Researcher Spotlight | Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center

Jackie Hellwege Ph.D.; Research Associate Professor

Jackie Hellwee is a Research Assistant Professor and current Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Heath (BIRCWH) K12 scholar in the Division of Genetic Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. My training includes graduate and postgraduate work in human genetics/genomics and genetic epidemiology at Wake Forest and Vanderbilt. My current research program is focused on genetic predisposition to renal disease and its relationship with hypertension and diabetes complications in diverse populations overburdened by these diseases. I also have an interest in women’s health research and the role of genetics in reproduction-related phenotypes. My work aims to understand the genetic architecture and biological mechanisms underlying these outcomes with the goal of translating my findings to aid in the development of precision medicine. I have specific expertise in quantitative approaches leveraging large data resources for genetic discovery utilizing both population- and family-based study designs, with applications to cardiometabolic and fibroproliferative phenotypes. My research incorporates electronic health record-derived phenotypes, multi-stage GWAS meta-analysis, exome sequencing, and multiple bioinformatics techniques to identify genomic factors impacting human disease and characterize their effects in biological pathways and their shared biology with other complex diseases. Current projects focus on extending GWAS results to disease relationships with predicted gene expression across tissues and clinical phenome-wide association of polygenic risk scores.

Jackie Hellwee is a Research Assistant Professor and current Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Heath (BIRCWH) K12 scholar in the Division of Genetic Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. My training includes graduate and postgraduate work in human genetics/genomics and genetic epidemiology at Wake Forest and Vanderbilt. My current research program is focused on genetic predisposition to renal disease and its relationship with hypertension and diabetes complications in diverse populations overburdened by these diseases. I also have an interest in women’s health research and the role of genetics in reproduction-related phenotypes. My work aims to understand the genetic architecture and biological mechanisms underlying these outcomes with the goal of translating my findings to aid in the development of precision medicine.

I have specific expertise in quantitative approaches leveraging large data resources for genetic discovery utilizing both population- and family-based study designs, with applications to cardiometabolic and fibroproliferative phenotypes. My research incorporates electronic health record-derived phenotypes, multi-stage GWAS meta-analysis, exome sequencing, and multiple bioinformatics techniques to identify genomic factors impacting human disease and characterize their effects in biological pathways and their shared biology with other complex diseases. Current projects focus on extending GWAS results to disease relationships with predicted gene expression across tissues and clinical phenome-wide association of polygenic risk scores.