Kathryn Lunetta
Profiles

Kathryn L. Lunetta, PhD

Professor, Biostatistics - Boston University School of Public Health

617-358-2589
klunetta@bu.edu
Crosstown Center - 313
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Biography

Kathryn L. Lunetta, Ph.D. is a Professor of Biostatistics and a statistical geneticist with more than 20 years of experience in statistics and genetics research. She has extensive experience with the design and analysis of genome- wide association studies and sequencing studies and collaborate on several large, national and international genetic epidemiology studies at Boston University and with the Framingham Heart study. Her methodological research focuses on statistical problems and study design and analysis issues in human genetics, particularly in the mapping of complex genetic diseases. Her collaborative work spans several fields, including the genetics of atrial fibrillation and related phenotypes, the genetics of healthy aging and reproduction, and Alzheimer disease. She is a member of the CHARGE (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research) consortium and participates on the Steering and Analysis committees, and also a TOPMed investigator and analysis committee member. She is senior/primary statistician on several Alzheimer Disease related projects and for the Framingham Heart Study Atrial Fibrillation working groups, where she advises on methodology and long-term goals and provide day- to-day supervision of analyses. She is multi-PI of a Framingham Immune cell and brain aging project that seeks to identify immune cell and inflammatory biomarkers related to cognitive aging.

Other Positions

  • Investigator - Framingham Heart Study
  • Member, Genome Science Institute - Boston University
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research - Boston University

Education

  • University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, PhD Field of Study: Biostatistics
  • University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, MS Field of Study: Biostatistics
  • Grinnell College, BA Field of Study: Sociology

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHBS859

Publications

  • Published on 12/22/2025

    Khurshid Z, Farrell JJ, Tong T, Zhu C, Martin ER, Bush W, Pericak-Vance MA, Wang LS, Schellenberg G, Haines JL, Lunetta KL, Leung YY, Zhang X, Farrer LA. Multi-ancestry exome-wide study identifies variants associated with Alzheimer's disease protection. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Dec 22; 13872877251405497. PMID: 41428483.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/17/2025

    Khurshid Z, Tong T, Olayinka O, Farrell JJ, Zhu C, Martin ER, Bush W, Pericak-Vance MA, Wang LS, Schellenberg GC, Haines JL, Lunetta KL, Zhang X, Farrer LA. Interactive Effects of Telomere Length and Genetic Variants on Alzheimer Disease Risk Across Multiple Ancestral Populations. medRxiv. 2025 Dec 17. PMID: 41445639.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/2/2025

    Iyer S, Cao Y, Liebegott R, Chen J, Ragab A, Doyle MF, Lunetta KL, Murabito JM. Association of circulating immune cell phenotypes and peripheral inflammatory biomarkers with depressive symptoms in the Framingham Heart Study. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2026 Feb; 184:107716. PMID: 41349492.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/1/2025

    Dacey R, Hou L, Gurnani A, Han X, Paller-Moore MR, Chung J, Durape S, Rosenthaler M, Uretsky M, Abdolmohammadi B, Lee AJ, Brickman AM, Hohman TJ, Cuccaro ML, Bennett DA, Crane PK, Kamboh MI, Kukull WA, Jun G, Stein TD, McKee AC, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA, Wang LS, Schellenberg GD, Mayeux R, Lunetta KL, Farrer LA, Mez J. Alzheimer's disease multi-ancestry genome-wide interaction and stratified study with smoking. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Nov; 21(11):e70922. PMID: 41268768.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/31/2025

    Huffman JE, Gaziano L, Al Sayed ZR, Judy RL, Raffield LM, Biddinger KJ, Charest B, Chopra A, Gagnon D, Guo X, Koledova V, Levin MG, Min YI, Pirruccello JP, Reza N, Ruan R, Verma SS, Venkatesh BA, Verma A, Yao J, Carr JJ, Casas JP, Cho K, Lima JAC, Post WS, Rader DJ, Ritchie MD, Shah A, Taylor KD, Terry JG, Rich SS, O'Donnell CJ, Phillips LS, Lunetta KL, Rotter JI, Wilson PWF, Gaziano JM, Damrauer SM, Sun YV, Ellinor PT, Joseph J, Aragam KG. An African ancestry-specific nonsense variant in CD36 is associated with a higher risk of dilated cardiomyopathy. Nat Genet. 2025 Nov; 57(11):2682-2690. PMID: 41174181.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/2/2025

    Rotti L, Murabito JM, Chen J, Cao Y, Ragab AAY, Liu C, Wang M, Doyle MF, Lunetta KL. Immune cells and inflammatory proteins are differentially associated with subsequent DNA methylation biological aging measures in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort. Geroscience. 2025 Oct 02. PMID: 41039184.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/27/2025

    Kurniansyah N, Tasaki S, Rehman H, Zhu C, Farrell J, Sherva R, Hauger R, Merritt VC, Panizzon M, Zhang R, Gaziano JM, Gim J, Lee K, Lee DY, Nho K, Vialle RA, Mukherjee S, Trittschuh EH, Lee AJ, Brickman AM, Cruchaga C, Risacher S, Greve DN, Crane P, Martin E, Bush W, Mayeux R, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA, Logue M, Bennett DA, Barnes LL, Saykin A, Hohman T, Wang LS, Schellenberg GC, Ang TFA, Au R, Mez J, Lunetta KL, Zhang X, Farrer LA. A multi-ancestry polygenic risk score for Alzheimer disease is associated with cognitive decline, hippocampal atrophy and neuropathological hallmarks in diverse populations. medRxiv. 2025 Sep 27. PMID: 41040715.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/1/2025

    Kang M, Ang TFA, Devine SA, Sherva R, Mukherjee S, Trittschuh EH, Scollard P, Lee M, Choi SE, Klinedinst B, Nakano C, Dumitrescu LC, Hohman TJ, Cuccaro ML, Saykin AJ, Kukull WA, Bennett DA, Wang LS, Mayeux RP, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA, Schellenberg GD, Crane PK, Au R, Lunetta KL, Mez J, Farrer LA. Genome-wide pleiotropy analysis of longitudinal blood pressure and harmonized cognitive performance measures. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Sep; 21(9):e70681. PMID: 40951946.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/19/2025

    Huang J, Wang Y, Stein TD, Ang TFA, Zhu Y, Tao Q, Lunetta KL, Mez J, Au R, Farrer LA, Qiu WQ, Zhang X. The impact of blood MCP-1 levels on Alzheimer's disease with genetic variation at the NAV3 and UNC5C loci. Transl Psychiatry. 2025 Aug 19; 15(1):296. PMID: 40830334.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/29/2025

    Ragab AAY, Doyle MF, Chen J, Lunetta KL, Murabito JM. Alcohol consumption and immune cell profiles: Insights from the Framingham Heart Study. Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2025 Sep; 49(9):1953-1961. PMID: 40728111.

     Read At: PubMed

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