B2889 - Paternal characteristics and lifestyle and offspring DNA methylation - 24/05/2017
B number:
B2889
Principal applicant name:
Gemma Sharp | MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit
Co-applicants:
Dr Luisa Zuccolo
Title of project:
Paternal characteristics and lifestyle and offspring DNA methylation
Proposal summary:
Although lots of studies have looked at the effect of maternal behaviours on offspring DNA methylation, there is a severe lack of studies looking at paternal characteristics. Increasingly, findings from animal models suggest that paternal exposures can affect offspring health via epigenetic changes to sperm. If this is true in humans, we might expect to see changes in cord blood DNA associated with paternal factors.
We plan to use epigenome-wide association studies in a consortium setting to investigate paternal-specific effects. This will require using strategies to overcome confounding by maternal effects and shared genetics.
Date proposal received:
Wednesday, 17 May, 2017
Date proposal approved:
Wednesday, 24 May, 2017
Keywords:
Epidemiology, Pregnancy - e.g. reproductive health, postnatal depression, birth outcomes, etc., Epigenetics, Statistical methods, Biological samples -e.g. blood, cell lines, saliva, etc., Biomarkers - e.g. cotinine, fatty acids, haemoglobin, etc., Mothers - maternal age, menopause, obstetrics, Methods - e.g. cross cohort analysis, data mining, mendelian randomisation, etc., Physical - activity, fitness, function, Birth outcomes, BMI, Childhood - childcare, childhood adversity, Cognition - cognitive function, Development, Environment - enviromental exposure, pollution, Genetics - e.g. epigenetics, mendelian randomisation, UK10K, sequencing, etc., Fathers