Honghuang Lin, PhD

Adjunct Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

I am a bioinformatician/biostatistician with training in mathematics, machine learning, genetics, and digital medicine. Our lab is mainly focused on the development and application of computational tools to study complex diseases.

1. Identification of genetic causes of complex diseases. We have been involved in multiple large-scale genetic consortiums, such as the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium, Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program, and Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP). These studies have identified hundreds of genetic loci associated with atrial fibrillation, heart failure, hypertension, and Alzheimer’s disease.

2. Integration of multi-omics data to understand disease molecular mechanisms. Complex diseases are usually caused by the interplay of genetic and environmental factors. We have identified numerous molecular signatures from gene expression, protein expression, and DNA methylation that are related to aging and cardiovascular disease. We are also developing computational methods to integrate different molecular signatures and build gene interaction networks to study potential disease regulation networks.

3. Development of machine learning models for early disease diagnosis. We have built multiple machine learning models to predict dementia risk from midlife risk factors and neuropsychological tests. In combination with neuroimaging and blood-based measures, we are also developing multimodal machine learning methods to identify new biomarkers that are predictive of future cognitive impairment.

4. Exploration of digital and wearable devices for health monitoring. We have deployed thousands of wearable devices and mobile apps to monitor cardiovascular health and cognitive health. We are integrating active engagement with passive engagement technologies from the habitual environment to make sustained monitoring feasible. Novel analytic strategies are also being developed to analyze big unstructured data to identify potential digital biomarkers that are predictive of future health outcomes.

Publications

  • Published 4/22/2025

    Ding H, Madan S, Searls E, McNulty M, Low S, Li Z, Ho K, Rahman S, Igwe A, Popp Z, Hwang PH, De Anda-Duran I, Kolachalama VB, Mez J, Alosco ML, Thomas RJ, Au R, Lin H. Exploring nightly variability and clinical influences on sleep measures: insights from a digital brain health platform. Sleep Med. 2025 Jul; 131:106532. PMID: 40306226.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/3/2025

    Paul TJ, Sadaniantz K, Soni A, Asaker JC, Pathiravasan CH, Mehawej J, Filippaios A, Zhang Y, Wang Z, Liu C, Lin H, Murabito JM, McManus DD, Kovell L. Patterns of Adherence to Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Among Men and Women in the Electronic Framingham Heart Study. medRxiv. 2025 Apr 03. PMID: 40236403.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/1/2025

    Ding H, Lyu C, Karjadi C, Sunderaraman P, Young CB, Mormino EC, Low S, Devine S, Gifford K, Au R, Lin H. Association of the digital clock drawing test with amyloid and tau PET biomarkers in low age risk adults. Sci Rep. 2025 Apr 01; 15(1):11104. PMID: 40169870.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/17/2025

    Spartano NL, Sultana N, Lin H, Cheng H, Lu S, Fei D, Murabito JM, Walker ME, Wolpert HA, Steenkamp DW. Defining Continuous Glucose Monitor Time in Range in a Large, Community-Based Cohort Without Diabetes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2025 Mar 17; 110(4):1128-1134. PMID: 39257191.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/14/2025

    Wang D, Scalici A, Wang Y, Lin H, Pitsillides A, Heard-Costa N, Cruchaga C, Ziegemeier E, Bis JC, Fornage M, Boerwinkle E, De Jager PL, Wijsman E, Dupuis J, Renton AE, Seshadri S, Goate AM, DeStefano AL, Peloso GM. Frequency of variants in Mendelian Alzheimer's disease genes within the Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Apr; 104(3):841-851. PMID: 40084664.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 252 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Member, BU-BMC Cancer Center
    Boston University
  • Investigator
    Framingham Heart Study
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University

Websites

Education

  • National University of Singapore (NUS), PhD
  • Peking University, BA
  • Peking University, BS

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