Chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD), which includes emphysema and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), is a leading cause of morbidity. COPD is diagnosed by a decrease in lung function, namely forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and its ratio to forced vital capacity. Deeper understanding of the underlying biology and identification of drug targets are urgently needed. Several genetic risk factors have been identified but further research is needed to find actionable targets. To address this need, we will use an integrative analysis framework to identify genes and proteins associated with lung function and COPD in the UK Biobank. We will further combine the insights gained from our analyses to build genetic risk prediction models . We expect our resulting prediction models will be more biologically interpretable than many existing genetic risk prediction models.
