omic data from Wnt, Hippo and sphingolipid pathways, known to affect asthmatic lung function generally
and in our preliminary data. We capitalize on the genetic, methylomic and metabolomic data generated from
three large prospective childhood cohorts including two from the Trans-omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed)
consortium: Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) and The Genetic Epidemiology of Asthma in
Costa Rica (GECRA) study and an independent cohort: The Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial
(VDAART). This study seeks to integrate multiple omics using innovative and state-of-the-art methodologies:
quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping to identify genome-methylome associations with LF (Aim 1), QTL mapping
and causal inference testing to evaluate methylome-metabolome associations with LF (Aim 2), correlation-based
network methods to identify a highly correlated set of omic-driven biomarkers in dysregulated pathways (Aim 3).
Priyadarshini Kachroo, PhD, MS is a bioinformatician whose long-term career goal is to transition towards
becoming an independent data scientist with expertise in utilizing multi-omic approaches to complex disease
phenotypes. As Dr. Kachroo completes these aims, her career development plan will support her training goals:
1) deepen clinical understanding of asthmatic LF phenotypes; 2) expand on the statistical skills including causal
inference testing 3) develop skill-set of network methods for integrating multi-omic datasets 4) enhance skills in
study-design, mentorship and the ethics of scientific conduct and communication of research. Dr. Kachroo’s
strong quantitative and methodological background well position her to accomplish these goals, complete the
aims of this proposal and prepare her for an independent research c...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11079982
- **Project number:** 4R00HL159234-03
- **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Priyadarshini Kachroo
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $249,000
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11079982

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11079982, Methylomic and metabolomic determinants of Lung Function in Asthmatics (4R00HL159234-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11079982. Licensed CC0.

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