DANA C. CRAWFORD, PHD
Associate Director for Population and Diversity Research
Dana Crawford, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences and Associate Director for Population and Diversity Research in the Cleveland Institute for Computational Biology. She also has a secondary appointment in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences. Dr. Crawford received her Ph.D. at Emory University in genetics and molecular biology in 2000 and then trained as a post-doctoral fellow as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2000–2002) and as a senior fellow at the University of Washington’s Department of Genome Sciences (2002–2006). Prior to her most current position, Dr. Crawford spent eight years as tenure-track faculty in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Investigator in the Center for Human Genetics Research at Vanderbilt University. As a genetic epidemiologist at CWRU, Dr. Crawford’s broad research interests include applying genetic variation data to large-scale epidemiologic and clinical cohorts to better understand human genotype-phenotype associations with an emphasis on diverse populations.
Recent Publications
- Verma, A, Tsao, NL, Thomann, LO, Ho, YL, Iyengar, SK, Luoh, SW, Carr, R, Crawford, DC, Efird, JT, Huffman, JE et al.. A Phenome-Wide Association Study of genes associated with COVID-19 severity reveals shared genetics with complex diseases in the Million Veteran Program. PLoS Genet 2022; 18 (4): e1010113. PubMed PMID:35482673 PubMed Central PMC9049369.
- Menon, R, Bomback, AS, Lake, BB, Stutzke, C, Grewenow, SM, Menez, S, D'Agati, VD, Jain, S, Kidney Precision Medicine Project. Integrated single-cell sequencing and histopathological analyses reveal diverse injury and repair responses in a participant with acute kidney injury: a clinical-molecular-pathologic correlation. Kidney Int 2022; : . PubMed PMID:35339536 .
- Peloso, GM, Tcheandjieu, C, McGeary, JE, Posner, DC, Ho, YL, Zhou, JJ, Hilliard, AT, Joseph, J, O'Donnell, CJ, Efird, JT et al.. Genetic Loci Associated With COVID-19 Positivity and Hospitalization in White, Black, and Hispanic Veterans of the VA Million Veteran Program. Front Genet 2021; 12 : 777076. PubMed PMID:35222515 PubMed Central PMC8864634.
- Jin, B, Capra, JA, Benchek, P, Wheeler, N, Naj, AC, Hamilton-Nelson, KL, Farrell, JJ, Leung, YY, Kunkle, B, Vadarajan, B et al.. An association test of the spatial distribution of rare missense variants within protein structures identifies Alzheimer's disease-related patterns. Genome Res 2022; 32 (4): 778-790. PubMed PMID:35210353 PubMed Central PMC8997344.
- Huynh-Le, MP, Karunamuni, R, Fan, CC, Asona, L, Thompson, WK, Martinez, ME, Eeles, RA, Kote-Jarai, Z, Muir, KR, Lophatananon, A et al.. Prostate cancer risk stratification improvement across multiple ancestries with new polygenic hazard score. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 2022; : . PubMed PMID:35152271 .
- Darst, BF, Hughley, R, Pfennig, A, Hazra, U, Fan, C, Wan, P, Sheng, X, Xia, L, Andrews, C, Chen, F et al.. A Rare Germline HOXB13 Variant Contributes to Risk of Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry. Eur Urol 2022; 81 (5): 458-462. PubMed PMID:35031163 PubMed Central PMC9018520.
- Liu, S, Crawford, DC. Maturation and application of phenome-wide association studies. Trends Genet 2022; 38 (4): 353-363. PubMed PMID:34991903 PubMed Central PMC8930498.
- Butler, CR, Appelbaum, PS, Ascani, H, Aulisio, M, Campbell, CE, de Boer, IH, Dighe, AL, Hall, DE, Himmelfarb, J, Knight, R et al.. A Participant-Centered Approach to Understanding Risks and Benefits of Participation in Research Informed by the Kidney Precision Medicine Project. Am J Kidney Dis 2021; : . PubMed PMID:34871700 .
- Nealon, CL, Halladay, CW, Kinzy, TG, Simpson, P, Canania, RL, Anthony, SA, Roncone, DP, Sawicki Rogers, LR, Leber, JN, Dougherty, JM et al.. Development and Evaluation of a Rules-based Algorithm for Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in the VA Million Veteran Program. Ophthalmic Epidemiol 2021; : 1-9. PubMed PMID:34822319 .
- Kaur, H, Crawford, DC, Liang, J, Benchek, P, COGENT BP Consortium, Zhu, X, Kallianpur, AR, Bush, WS. Replication of European hypertension associations in a case-control study of 9,534 African Americans. PLoS One 2021; 16 (11): e0259962. PubMed PMID:34793544 PubMed Central PMC8601554.
Featured Publications

Investigating the relationship between mitochondrial genetic variation and cardiovascular-related traits to develop a framework for mitochondrial phenome-wide association studies.
Mitchell SL, Hall JB, Goodloe RJ, Boston J, Farber-Eger E, Pendergrass SA, Bush WS, Crawford DC,. Mitochondria play a critical role in the cell and have DNA independent of the nuclear genome. There is much evidence that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation plays a role in human health and disease, however, this area of investigation has […]

Pleiotropic associations of risk variants identified for other cancers with lung cancer risk: the PAGE and TRICL consortia.
Park SL, Fesinmeyer MD, Timofeeva M, Caberto CP, Kocarnik JM, Han Y, Love SA, Young A, Dumitrescu L, Lin Y, Goodloe R, Wilkens LR, Hindorff L, Fowke JH, Carty C, Buyske S, Schumacher FR, Butler A, Dilks H, Deelman E, Cote ML, Chen W, Pande M, Christiani DC, Field JK, Bickebller H, Risch A, Heinrich […]

Pleiotropic effects of genetic risk variants for other cancers on colorectal cancer risk: PAGE, GECCO and CCFR consortia.
Cheng I, Kocarnik JM, Dumitrescu L, Lindor NM, Chang-Claude J, Avery CL, Caberto CP, Love SA, Slattery ML, Chan AT, Baron JA, Hindorff LA, Park SL, Schumacher FR, Hoffmeister M, Kraft P, Butler AM, Duggan DJ, Hou L, Carlson CS, Monroe KR, Lin Y, Carty CL, Mann S, Ma J, Giovannucci EL, Fuchs CS, Newcomb […]

Utilization of an EMR-biorepository to identify the genetic predictors of calcineurin-inhibitor toxicity in heart transplant recipients.
Oetjens M, Bush WS, Birdwell KA, Dilks HH, Bowton EA, Denny JC, Wilke RA, Roden DM, Crawford DC,. Calcineurin-inhibitors CI are immunosuppressive agents prescribed to patients after solid organ transplant to prevent rejection. Although these drugs have been transformative for allograft survival, long-term use is complicated by side effects including nephrotoxicity. Given the narrow therapeutic […]
Dana on Twitter
Excited to be in Denver for #ARVO2022! I present tomorrow morning in the Glaucoma Genetics Session. My talk is entitled "Cross-Ancestry Glaucoma Genetic Risk Score in Hispanic Veterans in the Million Veteran Program." Retweeted by Dr. Dana Crawford
New! Osterman et al. explore the genetic architecture of #AlzheimersDisease risk in Amish populations #OA bit.ly/3vPhtQP Retweeted by Dr. Dana Crawford
@genome_gov makes a reference to Our Flag Means Death. Did not see that coming! twitter.com/genome_gov/sta…
New genomics terms just dropped! Do you want to learn the basics of genomics while also keeping up with the latest research? We’ve got you covered. Our talking glossary is filled with cool terms and will leave you wanting more (knowledge). #DNADay2022 https://t.co/I2CxMCp5iM pic.twitter.com/ZQ8g9Mw2ap
— National Human Genome Research Institute (@genome_gov) April 25, 2022
Oh, to be a post-doc in the @capra_lab! twitter.com/capra_lab/stat…
We are hiring! Multiple funded postdoctoral positions are available on projects at the intersection of bioinformatics, evolution, genetics, and electronic health records. Please share!https://t.co/oToKR57ntO
— Capra Lab (@capra_lab) April 18, 2022
Our brief case for liberals arts education as a means to better prepare students as scientists. There is a lot more though. Liberal-arts education helps scientists think and communicate nature.com/articles/d4158… Retweeted by Dr. Dana Crawford
It's a good day when you find out that 1) your submitted grant received a decent score and 2) @genome_gov liked one of your quote tweets.
You still have a chance to impress Miranda by adding more diversity to your genomic studies. By having more genomic data from people of all populations, we increase our ability to make sure genomic research and genomic medicine benefit everyone! https://t.co/wphbznQLV4
— National Human Genome Research Institute (@genome_gov) March 23, 2022
@CWRUSOM Genetics and Genome Sciences chair position is open for applications! tinyurl.com/mr32km46 #CWRU #CWRUSOM #AcademicTwitter #genomics
@GeneticSociety also has #ASHG Board member nominations open at ashg.secure-platform.com/a/page/board-o… twitter.com/CaturDNA/statu…
Time is running out to nominate yourself or your colleagues for the @GeneticsSociety #ASHG committees! Apply by 3/15 at https://t.co/WNxNLc353Q pic.twitter.com/NJzzLz8Ok1
— Dr. Dana Crawford (@CaturDNA) March 3, 2022
Time is running out to nominate yourself or your colleagues for the @GeneticsSociety #ASHG committees! Apply by 3/15 at ashg.secure-platform.com/a/page/committ…
Our latest MVP research findings co-led with @JennyGenetics and Yan Sun: Genetic Loci Associated With COVID-19 Positivity and Hospitalization in White, Black, and Hispanic Veterans of the VA Million Veteran Program frontiersin.org/article/10.338… Retweeted by Dr. Dana Crawford
@NHGRI_Director Lavender, the rose color for love at first sight or enchantment. #ValentinesDay
After careful consideration and input from our cat Starbright, I choose comparative genomics! I previously did research in comparative genomics, and I remain smitten with this exciting area of work. It’s basically opening up evolution’s notebooks about so many adorable critters! Retweeted by Dr. Dana Crawford
On this day 10 years ago, I become the first African American to get a PhD in Human Genetics from @vanderbiltu 🖤 Happy Valentine’s Day and Black History & Futures Month! 🖤🧬🖤🧬 Retweeted by Dr. Dana Crawford
It's just the beginning, @JennyGenetics! twitter.com/JennyGenetics/…
Personal milestone as it is my first last author publication!!
— Dr. Jennifer Huffman (@JennyGenetics) February 3, 2022
Our @VAResearch MVP COVID-19 GWAS paper is live in @FrontiersIn Genetics! Includes hospitalization, severity, and in-depth look at ABO blood type. Great team effort Gina, Dan, @ines_catherine, @tassimes, Yan, & rest of WG. shorturl.at/fqPT1 Retweeted by Dr. Dana Crawford
Featured in this month's issue: a remembrance of Steve Warren, former @AJHGNews Editor & @GeneticsSociety President bit.ly/3pX43jU Retweeted by Dr. Dana Crawford
If only I were there to pick it up. 🌴 twitter.com/PacSymBiocomp/…
We have extra box lunches if anyone is hungry! #psb22
— Pac Sym Biocomputing (@PacSymBiocomp) January 4, 2022