Daniel Levy, M.D.

Dr. Levy’s main areas of research interest include the epidemiology and genetics of cardiovascular disease, with a focus on coronary disease, hypertension, and heart failure. He aims to merge the robust clinical and longitudinal data available from the Framingham Heart Study with the latest advances in genomic sciences to gain insight into the complex relations between complex cardiovascular traits and the onset of heart disease.

Dr. Levy was recently part of an international consortium that identified 29 genetic variants that influence blood pressure and heart disease risk, included 16 previously unrecognized variants found in both expected and unexpected locations. Another smaller scale study identified the genetic variants in the mitochondrial genome potentially associated with blood pressure and fasting glucose levels. These and other efforts have provided new clues into how blood pressure is regulated.

Dr. Levy has also had a long-standing interest in the causes and manifestations of heart failure. Using the Framingham cohort and others, he has conducted extensive studies into the development of heart failure, as well as studies examining the clinical differences in risk factors and prognosis of people with heart failure in the setting of preserved versus reduced ejection fractions. One of his most recent discoveries was identifying galectin-3, a protein associated with cardiac fibrosis, as a predictor of heart failure.

Most recently, Dr. Levy has begun spearheading a new research program known as the SABRe CVD (Systems Approach to Biomarker Research in Cardiovascular Disease) Initiative, which seeks to identify new biomarkers and pathways involved in cardiovascular disease through the introduction of discovery proteomics and metabolomics, and gene expression and microRNA profiling. These resources will be united with the Framingham Study’s unparalleled genetic and phenotypic databases and will be made freely accessible to the scientific community at large. With these new resources available, Dr. Levy and his colleagues hope to contribute research discoveries to improve the options for primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease.

Daniel Levy, M.D., is Chief of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Genomics Laboratory and a senior scientist at the Framingham Heart Study. His research seeks to uncover the genetic and molecular factors that contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, and heart failure by combining population-based research with advanced genomic and multi-omics technologies.

A pioneer in cardiovascular genetics, Dr. Levy co-founded an international research consortium that conducted landmark studies identifying many of the genetic variants associated with blood pressure and hypertension. His team integrates genomic, transcriptomic, microRNA, proteomic, and epigenomic data from thousands of participants in the Framingham Heart Study and NHLBI's TOPMed Program to identify the genes, proteins, and biological pathways that influence cardiovascular disease and its risk factors. This work has provided important insights into disease mechanisms, revealed potential targets for new therapies, and contributed to the foundation of precision medicine approaches for cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment.

Dr. Levy is an NIH Distinguished Investigator and a three-time recipient of the NIH Director's Award. He has authored more than 900 scientific publications and has been recognized repeatedly among the world's most highly cited researchers. His discoveries have advanced cardiovascular research worldwide, informed national prevention and treatment guidelines, and helped shape our understanding of the biological causes of cardiovascular disease. In addition to leading innovative research programs, he is committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists and is a frequent keynote speaker at major scientific conferences.

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