DrJared Maina

I am a Research Associate in Statistical Genetics in Dr Cynthia Sandor’s lab at Imperial College London, working on STRAT-GLP1 (Real-world metabolic stratification of Parkinson’s disease to identify GLP-1 receptor agonist responders), a research programme funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF).

My research uses human genetics and large-scale biobank data to investigate how metabolic factors influence the risk, genetic architecture and progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). I lead genomic analyses across large international cohorts, including UK Biobank, Our Future Health, All of Us and the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre (OPDC) among others. My work involves multi-cohort and metabolically stratified genome-wide association studies (GWAS), with a particular focus on insulin resistance, glycaemic dysregulation and metabolic disease.

I also apply drug-target Mendelian randomization to investigate causal relationships between metabolic pathways, therapeutic targets and PD, with the broader aim of identifying genetically defined PD subtypes and patient groups most likely to benefit from GLP-1 receptor agonists.