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 5/4/2026

    Jurgens S, Enzan N, Dinsmore I, Choi SH, Luo J, Lipov A, Hartle C, Wang X, Marston N, Weng LC, Melloni G, Chalazan B, Gray M, Pirruccello J, Diaz A, Chaffin M, Ornelas-Loredo A, Tang O, Darbar F, Kany S, Chen Y, von Falkenhausen A, Morrison A, Natale A, Tveit A, Geelhoed B, Cade B, Wagoner DV, Haase D, Soliman EZ, Davogustto G, Calkins H, Anderson J, Brody J, Barnard J, Hokanson J, Smith J, Bis J, Young K, Johnson L, Long L, Risch L, Gula L, Kwee L, Kühne M, Preuss M, Gupta N, Nafissi N, Smith N, Nilsson P, van der Harst P, Wells Q, Judy R, Schnabel R, Johnson R, Smit RAJ, Gabriel S, Knight S, Furukawa T, Min YI, Yoneda Z, Laksman Z, Alonso A, Psaty B, Albert C, Arking D, Roden D, Chasman D, Rader D, Conen D, McManus D, Fatkin D, Boerwinkle E, Marcus G, Christophersen I, Smith JG, Roberts J, Raffield L, Shoemaker MB, Cho M, Cutler M, Chung M, Olesen M, Sinner M, Sotoodehnia N, Kirchhof P, Loos RJF, Nazarian S, Mohanty S, Damrauer S, Kaab S, Heckbert S, Redline S, Shah S, Tanaka T, Ebana Y, Lubitz S, Lunetta K, Benjamin E, Rienstra M, Figtree G, Darbar D, Bezzina C, Ruff C, Sabatine M, Mirshahi T, Ellinor P. Rare coding variant architecture and gene discovery from 130,000 sequenced cases of atrial fibrillation. Res Sq. 2026 May 04. PMID: 42147184.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/1/2026

    Tao Q, Han J, Ang TFA, Hou L, Liu C, Murabito JM, Lunetta KL, Mez J, Alosco ML, Stein TD, Zhang X, Au R, Farrer L, Palmisano JN, Hamburg NM, Qiu WQ. Peripheral vascular function, including endothelium-dependent measures, and dementia risk: The Framingham Heart Study. Alzheimers Dement. 2026 May; 22(5):e71396. PMID: 42050369.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/20/2026

    Khurshid Z, Tong T, Olayinka O, Farrell JJ, Zhu C, Martin ER, Bush WS, Pericak-Vance MA, Wang LS, Schellenberg GD, Haines JL, Lunetta KL, Zhang X, Farrer LA. Interactive effects of telomere length and genetic variants on Alzheimer disease risk across multiple ancestral populations. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2026 Mar 20; 18(1). PMID: 41857676.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/18/2026

    Bernatz S, Prudente V, Pai S, Attermann AK, Cao Y, Chen J, Lyass A, Foldyna B, Nürnberg L, Bressem K, Abbosh C, Swanton C, Jamal-Hanjani M, Lu MT, Murabito JM, Lunetta KL, Birkbak NJ, Aerts HJWL. Thymic health consequences in adults. Nature. 2026 Apr; 652(8111):986-994. PMID: 41851466.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/16/2026

    Pinheiro A, Karjadi C, Tripodis Y, Kolachalama VB, Lunetta K, Demissie S, Liu C, Au R, Mohammed S. Predicting cognitive impairment using novel functional features of spatial proximity and circularity in the digital clock drawing test. medRxiv. 2026 Mar 16. PMID: 41891039.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/27/2026

    Chen J, Doyle MF, Cao Y, Iyer S, Ragab AAY, Murabito JM, Lunetta KL. Circulating immune cell phenotypes are associated with inflammatory biomarkers in dementia-free participants from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort. Sci Rep. 2026 Feb 27; 16(1). PMID: 41760714.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/12/2026

    Zhang Y, Joehanes R, Huan T, Weber LM, Yang Q, Lunetta KL, Levy D, Liu C. Integration of latent factor analysis into multivariable Mendelian randomization. Eur J Epidemiol. 2026 Jan 12. PMID: 41524881.

     Read At: PubMed
  • 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. 2026 Feb; 109(3):1274-1286. 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

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