HERO-GENE group

The goal of the HERO-GENE group is to understand the etiology of human autoimmune disease, with a focus on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Mission

At the Health Equity in RheumatOlogy through GENetic rEsearch (HERO-GENE) group, our mission is to understand determinants of human autoimmune disease to improve health outcomes for everyone.

Core Values

Kindness
Care
Rigor
Integrity
Inclusiveness

Overview

The goal of the HERO-GENE group is to understand the etiology of human autoimmune disease, with a focus on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Together with a team of clinicians, epidemiologists, implementation scientists, statisticians, and community partners, we leverage tools from molecular, statistical, and population genetics, genetic epidemiology, and social epigenomics to understand genetic and non-genetic factors for autoimmune, rheumatic disorders.

By identifying these genetic and non-genetic, modifiable risk factors, we aim to inform the development of tailored and equitable treatments and interventions for everyone.

Current Projects

SOCIAL EPIGENOMICS

The goal of our Social Factors, Epigenomics and Lupus in African American Women (SELA) study is to understand how positive and negative social factors influence SLE outcomes in African American women trough epigenomic and transcriptomic changes.

Vara E, Langefeld CD, Wolf BJ, Howard TD, Hawkins GA, Queen Quet, Moultrie LH, Ueberroth LA, King Q, Bray S, Molano I, Lim SS, Williams EM, Kamen DL, Ramos PS. The Social Factors, Epigenomics, and Lupus in African American Women (SELA) study: protocol for an observational mechanistic study examining the interplay of multiple individual and social factors on lupus outcomes in a health disparity population. Lupus Science & Medicine 2022.

PRECISION HEALTH RESEARCH

The goal of our Precision rEsearCh pArticipatioN (PECAN) study is to gain insights into factors that influence perceptions about precision health research participation among a diverse population-based sample in South Carolina.