Nancy L. Heard-Costa, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Expertise includes: Data management - both phenotype and genetic in nature, including storage , maintenance, quality control; Genetic data cleaning - both in unrelated and related individuals; Pedigree creation, verification and maintenance; Forensic analysis of genetic samples - identification of incorrect, cryptic duplicate, and related subject; Statistical analysis -from univariate to multivariate and more complex models, including design, implementation and interpretation/conclusion; Genetic statistical analysis - linkage, association and meta-analysis, including design, implementation and interpretation/conclusion; and Human Medical Genetics theory and practice.

Publications

  • Published 4/26/2026

    Zhang Y, Nguyen NQH, Hanson PA, Sevilla-Gonzalez M, Haessler J, Sarnowski C, Yao J, Yu B, Jamshidi A, Boerwinkle E, Brown MR, Chen ZZ, Ida Chen YD, Clish C, DiCorpo D, Durda P, Gerszten R, Goodarzi MO, Guo X, Heard-Costa NL, Johnson WC, Kooperberg C, Pankow JS, Post WS, Reiner AP, Rich SS, Rotter JI, de Vries PS, Wood AC, Taylor KD, Manning AK, Dupuis J, Meigs JB, Liu CT. Plasma metabolomic profiles associated with cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. Atherosclerosis. 2026 Apr 26; 417:120758. PMID: 42085744.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/23/2026

    Peloso GM, Wang D, Abbruzzese SM, Bis JC, Choi SH, Beiser A, Bressler J, Dupuis J, Fohner AE, Ghanbari M, Gibbs RA, Heard-Costa N, Ikram MA, Lacaze P, Le Grand Q, Lopez OL, Mosley TH, Riaz M, Soumaré A, Yaqub A, Boerwinkle E, Psaty BM, Fornage M, Seshadri S, DeStefano AL. Whole genome sequencing analysis of over 3500 individuals dementia-free over 85 years old. J Alzheimers Dis. 2026 Apr 23; 13872877261444302. PMID: 42024100.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/26/2026

    Yang X, Kim MS, Zhu X, Uddin MM, Nakao T, Cho SMJ, Koyama S, Xu T, Reeskamp LF, Zhang R, Liu Z, A Y, de Vries PS, Vasan RS, Boerwinkle E, Morrison AC, Psaty BM, Tracy RP, Heckbert SR, Cho MH, Yun JH, Palmer ND, Bowden DW, Murabito JM, Levy D, Heard-Costa NL, O'Connor GT, Becker LC, Kral BG, Yanek LR, Raffield LM, Hidalgo B, Rotter JI, Rich SS, Taylor KD, Post WS, Kooperberg C, Reiner AP, Mitchell BD, Kardia SLR, Smith JA, Peyser PA, Bielak LF, Yon DK, Won HH, Arnett DK, Smith AV, Gabriel SB, Ellinor PT, Natarajan P, Wang M, Fahed AC. An integrated germline and somatic genomic model for coronary artery disease. Nat Commun. 2026 Mar 26; 17(1). PMID: 41888514.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/20/2026

    Wang D, Abbruzzese S, Heard-Costa N, Rampersaud A, Martin E, Naj A, Akgun B, Kunkle B, Seshadri S, Peloso G, DeStefano AL, Li Z, Li X, Choi SH. Application of the STAAR framework in detecting rare variant associations with Alzheimer disease and related dementias: Insights and implications. HGG Adv. 2026 Apr 09; 7(2):100574. PMID: 41560352.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/20/2026

    Francis L, Beiser A, Lu S, Kujawa SG, Heard-Costa N, Kolo FB, Kamboh MI, Bernal R, Welling DB, Alcabes RL, Himali JJ, Seshadri S. Hearing loss in the young-old is associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. J Alzheimers Dis. 2026 Feb; 109(3):1142-1148. PMID: 41555782.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Center Faculty Member, Framingham Heart Study
    Framingham Heart Study

Education

  • University of Alabama at Birmingham, PhD
  • Boston University School of Public Health, MPH
  • Ripon College, BA