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Courtney Gray Montgomery, Ph.D.

Member
Genes & Human Disease Research Program

Lab Website

My 101

Genes determine your height, hair color and even, in some cases, whether or not you will get certain diseases. Much of what scientists know about human disease today has been learned from the study of genetics, and in my lab we focus on how genes can trigger the onset of disease, make disease worse or even why they express themselves differently in one person versus another. In particular, we study the roles genes play in auto-immune and auto-inflammatory diseases.

While I began my career in the field of cancer genetics, I never lost ties to the work I began as a graduate student in genetics of the immune system. I now direct the Sarcoidosis Research Unit and lead projects focused on understanding the genetic and environmental risk factors of sarcoidosis. This “medical mystery” occurs when small nodules called granulomas form in and around organs. Our goal is to better understand the risk factors of sarcoidosis so that we can better diagnose, treat and even prevent disease.

Research

My laboratory is focused on the identification of genes predisposing to complex diseases, particularly colon cancer and inflammatory disorders like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and sarcoidosis. We are also involved in the development of new statistical and computational tools to aid in the discovery of these genes.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in adult Americans with each American carrying a 6% lifetime risk of developing the disease. While early stage cancers can be highly curable, late stage colon cancers remain incurable. Both somatic and germline mutations have been associated with the development of colon cancer and its precursor adenomatous colon polyps (ACPs). However, familial colon cancers with known cause: Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) and Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC) account for <1% and ~5% of all colon cancer cases annually, respectively. Our studies, in collaboration with our colleagues at Case Western Reserve University, are aimed at identifying additional alleles predisposing to colon neoplasia vital to describing individuals at high risk for developing colon cancer, and for whom colon cancer screening and early detection can have potentially life-saving benefits.

SLE is a systemic autoimmune disease most frequently and severely affecting women and has diverse clinical manifestations involving the joints, kidneys, brain, and several other organ systems. OMRF and our studies have played a major role in a longstanding effort devoted to identifying genes involved in SLE. The focus of my most recent work in this area is the identification of genes involved in the targets of the earliest autoimmune response. Identification of these genes would give us insight into the biological mechanisms underlying SLE and, potentially, other autoimmune disorders and therefore the ability to intervene in disease progression before or at the earliest stages of clinical presentation.

Sarcoidosis, a systemic granulomatous disease, has been associated with various environmental exposures and infectious agents, as well as family history. It is characterized by the presence of granulomas in the liver, lymph glands, bone marrow, brain, and most frequently, the lungs. Sarcoidosis is more prevalent in women and, in the United States, African Americans are both more commonly and more severely affected than Caucasians. Our studies, together with our collaborators at Henry Ford Health Systems, have identified a major genetic component on chromosome 5 unique to African Americans. Current studies focus on using ancestry-specific information to help elucidate the exact location of these genes.

Brief CV

Education
B.A. (honors), Oklahoma City University, 1995
M.S., University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 2000
Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 2004

Honors and Awards
1995 Outstanding Science Student Award, Oklahoma City University
1995 Rhodes Scholar Semifinalist, Oxford University
1999 2nd Place, College of Public Health Graduate Student Research Competition, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
2000 Graduate Student Association Award, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
2000-2002 NHLBI trainee fellow, Case Western Reserve University Division of Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology
2001 Nominee for C.W. Cotterman Award, American Society of Human Genetics
2002-2003 Student of the Year Award, Case Western Reserve University Division of Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology
2012 J. Donald and Patricia Capra Award for Scientific Achievement

Other Activities
Editor, BMC Genetics, Genetic Analysis Workshop (2004-2005)
Reviewer, Human Heredity (2005-present)
Reviewer, Genes and Immunity (2005-present)
Reviewer, BioTechniques (2005-present)
Reviewer, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2006-present)
Editorial Board Member, Open Genetics Journal (2007)
Reviewer, BMC Genetics, Genetic Analysis Workshop (2007)
Reviewer, Annals of Human Genetics (2007-present)
Reviewer, Biometrical Journal (2007-present)

Memberships
American Association for Cancer Research
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Statistical Association
American Society of Human Genetics
International Genetic Epidemiology Society

Joined OMRF Scientific Staff in 2008.

Publications

View more publications

Recent Publications

Kwong AM, Blackwell TW, LeFaive J, de Andrade M, Barnard J, Barnes KC, Blangero J, Boerwinkle E, Burchard EG, Cade BE, Chasman DI, Chen H, Conomos MP, Cupples LA, Ellinor PT, Eng C, Gao Y, Guo X, Ryan Irvin M, Kelly TN, Kim W, Kooperberg C, Lubitz SA, Mak ACY, Manichaikul AW, Mathias RA, Montasser ME, Montgomery CG, Musani S, Palmer ND, Peloso GM, Qiao D, Reiner AP, Roden DM, Shoemaker MB, Smith JA, Smith NL, Lasky Su J, Tiwari HK, Weeks DE, Weiss ST, NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium, TOPMed Analysis Working Group., Scott LJ, Smith AV, Abecasis GR, Boehnke M, Min Kang H. Robust, flexible, and scalable tests for Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium across diverse ancestries. Genetics, 2021 March, PMID: 33720349

Taliun D, Harris DN, Kessler MD, Carlson J, Szpiech ZA, Torres R, Taliun SAG, Corvelo A, Gogarten SM, Kang HM, Pitsillides AN, LeFaive J, Lee SB, Tian X, Browning BL, Das S, Emde AK, Clarke WE, Loesch DP, Shetty AC, Blackwell TW, Smith AV, Wong Q, Liu X, Conomos MP, Bobo DM, Aguet F, Albert C, Alonso A, Ardlie KG, Arking DE, Aslibekyan S, Auer PL, Barnard J, Barr RG, Barwick L, Becker LC, Beer RL, Benjamin EJ, Bielak LF, Blangero J, Boehnke M, Bowden DW, Brody JA, Burchard EG, Cade BE, Casella JF, Chalazan B, Chasman DI, Chen YI, Cho MH, Choi SH, Chung MK, Clish CB, Correa A, Curran JE, Custer B, Darbar D, Daya M, de Andrade M, DeMeo DL, Dutcher SK, Ellinor PT, Emery LS, Eng C, Fatkin D, Fingerlin T, Forer L, Fornage M, Franceschini N, Fuchsberger C, Fullerton SM, Germer S, Gladwin MT, Gottlieb DJ, Guo X, Hall ME, He J, Heard-Costa NL, Heckbert SR, Irvin MR, Johnsen JM, Johnson AD, Kaplan R, Kardia SLR, Kelly T, Kelly S, Kenny EE, Kiel DP, Klemmer R, Konkle BA, Kooperberg C, Köttgen A, Lange LA, Lasky-Su J, Levy D, Lin X, Lin KH, Liu C, Loos RJF, Garman L, Gerszten R, Lubitz SA, Lunetta KL, Mak ACY, Manichaikul A, Manning AK, Mathias RA, McManus DD, McGarvey ST, Meigs JB, Meyers DA, Mikulla JL, Minear MA, Mitchell BD, Mohanty S, Montasser ME, Montgomery C, Morrison AC, Murabito JM, Natale A, Natarajan P, Nelson SC, North KE, O'Connell JR, Palmer ND, Pankratz N, Peloso GM, Peyser PA, Pleiness J, Post WS, Psaty BM, Rao DC, Redline S, Reiner AP, Roden D, Rotter JI, Ruczinski I, Sarnowski C, Schoenherr S, Schwartz DA, Seo JS, Seshadri S, Sheehan VA, Sheu WH, Shoemaker MB, Smith NL, Smith JA, Sotoodehnia N, Stilp AM, Tang W, Taylor KD, Telen M, Thornton TA, Tracy RP, Van Den Berg DJ, Vasan RS, Viaud-Martinez KA, Vrieze S, Weeks DE, Weir BS, Weiss ST, Weng LC, Willer CJ, Zhang Y, Zhao X, Arnett DK, Ashley-Koch AE, Barnes KC, Boerwinkle E, Gabriel S, Gibbs R, Rice KM, Rich SS, Silverman EK, Qasba P, Gan W, NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium., Papanicolaou GJ, Nickerson DA, Browning SR, Zody MC, Zöllner S, Wilson JG, Cupples LA, Laurie CC, Jaquish CE, Hernandez RD, O'Connor TD, Abecasis GR. Sequencing of 53,831 diverse genomes from the NHLBI TOPMed Program. Nature 590:290-299, 2021 February, PMID: 33568819, PMCID: PMC7875770

Garman L, Pelikan RC, Rasmussen A, Lareau CA, Savoy KA, Deshmukh US, Bagavant H, Levin AM, Daouk S, Drake WP, Montgomery CG. Single Cell Transcriptomics Implicate Novel Monocyte and T Cell Immune Dysregulation in Sarcoidosis. Front Immunol 11:567342, 2020 December, PMID: 33363531, PMCID: PMC7753017

Selected Publications

Pelikan R, Kelly JA, Fu Y,  Laraeu CA, Tessneer KL, Wiley GB, Wiley M, Glenn SB, HarleyJB, Guthridge JM, James JA, Aryee MJ, Montgomery CG, Gaffney PM. Enhancer histone-QTLs are enriched on autoimmune disease risk haplotypes and influence gene expression variability within chromatin networks.  Nature Communications, 2018. PMID: 30046115 PMCID: 6060153

Lareau CA, DeWeese CF, Adrianto I, Lessard CJ, Gaffney PM, Iannuzzi MC, Rybicki BA, Levin AM, Montgomery CG. Polygenic Risk Assessment Reveals Pleiotropy between Sarcoidosis and Inflammatory Disorders in the Context of Genetic ancestry. Genes Immun. 2017 Mar;18(2):88-94. PMID: 28275240 PMCID: 5407914

Lareau CA, Adrianto I, Levin AM, Iannuzzi MC, Rybicki BA, Montgomery CG. Fine mapping of chromosome 15q25 implicates ZNF592 in neurosarcoidosis patients. Ann Clin Trans Neurol. 2015 Oct;2(10):972-7. PMID: 26478897 PMCID: 4603380

Bello GA, Adrianto I, Dumancas GD, Levin AM, Innauzzi MC, Rybicki BA, Montgomery C. Role of NOD2 pathway genes in sarcoidosis cases with clinical characteristics of Blau Syndrome. Am J of Resp Crit Care Med. 2015 Nov 1;192(9):1133-5. PMID: 26517420 PMCID: 5447311

Adrianto I, Lin CP, Hale JJ, Levin AM, Datta I, Parker R, Adler A, Kelly JA, Kaufman KM, Lessard CJ, Moser KL, Kimberly RP, Harley JB, Iannuzzi MC, Rybicki BA, Montgomery CG†. Genome-wide association study of African and European Americans implicates multiple shared and ethnic specific loci in sarcoidosis susceptibility. PLoS One. 2012;7(8):e43907. PMID: 22952805 PMCID: 3428296

Adrianto I, Wang S, Wiley GB, Lessard CJ, Kelly JA, Adler AJ, Glenn SB, Williams AH, Ziegler JT, Comeau ME, Marion MC, Wakeland BE, Liang C, Kaufman KM, Guthridge JM, Alarcón-Riquelme ME; BIOLUPUS and GENLES Networks; Alarcón GS, Anaya JM, Bae SC, Kim JH, Joo YB, Boackle SA, Brown EE, Petri MA, Ramsey-Goldman R, Reveille JD, Vilá LM, Criswell LA, Edberg JC, Freedman BI, Gilkeson GS, Jacob CO, James JA, Kamen DL, Kimberly RP, Martin J, Merrill JT, Niewold TB, Pons-Estel BA, Scofield RH, Stevens AM, Tsao BP, Vyse TJ, Langefeld CD, Harley JB, Wakeland EK, Moser KL, Montgomery CG, Gaffney PM. Association of two independent risk haplotypes in TNIP1 with systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis & Rheumatology, November 2012; 64(11):3695-705. PMID: 22833143 PMCID: 3485412

 

Contact

Genes & Human Disease Research Program, MS 57
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
825 N.E. 13th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Phone: (405) 271-2648
Fax: (405) 271-2578
E-mail: Courtney-Montgomery@omrf.org

Lab Staff

Astrid Rasmussen, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Associate Member

Lori Garman, Ph.D.
Associate Staff Scientist

Stuart Glenn
Assistant Director of Infrastructure & Research Computing

Richard Pelikan, Ph.D.
Bioinformatics Scientist

Chuang Li, Ph.D.
Computational Postdoctoral Fellow

Bryan Dawkins, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

Nathan Pezant
Senior Data Analyst

Kiely Grundahl
Senior Manager of Laboratory

Cherilyn Pritchett Frazee
Senior Research Assistant

Nic Cejda
Senior Research Technician

Judy Harris, R.N.
Lead Clinical Research Nurse

Jennifer Hudson
Research Project Nurse

Sharon Johnson
Research Data Coordinator

Leslie Masse
Administrative Assistant II

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