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Joshua P. Lewis, PhD

Academic Title:

Associate Professor

Primary Appointment:

Medicine

Location:

Health Science Facility III, Rm. 4171

Phone (Primary):

410-706-5087

Fax:

410-706-1622

Education and Training

Joshua Lewis completed his undergraduate training at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in conjunction with Syracuse University receiving a bachelor's degree in Biotechnology. He then completed his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Genomics at the Center of Human Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Dr. Lewis completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition and in the Program in Personalized and Genomic Medicine. He was recruited to the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland in 2012.

Biosketch

Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading causes of death in the United States. The goal of Dr. Lewis' research is to identify and functionally characterize genes contributing to cardiovascular disease in order to ultimately translate genetic discoveries into individualized patient care through pharmacogenomics and/or other clinical approaches.

Antiplatelet therapy significantly improves cardiovascular outcomes in patients with various coronary syndromes by inhibiting platelet function. However, variable inter-individual responses to such therapies exist resulting in increased risk of recurrent cardiovascular events in some patients. Dr. Lewis' objective is to identify genetic variants through candidate gene studies, genome-wide association analyses, next-generation sequencing, and other "omics" approaches that contribute to differences in platelet response and cardiovascular disease risk in order to functionally elucidate the molecular mechanisms responsible for this variability. Studies by Dr. Lewis have shown that genetic variants in the Platelet Endothelial Aggregation Receptor 1 (PEAR1) gene are associated with platelet reactivity and cardiovascular outcomes in patients on aspirin therapy. He is currently exploring further the functional consequences of these polymorphisms in cellular models as well as in human populations. In addition, potential pharmacogenetic effects of paraoxonase 1 (PON1), carboxyesterase 1 (CES1), and ATP-binding cassette sub-family C member 4 (ABCC4) on clopidogrel efficacy are currently being investigated.  Dr. Lewis is a member of multiple professional societies and genomics-based consortia including the Pharmacogenomics Research Network (PGRN), Clinical Pharmacogenomics Implementation Consortium (CPIC), and Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program in order to identify novel genetic variation that lead to disease susceptibility and altered drug response.

Research/Clinical Keywords

Complex Disease Genetics, Pharmacogenomics, Personalized Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease

Highlighted Publications

Lewis JP, Horenstein RB, Ryan K, O’Connell JR, Gibson Q, Mitchell BD, Tanner K, Chai S, Bliden KP, Tantry US, Peer CJ, Figg WD, Spencer SD, Pacanowski MA, Gurbel PA, Shuldiner AR.  The Functional G143E Variant of Carboxylesterase 1 is Associated with Increased Clopidogrel Active Metabolite Levels and Greater Clopidogrel Response. Pharmacogenet and Genomics. 2013 Jan; 23(1):1-8

Lewis JP, O’Connell JR, Ryan K, Horenstein RB, Damcott CM, Gibson Q, Pollin TI, Mitchell BD, Beitelshees A, Pakzy R, Parsa A, Tantry US, Bliden KP, Post W, Faraday N, Gong Y, Pepine C, Herzog W, Johnson J, Gurbel PA, Shuldiner AR.  Genetic Variation in PEAR1 is Associated with Platelet Aggregation and Cardiovascular Outcomes.  Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2013 Apr; 6(2):184-192

Lewis JP, Stephens SH, Horenstein RB, O’Connell JR, Ryan K, Peer CJ, Figg WD, Spencer SD, Pacanowski MA, Mitchell BD, and Shuldiner AR.  The CYP2C19*17 Variant is not Independently Associated with Clopidogrel Response.  J. Thromb. Haemost. 2013 Sep; 11(9): 1640-1646

Lewis JP, Yerges-Armstrong LM, Ellero-Simatos S, Georgiades A, Kaddurah-Daouk R, and Hankemeier T. Integration of Pharmacometabolomic and Pharmacogenomic Approaches Reveal Novel Insights into Antiplatelet Therapy.  Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2013 Nov; 94(5):570-573

Fisch AS, Yerges-Armstrong LM, Donnelly, P, Ryan KA, Parihar A, Mitchell BD, O’Connell JR, Herzog W, Wren JD, Lewis JP.   Genetic Variation in the Platelet Endothelial Aggregation Receptor 1 (PEAR1) Gene is Associated with Endothelial Dysfunction. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 25;10(9):e0138795.

Additional Publication Citations

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