Christopher J. O’Donnell MD
Adjunct Associate Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine
72 E. Concord Street | (857) 203-5673christopher.odonnell@va.gov
Sections
Cardiovascular Medicine
Biography
Dr. O’Donnell research is broadly focused on the epidemiology of complex cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death and disability in men and women. More specifically, Dr. O’Donnell has focused on the genetic and genomic epidemiology of clinical and subclinical forms of atherosclerosis, ventricular hypertrophy and thrombosis. A large genome-wide association study is being directed by Dr. O’Donnell in a large, well-phenotyped prospective study of multigenerational families drawn from a general population (the NHLBI’s Framingham Heart Study SHARe Project). Heritable clinical and intermediate CVD phenotypes of interest include premature onset CVD, circulating biomarkers (e.g., hemostasis and thrombosis factors) and subclinical atherosclerosis detected by high resolution cardiovascular imaging (e.g., coronary artery calcium by cardiac computed tomography and aortic plaque detected by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging). Using both genome-wide linkage and newer association methods, Dr. O’Donnell’s group has identified a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms and haplotypes with evidence for causal associations with atherosclerosis, hypertrophy and thrombosis. The long-term goal for this marriage of genomic science with well-designed studies of human populations is to better understand the etiology of CVD and to discover new targets for preventing, pre-empting and treating CVD.
Websites
Education
Medicine-Internal, MD, Harvard Medical School
Publications
Landmesser U, Thum T, Tokgözoglu L, Guzik TJ, Cosentino F, Hajjar R, Goncalves A, Laguna-Fernandez A, Nioi P, Prochaska JH, Rocha R, Kathiresan S, März J, Maurer MS, O'Donnell CJ, Passacquale G, Tavridou A, Van Heetvelde M, Himmelmann A, Meder B, Roessig L, Crea F, Lüscher TF. Pharmacotherapy of cardiovascular diseases from herbs and pills to nucleic acids. Eur Heart J. 2025 Aug 21. PMID: 40838984.
Published on 7/21/2025Smit RAJ, Wade KH, Hui Q, Arias JD, Yin X, Christiansen MR, Yengo L, Preuss MH, Nakabuye M, Rocheleau G, Graham SE, Buchanan VL, Chittoor G, Graff M, Guindo-Martínez M, Lu Y, Marouli E, Sakaue S, Spracklen CN, Vedantam S, Wilson EP, Chen SH, Ferreira T, Ji Y, Karaderi T, Lüll K, Machado M, Malden DE, Medina-Gomez C, Moore A, Rüeger S, Akiyama M, Allison MA, Alvarez M, Andersen MK, Appadurai V, Arbeeva L, Bartell E, Bhaskar S, Bielak LF, Bis JC, Bollepalli S, Bork-Jensen J, Bradfield JP, Bradford Y, Brandl C, Braund PS, Brody JA, Broeckel U, Burgdorf KS, Cade BE, Cai Q, Camarda S, Campbell A, Cañadas-Garre M, Chai JF, Chesi A, Choi SH, Christofidou P, Couture C, Cuellar-Partida G, Danning R, Degenhardt F, Delgado GE, Delitala A, Demirkan A, Deng X, Dietl A, Dimitriou M, Dimitrov L, Dorajoo R, Eichelmann F, Eliasen AU, Engmann JE, Erdos MR, Fairhurst-Hunter Z, Farmaki AE, Faul JD, Fernandez-Lopez JC, Forer L, Frank M, Freitag-Wolf S, Fritsche LG, Fuchsberger C, Galesloot TE, Gao Y, Geller F, Giannakopoulou O, Giulianini F, Gjesing AP, Goel A, Gordon SD, Gorski M, Grove J, Guo X, Gustafsson S, Haessler J, Hansen TF, Havulinna AS, Haworth SJ, Heard-Costa N, Hemerich D, Highland HM, Hindy G, Ho YL, Hofer E, Holliday E, Horn K, Hornsby WE, Hottenga JJ, Huang H, Huang J, Huerta-Chagoya A, Huo S, Hwang MY, Hwu CM, Iha H, Ikeda DD, Isono M, Jackson AU, Jansen IE, Jiang Y, Johansson I, Jonsson A, Jørgensen T, Kalafati IP, Kanai M, Kanoni S, Kårhus LL, Kasturiratne A, Katsuya T, Kawaguchi T, Kember RL, Kentistou KA, Kim D, Kim HN, Kim YJ, Kleber ME, Knol MJ, Kurbasic A, Lauzon M, Le P, Lea R, Lee JY, Lee WJ, Leonard HL, Li H, Li SA, Li X, Li X, Liang J, Lin H, Lin K, Liu J, Liu X, Lo KS, Long J, Lores-Motta L, Luan J, Lyssenko V, Lyytikäinen LP, Mahajan A, Malik MZ, Mamakou V, Mangino M, Manichaikul A, Marten J, Mattheisen M, McDaid AF, Mei Q, Meiselbach H, Melendez TL, Milaneschi Y, Miller JE, Millwood IY, Mishra PP, Mitchell RE, Møllehave LT, Mononen N, Mucha S, Munz M, Mykkänen J, Nakatochi M, Nardone GG, Nelson CP, Nethander M, Nho CW, Nielsen AA, Nolte IM, Nongmaithem SS, Noordam R, Ntalla I, Nutile T, Pandit A, Pauper M, Petersen ERB, Petersen LV, Piluso F, Polašek O, Poveda A, Pyarajan S, Raffield LM, Rakugi H, Ramirez J, Rasheed A, Raven D, Rayner NW, Riveros C, Rohde R, Ruggiero D, Ruotsalainen SE, Ryan KA, Sabater-Lleal M, Santin A, Saxena R, Scholz M, Shen B, Shi J, Shin JH, Sidore C, Sidorenko J, Sim X, Slieker RC, Smith AV, Smith JA, Smyth LJ, Southam L, Steinthorsdottir V, Sun L, Takeuchi F, Taylor KD, Tayo BO, Tcheandjieu C, Terzikhan N, Tesolin P, Teumer A, Theusch E, Thompson DJ, Thorleifsson G, Timmers PRHJ, Trompet S, Turman C, Vaccargiu S, van der Laan SW, van der Most PJ, van Klinken JB, van Setten J, Verma SS, Verweij N, Veturi Y, Wang CA, Wang C, Wang JS, Wang L, Wang YX, Wang Z, Warren HR, Bin Wei W, Wen W, Wheeler WA, Wickremasinghe AR, Wielscher M, Winsvold BS, Wong A, Wuttke M, Xia R, Yamamoto K, Yang J, Yao J, Young H, Yousri NA, Yu L, Zeng L, Zhang W, Zhang X, Zhao JH, Zhao W, Zhou W, Zimmermann ME, Zoledziewska M, 't Hart LM, Adair LS, Adams HHH, Aguilar-Salinas CA, Al-Mulla F, Arnett DK, Asselbergs FW, Åsvold BO, Attia J, Banas B, Bandinelli S, Beilin LJ, Bennett DA, Bergler T, Bharadwaj D, Biino G, Boerwinkle E, Böger CA, Borja JB, Bouchard C, Bowden DW, Brandslund I, Brumpton B, Buring JE, Caulfield MJ, Chambers JC, Chandak GR, Chanock SJ, Chaturvedi N, Ida Chen YD, Chen Z, Cheng CY, Cho YS, Christensen K, Christophersen IE, Ciullo M, Cole JW, Collins FS, Concas MP, Cooper RS, Cruz M, Cucca F, Cutler MJ, Damrauer SM, Dantoft TM, de Borst GJ, de Geus EJC, de Groot LCPGM, De Jager PL, de Kleijn DPV, de Silva HJ, Dedoussis GV, den Hollander AI, Du S, Easton DF, Eckardt KU, Elders PJM, Eliassen AH, Ellinor PT, Elmståhl S, Erdmann J, Evans MK, Fatkin D, Feenstra B, Feitosa MF, Ferrucci L, Florez JC, Ford I, Fornage M, Franke A, Franks PW, Freedman BI, Gieger C, Girotto G, Golightly YM, et al. Polygenic prediction of body mass index and obesity through the life course and across ancestries. Nat Med. 2025 Sep; 31(9):3151-3168. PMID: 40691366.
Published on 5/27/2025He Y, Wu X, Serra-Roma A, Markiewicz M, Healy E, Yan JH, Kulmatycki K, Zhang T, Diener JL, Kinhikar AG, Yates DP, Nguyen D, Hinder M, Russo C, O'Donnell CJ. Blood Pressure Lowering Effects of a Novel Long-Acting NPR1 Agonist, XXB750, in Healthy Participants: A Randomized, First-in-Human Clinical Study. Circulation. 2025 May 27; 151(21):1544-1546. PMID: 40424329.
Published on 5/15/2025Cummings BB, Joing MP, Bouchard PR, Milton MN, Moesta PF, Ramanan V, Lane A, Hirman J, Trauger JW, Maratos-Flier E, Voznesensky A, Splawski I, Nimonkar AV, Flaherty MM, Yi BA, Meyers D, Huet F, Sahambi SK, Yates DP, Hom D, Hinder M, Basson CT, O'Donnell C, Siegelman ES, Garrett CE, Lehrer-Graiwer J, Juliano RA, Weiss EJ. Safety and efficacy of a novel ANGPTL4 inhibitory antibody for lipid lowering: results from phase 1 and phase 1b/2a clinical studies. Lancet. 2025 May 31; 405(10493):1923-1934. PMID: 40383129.
Published on 4/27/2025Pillai R, Zhang L, Peters K, Jha V, O'Donnell CJ, Manning WJ, Tsao CW. Age- and sex-differences and reference values for ventricular strain by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging in adults without cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular disease risk factors. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2025 Summer; 27(1):101902. PMID: 40300666.
Published on 4/15/2025Dimmeler S, Ferri L, Nioi P, O'Donnell CJ, Damy T, Gómez-Outes A, Giacca M, Guo W, Kavousi M, Kupatt C, Landmesser U, Schunkert H, Zouridakis E, Elliott PM. Translation of genomics into routine cardiological practice: insights from a European Society of Cardiology Cardiovascular Round Table. Eur Heart J. 2025 Apr 15; 46(15):1384-1393. PMID: 39969133.
Published on 4/14/2025Meena D, Huang J, Zare M, Hasbani NR, Romuald BP, Mustafa R, van der Laan SW, Xu H, Terry JG, Bis JC, Jain D, Palmer ND, Heard-Costa N, Min YI, Guo X, Yao J, Taylor KD, Tan J, Peralta J, Pereira AC, Khan A, Choudhury A, Newman AB, Xiang AH, Hingorani A, Freedman BI, O'Donnell CJ, Giambartolomei C, Herrington DM, Jacobs DR, Klarin D, Wang FF, Heiss G, Doddapaneni H, Hodis HN, Broome J, Wilson JG, Brandenburg JT, Blangero J, Krieger JE, Smith JD, Viaud-Martinez KA, Ryan KA, Lange LA, Montasser ME, Mahaney MC, Mokry M, Fornage M, Munroe P, Gibbs RA, Tracy RP, Kim RW, Damrauer SM, Rich SS, Hsueh WA, Chen YI, Morrison AC, Mitchell BD, Carr JJ, Psaty BM, Bowden DW, Vasan RS, Correa A, Post WS, Goodarzi MO, Raffel LJ, Curran JE, Ramsay M, Rotter JI, Elliott P, Franceschini N, de Vries PS, Tzoulaki I, Dehghan A. Genome-wide association study and multi-ancestry meta-analysis identify common variants associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness. medRxiv. 2025 Apr 14. PMID: 40321265.
Published on 4/11/2025Zhang X, Brody JA, Graff M, Highland HM, Chami N, Xu H, Wang Z, Ferrier KR, Chittoor G, Josyula NS, Meyer M, Gupta S, Li X, Li Z, Allison MA, Becker DM, Bielak LF, Bis JC, Boorgula MP, Bowden DW, Broome JG, Buth EJ, Carlson CS, Chang KM, Chavan S, Chiu YF, Chuang LM, Conomos MP, DeMeo DL, Du M, Duggirala R, Eng C, Fohner AE, Freedman BI, Garrett ME, Guo X, Haiman C, Heavner BD, Hidalgo B, Hixson JE, Ho YL, Hobbs BD, Hu D, Hui Q, Hwu CM, Jackson RD, Jain D, Kalyani RR, Kardia SLR, Kelly TN, Lange EM, LeNoir M, Li C, Le Marchand L, McDonald MN, McHugh CP, Morrison AC, Naseri T, O'Connell J, O'Donnell CJ, Palmer ND, Pankow JS, Perry JA, Peters U, Preuss MH, Rao DC, Regan EA, Reupena SM, Roden DM, Rodriguez-Santana J, Sitlani CM, Smith JA, Tiwari HK, Vasan RS, Wang Z, Weeks DE, Wessel J, Wiggins KL, Wilkens LR, Wilson PWF, Yanek LR, Yoneda ZT, Zhao W, Zöllner S, Arnett DK, Ashley-Koch AE, Barnes KC, Blangero J, Boerwinkle E, Burchard EG, Carson AP, Chasman DI, Ida Chen YD, Curran JE, Fornage M, Gordeuk VR, He J, Heckbert SR, Hou L, Irvin MR, Kooperberg C, Minster RL, Mitchell BD, Nouraie M, Psaty BM, Raffield LM, Reiner AP, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Benjamin Shoemaker M, Smith NL, Taylor KD, Telen MJ, Weiss ST, Zhang Y, Heard-Costa N, Sun YV, Lin X, Cupples LA, Lange LA, Liu CT, Loos RJF, North KE, Justice AE. Whole genome sequencing analysis of body mass index identifies novel African ancestry-specific risk allele. Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 11; 16(1):3470. PMID: 40216759.
Published on 2/18/2025Smith WB, Nguyen D, Clough T, Schofield J, Kagan MR, Kompa J, He Y, Maratos-Flier E, Jamontt J, Vong L, Schwartzkopf CD, Layne JD, Usera AR, O'Donnell CJ, Heldwein KA, Streeper RS, Goldfine AB. A Growth Differentiation Factor 15 Receptor Agonist in Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials in Healthy or Obese Persons. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2025 Feb 18; 110(3):771-786. PMID: 39148430.
Published on 12/4/2024Yu YH, Pridgen KM, Nelson TJ, Miller DR, Wells JM, Assimes TL, O'Donnell CJ, Tsao PS, Chang KM, Lynch JA. Oral Health, Inflammation, and Cardiometabolic Factors in the VA Million Veteran Program. JDR Clin Trans Res. 2025 Oct; 10(4):457-468. PMID: 39629945.