Natalia Rivera

About me

I am a junior Principal Investigator (PI) committed to unraveling the underlying genetics and epigenetics of sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis. I am also the PI of the MESARGEN consortium (www.mesargen.org), an international framework to conduct genomic studies in sarcoidosis at a large scale, including multiple populations of different ancestries. I am the chair of the WASOG 2023 conference (www.wasog2023.org)

My research focus:

• uncovering the molecular disease mechanisms in sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis
• integration of high-throughput molecular data, comprehensive clinical phenotypes, environmental and lifestyle data
• utilization of cutting-edge statistical and computational methods to adopt an innovative research approach
• conducting data-driven investigations to harness the power of vast datasets thus to shed light on disease pathogenesis or identify potential therapeutic targets
• advancing collaborations through the MESARGEN consortium for advanced molecular and genomic studies in sarcoidosis 

The MESARGEN consortium is a pioneering international framework that aims to revolutionize the genomics field of sarcoidosis. The mission of MESARGEN is to amass extensive sample sizes and ensure population ancestry diversity, addressing the current research gap in sarcoidosis studies. The collective clinical, basic, and computational expertise in MESARGEN elevates the research's robustness paving the way for more accurate identification of molecular targets and clinically applicable biomarkers. 

 

 

 

Research description

Introduction

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. The disease predominantly affects the lung; however, other organs can be affected as the disease progresses, with up to 20% of patients developing fibrotic lung disease (i.e., pulmonary fibrosis). The disease occurs worldwide, varying in prevalence and clinical course across populations of different ancestries. Northern Europeans and African Americans are the most susceptible to the development of the disease and predominantly women. Individuals affected by sarcoidosis are between 30 and 60 years of age.

Several disease features, such as the variability in the clinical presentation and lack of case definitions, pose a challenge for its diagnosis, further compromised by the lack of specific diagnostic biomarkers. To date, no biomarkers enable a definitive diagnosis of the disease. Like many complex autoimmune diseases, sarcoidosis has a genetic component that underlies the disease pathogenesis and implicates molecular dysfunctions in the homeostasis of the immune system that are likely caused by environmental factors and lifestyle exposures in genetically predisposed individuals. Therefore, to identify the disease mechanisms underlying sarcoidosis pathogenesis, it is first central to recognize molecular determinants in the disease.

Research focus

Our group focuses on genomic investigations of sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Our vision is to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis and chronic inflammation implicated in autoimmunity. Our work is mainly data-driven, with high-throughput molecular data compounded with statistical methods, bioinformatics, and cutting-edge data-driven approaches. 

Using genomic data collected by MESARGEN in 19 European populations with appropriate controls, we aim to explore the opportunity for biomarker discovery, thereby conducting genome-wide screening in multi-ethnic cross-sectional cohorts, to understand how genetic variation underlines the disease architecture of sarcoidosis. Moreover, genetic information combined with epigenomic and transcriptomic data and environmental / lifestyle exposures will provide a more precise and predictive approach for identifying sarcoidosis's genomic signatures (“biomarkers”).

Our long-term goal is to identify clinical biomarkers and molecular disease targets that can help clinicians with better diagnostic and prognostic tools. Specifically, we envision applying genomic signatures to classify individuals susceptible to disease and those with increased risk for adverse disease outcomes. Deciphering the molecular networks underlying sarcoidosis pathogenesis will lead to a better understanding of the disease and, eventually, the development of more realistic gene-based therapies in sarcoidosis. MESARGEN – Multi-Ethnic Sarcoidosis Genomics Consortium was established in 2016, and it is the most extensive international framework in Europe dedicated to genomic investigations and translational research in sarcoidosis funded by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation.

Group members

Olga Chuquimia, research engineer

 

Former members

Julius Jakobsson, medical student

Patrick Kanyi Ndungu, master student

Ying Xiong, master student

Tomoko Iseda, research assistant

Zdenka Navratlova, postdoc

Christine Scerbo, summer student

Muntasir Abo Al Hayja, doctoral student

Vasiliki Vasila, research assistant

Karina Patasova, master student

Teaching portfolio

• Basic statistical genetics and data visualization, course number 5308, spring 2022, 2023
• Pulmonary inflammation, course number 3145 (1.5 p), spring term 2019
• Basic course in bioinformatics, course number 3044 (1.5), spring term 2018 and 2019

Education

PhD in Molecular Medicine, Feb 2012. Dissertation title: "Genetics of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy". Doctoral School of Molecular Medicine, University of Milan, Segrate, Milan, Italy

Master of Science in Health Sciences - Specialization Genetic Epidemiology, Sept 2011. Thesis title: "Assessment of 9p21.3 locus with severity of Coronary Artery (CAD) in the presence and absence of Type 2 Diabetes". Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences (NIHES), Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands  

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, Jan 2005. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Dec 1999. Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA

Academic honours, awards and prizes

Funding as main applicant (Principal Investigator)

• 2021 – 2022     Project grant “Integration of omics data to identify potential drug targets in sarcoidosis”, Svensk Lungmedicinsk Förenings (SLMFs) Lung Medicine Research Grant 
• 2021 -2022         Project grant "Epigenetic markers of ocular sarcoidosis", KI Stiftelser och Fonder, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2021 – 2023       Project grant “Molecular biomarkers of sarcoidosis using MESARGEN, a multi-ethnic population-based consortium”, Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2021 – 2023       Research months “Discovery of clinical biomarkers in organ-specific sarcoidosis phenotypes via the integration of genome, transcriptome, and methylome coupled with lifestyle and environmental exposures”, Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2021 – 2022       Project grant “The integration of genetic data and environmental factors including lifestyle exposures in sarcoidosis”, KI Stiftelser och Fonder, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2020 - 2022        Project grant “Blood and lung-based DNA methylation in pulmonary sarcoidosis: Biomarker discovery and potential drug targets for clinical applications”, Swedish Medical Society, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2019 - 2020        Project grant “Genetic markers for diagnosis of sarcoidosis”, Tore Nilsons Foundation for Medical Research, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2019 - 2020        Project grant “Molecular biomarkers of sarcoidosis in the Multi-Ethnic Sarcoidosis Consortium for Genetic Studies (MESARGEN)”, Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research, Illinois, US 
• 2019 - 2020        Project grant “Genomic markers of sarcoidosis – a systemic inflammatory disease”, Sigurd och Elsa Goljes Minne Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2018 - 2020        Project grant “Elucidating mechanisms of chronic inflammation in ocular sarcoidosis”, Karolinska Institutet Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2019 - 2020        Project grant “Genetic investigations on chronic inflammatory diseases, such as cardiac sarcoidosis, Lars Hiertas Minne Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2018 - 2020        Project grant “The role of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) in lung cells of patients with sarcoidosis”, Karolinska Institutet Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2018 - 2019        Project grant “Clinical biomarkers for sarcoidosis disease”, Eva and Oscar Ahréns Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2017 - 2020        Project grant “Molecular biomarkers of sarcoidosis using MESARGEN, a multi-ethnic population-based consortium”, Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden 
• 2017 - 2019        Project grant “Calcium levels and sarcoidosis, A Mendelian Randomization Study”, Lisa and Johan Grönbergs Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden