How stress-linked gene changes may raise heart disease risk
Official title: Epigenetic mechanisms linking psychosocial stress with coronary heart disease
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11326344 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether stress-related chemical changes on DNA in blood immune cells help explain higher heart disease risk in people exposed to chronic psychosocial stress.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2022 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $452,042 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL163031-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11326344 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with histories of chronic psychosocial stress or with traditional cardiovascular risk factors who are willing to provide blood samples and health information.
✕Less likely to help
People without stress or cardiovascular risk factors, or those seeking immediate clinical treatment, are unlikely to receive direct health benefit from participating.
What this research studies
You would be part of work that compares DNA methylation patterns in whole blood and specific immune cell types from large human groups to spot stress-linked molecular signatures. Researchers will link those methylation patterns to measures of immune activity and later heart disease events in those cohorts. They will also use cell models in the lab to test how the identified methylation changes alter inflammatory signals that drive atherosclerosis. The combined human-data and lab experiments aim to find blood-based markers and molecular targets related to stress and coronary heart disease.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could produce blood markers that help identify people whose stress increases their heart disease risk and suggest new targets to reduce harmful inflammation.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have linked stress and DNA methylation to inflammation and heart risk, but turning those findings into reliable clinical tests or treatments has not yet been achieved.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zannas, Anthony S. — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Zannas, Anthony S.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.