Muralidharan Sargurupremraj, PhD

Dr. Muralidharan Sargurupremraj, PhD, is a Genetic epidemiologist with training in Molecular genetics. His research focuses on studying the genetic underpinnings of pathological processes that affect small penetrating vessels [Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD)]. These vascular brain injuries are often covert and widespread among middle-aged and older individuals, significantly contributing to the onset of stroke and dementia.

He is an active member of several large consortia of population-based cohorts (CHARGE, TOPMed) and collaborates with biobanks (UKBB, HUNT, EstBB), including those of non-European ancestry (Biobank Japan). Using causal inference models and longitudinal information from >150,000 individuals, his lab recently discussed converging evidence on white-matter hyperintensities, a highly prevalent and covert MRI marker of cSVD, as a leading vascular contributor to dementia risk, which could be targeted as a priority for dementia prevention.

Through integrative approaches utilizing multi-omics (transcriptomics, proteomics, epigenomics) data and causal inference models, Dr. Sargurupremraj's lab has led several studies, identifying and characterizing potential disease-causal genes for stroke and dementia. The findings from these studies have been published in major scientific journals including Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, JACC, Lancet Neurology, JAMA Network, and others. Notably, his lab has provided novel insight into the lifetime impact of genetic risk for cSVD by identifying the genetic overlap of the fine-mapped cSVD genes with imaging markers of brain maturation.