Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

The ACE2 protein in the human body serves as the contact point for foreign SARS-CoV-2 virus infections. ACE2 also naturally serves as a critical regulator of blood pressure and inflammation in the body and is tightly associated with cardiac events and is a strong predictor of health outcomes. There is significant genetic variation in the DNA sequences that encode ACE2 across humans. We propose that natural genetic variation in human ACE2 DNA sequences contributes to significant health risks and predispositions to heart and kidney health and responses to coronavirus infection. We propose to synthesize 150 natural human variants of ACE2 in our lab and test them in a range of physiologically-relevant experiments. We will test these ACE2 variants in a panel of experiments that test the broad range of ACE2 functions Given the diverse range of functions of ACE2 we anticipate that we will uncover novel and diverse impacts associated with ACE2 variation on human health. We expect our findings to be of immediate interest to the scientific community. Personalized Genetics studies such as this allows us to identify groups of humans who may be at a greater risk for certain diseases and to prioritize them for specialized treatments and care.