Karlijn A.C. Meeks, PhD, MSc

• B.Sc., Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University, 2010       
• M.Sc., Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University, 2012
• Ph.D., Public Health Epidemiology, University of Amsterdam, 2017
• Postdoctoral training, Epidemiology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, 2018
• Postdoctoral training, Genetic Epidemiology, National Institutes of Health, 2024

Dr. Karlijn Meeks is an epidemiologist and faculty member in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Her research interests include the epidemiology and genetic epidemiology of cardiometabolic diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia, in diverse populations. She has a particular focus on uncovering the underlying causes and pathophysiology of these diseases in historically underrepresented populations, with an emphasis on African-ancestry populations in sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora.

Dr. Meeks employs innovative study designs, such as comparing an African migrant group living in multiple distinct geographical settings to assess the roles of national context and migration on health outcomes. Her work integrates multi-omics approaches, including genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics, to advance understanding of disease biology, identify disease markers, predict response to medications, and improve risk score performance for African populations. She combines classical epidemiologic methods with genome-wide association studies, fine mapping, and Mendelian randomization approaches to add to the slowly growing body of literature on the prevalence, determinants, and underlying biology of cardiometabolic diseases in African-ancestry populations.

Dr. Meeks has published over 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Genome Medicine, eBioMedicine, Diabetologia, Human Molecular Genetics, and the International Journal of Epidemiology. She is the first author of papers that reported the first epigenome-wide association study for type 2 diabetes and obesity in sub-Saharan Africans, and of the first GWAS for circulating cytokines adipsin, ghrelin, and visfatin in any population. Dr. Meeks is a recipient of the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) with which she studies the inter-relationships between lifestyle factors, cytokines, genetic variants, and epigenetic biomarkers in type 2 diabetes among African-ancestry populations.

Epidemiology, Genomics, Epigenetics, Mendelian Randomization, Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, Dyslipidemia, Hypertension, Adipokines, Global Health, Health Disparities, Sub-Saharan Africa, Migrants.

Meeks KAC, Bentley AR, Assimes TL, Franceschini N, Adeyemo AA, Rotimi CN, Doumatey AP. (2023) Mendelian randomization analyses suggest a causal role for circulating GIP and IL-1RA levels in homeostatic model assessment-derived measures of β-cell function and insulin sensitivity in Africans without type 2 diabetes. Genome Medicine, 15(1):108. PubMed PMID: 38049854.

Meeks KAC, Bentley AR, Agyemang C, Galenkamp H, van den Born BH, Hanssen NMJ, Doumatey AP, Adeyemo AA, Rotimi CN. (2023) Ancestral and environmental patterns in the association between triglycerides and other cardiometabolic risk factors. EBioMedicine,91:104548. PubMed PMID: 37004336.

Meeks KAC, Bentley AR, Gouveia MH, Chen G, Zhou J, Lei L, Adeyemo AA, Doumatey AP, Rotimi CN. (2021) Genome-wide analyses of multiple obesity-related cytokines and hormones informs biology of cardiometabolic traits. Genome Medicine,13:156. PMID: 34620218.

Meeks KAC, Henneman P, Venema A, Addo J, Bahendeka S, Burr T, Danquah I, Galbete C, Mannens MMAM, Mockenhaupt FP, Owusu-Dabo E, Rotimi CN, Schulze MB, Smeeth L, Spranger J, Zafarmand MH, Adeyemo A, Agyemang C. (2019) Epigenome-wide association study in whole blood on type 2 diabetes among sub-Saharan African individuals: findings from the RODAM study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 48(1):58-70. PubMed PMID: 30107520.

Meeks KAC, Freitas-Da-Silva D, Adeyemo A, Beune EJAJ, Modesti P, Stronks K, Zafarmand M, Agyemang C. Disparities in type 2 diabetes prevalence among ethnic minority groups resident in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2016) Internal and Emergency Medicine,11(3):327-340.