Prof. Murielle Bochud, Assistant Professor, Senior Researcher

Institute of social and preventive medicine (IUMSP) Rue du Bugnon 17 CH-1005 Lausanne Tel: +41 21 314 08 99 Fax: +41 21 314 73 73 E-mail: Murielle.Bochud@chuv.ch 1 post-doctoral fellow, 1 doctoral student

Research activities :

• Genetic determinants of cardiovascular traits

Research key words :

• Genetic epidemiology; hypertension; renal function; cardiovascular epidemiology

Link to our web site

General Research Focus
Our group focuses on chronic disease epidemiology. In particular, we collect population-based and family-based data in the field of cardiovascular epidemiology. We are interested in the familial aggregation and genetic determinants of cardiovascular phenotypes, such as blood pressure, renal function and obesity, as well as in pharmacogenomics. We also participate to projects deciphering the genetic determinants of infectious diseases. Inflammatory pathways likely represent a link between cardiovascular and infectious diseases.

Specific Projects (Seychelles family-based study, Seychelles population-based study, CoLaus study, Hercules study, Swiss Survey on Salt Intake)

We are working on population-based datasets from the Seychelles islands (Indian Ocean) and from Switzerland, in collaboration with the nephrology division at the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV). Currently, our group recruits participants to the Swiss Kidney Project on Genes in Hypertension (SPUM-project financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation), which is part of the larger European Project on Genes in Hypertension (EPOGH). This latter project involves research groups from the CHUV, the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG) and the University Hospital of Bern (Insel).
With numerous other research groups worldwide, we participate to large scale meta-analyses of genome-wide data, including data from the CoLaus study (collaboration with the genetics and internal medicine departments of the CHUV).

Research Strategy
Our group favours a multidisciplinary approach with collaboration with clinicians,geneticists, statisticians, bioinformaticians and molecular biologists.

Public Health Perspective
With the explosion of genomic discoveries for common complex traits, we are interested in developing the field of public health genomics in Switzerland. The translation of research findings from molecular, to clinical, epidemiological and public health applications, and vice versa, is of particular interest to our group.

Representative publications :

• Newton-Cheh C, Johnson T, Gateva V, Tobin MD, Bochud M et al. Eight blood pressure loci identified by genome-wide association study of 34,433 people of European ancestry. Nature Genetics 2009; 41:666 - 676
• Bochud M, Staessen J, Maillard M, Mazeko MJ, Kuznetsova T, Woodiwiss A, Richart T, Norton G, Thijs L, Elston RC, Burnier M. Ethnic differences in proximal sodium and distal tubular sodium reabsorption are heritable in Black and White populations. J Hypertens 2009, 27(3):606-12.
• Wuerzner G, Pruijm M, Maillard M, Bovet P, Renaud C, Burnier M, Bochud M. Marked association between obesity and glomerular hyperfiltration: a cross-sectional study in an African population. Am J Kid Dis 2010 (in press).
• Eap C, Bochud M, Elston RC, Bovet P, Maillard M, Nussberger J, Schild L, Shamlaye C, Burnier M. The CYP3A5 and ABCB1 genes encoding drug- and hormone-metabolizing and transporting proteins influence blood pressure and response to treatment, and their effect is modified by salt. Hypertension 2007, 49(5):1007-14.
• Bochud M, Nussberger J, Bovet P, Maillard M, Elston, RC, Paccaud F, Shamlaye C., Burnier M. Plasma aldosterone is independently associated with the metabolic syndrome. Hypertension 2006;48:1-7