Professor Louise Wain

Professor of Respiratory Research

School/Department: Population Health Sciences, Department of

Profile

Professor Wain’s research focuses on how genetic variation contributes to the risk of developing respiratory disease, in particular pulmonary fibrosis – a condition where the lungs become scarred. Her research explores the underlying biology of the disease and guides the development of new and better targeted treatments.

It is not yet known what the longer-term effects of COVID-19 will be on the health and well-being of those who contracted the disease. Although the virus mainly targets the lungs in the short-term, it has been found that other organs can also be affected, but this is not yet fully understood. Professor Wain’s research into how genetic variation contributes to the long-term effects of COVID-19 will help to identify who needs to receive treatment, and which type of treatment patients will respond to best.

Media coverage

Publications

Leavy OC, Ma SF, Molyneaux PL, Maher TM, Oldham JM, Flores C, Noth I, Jenkins RG, Dudbridge F, Wain LV, Allen RJ. Proportion of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Risk Explained by Known common Genetic Loci in European Populations. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021 Mar 15;203(6):775-778. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202008-3211LE.PMID: 33226834; PMCID: PMC7958523.

Dhindsa RS, Mattsson J, Nag A, Wang Q, Wain LV, Allen R, ...., Platt A, Petrovski S. Identification ofa missense variant in SPDL1 associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Commun Biol. 2021 Mar 23;4(1):392. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-01910-y. PMID:33758299; PMCID: PMC7988141.

Fawcett KA, Obeidat M, Melbourne C, Shrine N, Guyatt AL, John C,...., Hall IP, Tobin MD, Wain LV. Variants associated with<i>HHIP</i> expression have sex-differential effects on lung function. WellcomeOpen Res. 2020 Jun 1;5:111. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15846.1. PMID:33728380; PMCID: PMC7938335.

Fadista J, Kraven LM, Karjalainen J, Andrews SJ, Geller F; COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative, Baillie JK, Wain LV, Jenkins RG, Feenstra B. Shared genetic etiology between idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and COVID-19 severity. EBioMedicine. 2021 Mar;65:103277. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103277. Epub 2021 Mar 10. PMID: 33714028; PMCID: PMC7946355.

Allen RJ, Guillen-Guo B,....Jenkins RG, Wain LV. Genome-wide association study of susceptibility to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. bioRxiv: doi.org/10.1101/636761 and American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201905-1017OC.

Zeggini E, Gloyn AL, Barton AC, Wain LV. Translational genomics and precision medicine: Moving from the lab to the clinic. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aax4588.

Shrine N, Guyatt AL, Erzurumluoglu AM.….Hall IP, Tobin MD, Wain LV. New genetic signals for lung function highlight pathways and pleiotropy, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associations across multiple ancestries. Nat Genet doi:10.1038/s41588-018-0321-7 and bioRxiv doi.org/10.1101/343293.

Dudbridge F, Allen RJ, Sheehan NA, Schmidt AF, Lee JC, Jenkins RG, Wain LV, Hingorani AD, Patel RS. Adjustment for index event bias in genome-wide association studies of subsequent events. Nat Commun. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-09381-w and bioRxiv doi: doi.org/10.1101/436063.

Shrine N, Portelli M.A., John C., …Wain L.V.#, Sayers, I# (2018) Moderate-to-severe asthma in individuals of European ancestry: a genome-wide association study. Lancet Respir Med 10.1016/S2213-2600(18)30389-8 (#joint senior author).

Evangelou E., Warren H.R., ….Wain L.V.#, Elliott P.#, Caulfield M.J.#(2018) Genetic analysis of over one million people identifies 535 novel loci for blood pressure. Nat Genet doi: 10.1038/s41588-018-0205-x (#joint senior author).