Telephone (336) 716-6310   Fax (336) 713-7544 mng@wfubmc.edu

Maggie C.Y. Ng
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Section on Medical Genetics

Centers for Diabetes Research and Human                                      Genomics
B.Sc. (Biochemistry) The Chinese University of                                                 Hong Kong, Hong Kong                                    Ph.D. (Clinical Pharmacology) The Chinese   University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong         

The prevalence of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases are increasing worldwide over the past decades. Both genetic and environmental factors play important roles in the pathogenesis of these complex diseases. My research interest includes genetic epidemiology of diabetes, diabetic complications, obesity, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. My previous work applied candidate gene association (e.g. maturity-onset diabetes of the young) and genome-wide linkage approaches to study case-control and family samples with early-onset diabetes in Chinese. Currently, my laboratory focuses on genome-wide association studies and meta-analyses for metabolic traits including type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in African American and European populations.

Recent Publications (selected):

Wing MR, Ziegler J, Langefeld CD, Ng MCY, Haffner SM, Norris JM, Goodarzi MO, Bowden DW (2009) Analysis of FTO gene variants with measures of obesity and glucose homeostasis in the IRAS Family Study. Human Genetics 125:615-626.

Tam CH, Ma RC, So WY, Wang Y, Lam VK, Germer S, Martin M, Chan JC, Ng MCY  (2009) Interaction effect of genetic polymorphisms In glucokinase (GCK) and glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) on metabolic traits in healthy Chinese adults and adolescents. Diabetes 58: 765-769.

Miyake K, Yang W, Hara K, Yasuda K, Horikawa Y, Osawa H, Furuta H, Ng MCY, Hirota Y, Mori H, Ido K, Yamagata K, Hinokio Y, Oka Y, Iwasaki N, Iwamoto Y, Yamada Y, Seino Y, Maegawa H, Kashiwagi A, Wang HY, Tanahashi T, Nakamura N, Takeda J, Maeda E, Yamamoto K, Tokunaga K, Ma RC, So WY, Chan JC, Kamatani N, Makino H, Nanjo K, Kadowaki T, Kasuga M (2009) Construction of a prediction model for type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Japanese population based on 11 genes with strong evidence of the association. Journal of Human Genetics 54:236-241.

Prokopenko I, Zeggini E, Hanson RL, Mitchell BD, Rayner NW, Akan P, Baier L, Das  SK, Elliott KS, Fu M, Frayling TM, Groves CJ, Gwilliam R, Scott LJ, Voight BF, Hattersley AT, Hu C, Morris AD, Ng MCY, Palmer CN, Tello-Ruiz M, Vaxillaire M, Wang CR, Stein L, Chan J, Jia W, Froguel P, Elbein SC, Deloukas P, Bogardus C, Shuldiner AR, McCarthy MI; for the International Type 2 Diabetes 1q (2009) Linkage disequilibrium mapping of the replicated type 2 diabetes linkage signal on chromosome 1q. Diabetes (in press)

Leung TF, Sy HY, Ng MCY, Chan IH, Wong GW, Tang NL, Waye MM, Lam CW (2009)  Asthma and atopy are associated with chromosome 17q21 markers in Chinese children. Allergy (in press)

Gudbjartsson DF, Bjornsdottir US, Halapi E, Helgadottir A, Sulem P, Jonsdottir GM,  Thorleifsson G, Helgadottir H, Steinthorsdottir V, Stefansson H, Williams C, Hui J, Beilby J, Warrington NM, James A, Palmer LJ, Koppelman GH, Heinzmann A, Krueger M, Boezen HM, Wheatley A, Altmuller J, Shin HD, Uh ST, Cheong HS, Jonsdottir B, Gislason D, Park CS, Rasmussen LM, Porsbjerg C, Hansen JW, Backer V, Werge T, Janson C, Jönsson UB, Ng MCY, Chan J, So WY, Ma R, Shah SH, Granger CB, Quyyumi AA, Levey AI, Vaccarino V, Reilly MP, Rader DJ, Williams MJ, van Rij AM, Jones GT, Trabetti E, Malerba G, Pignatti PF, Boner A, Pescollderungg L, Girelli D, Olivieri O, Martinelli N, Ludviksson BR, Ludviksdottir D, Eyjolfsson GI, Arnar D, Thorgeirsson G, Deichmann K, Thompson PJ, Wjst M, Hall IP, Postma DS, Gislason T, Gulcher J, Kong A, Jonsdottir I, Thorsteinsdottir U, Stefansson K (2009) Sequence variants affecting eosinophil numbers associate with asthma and myocardial infarction. Nature Genetics 41:342-347.

Ng MCY, Park KS, Oh B, Tam CHT, Cho YM, Shin HD, Lam VKL, Ma RCW, So WY, Cho  YS, Kim HL, Lee HK, Chan JCN, Cho NH (2008) Implication of genetic variants near TCF7L2, SLC30A8, HHEX, CDKAL1, CDKN2A/B, IGF2BP2 and FTO in type 2 diabetes and obesity in 6719 Asians. Diabetes 57: 2226-2233.

So WY, Wang Y, Ng MCY, Yang X, Ma RC, Lam V, Kong AP, Tong PC, Chan JC (2008)  Aldose reductase genotypes and cardiorenal complications: an 8-year prospective analysis of 1,074 type 2 diabetic patients. Diabetes Care 31:2148-2153.

Yasuda K, Miyake K, Horikawa Y, Hara K, Osawa H, Furuta H, Hirota Y, Mori H,  Jonsson A, Sato Y, Yamagata K, Hinokio Y, Wang HY, Tanahashi T, Nakamura N, Oka Y, Iwasaki N, Iwamoto Y, Yamada Y, Seino Y, Maegawa H, Kashiwagi A, Takeda J, Maeda E, Shin HD, Cho YM, Park KS, Lee HK, Ng MCY, Ma RC, So WY, Chan JC, Lyssenko V, Tuomi T, Nilsson P, Groop L, Kamatani N, Sekine A, Nakamura Y, Yamamoto K, Yoshida T, Tokunaga K, Itakura M, Makino H, Nanjo K, Kadowaki T, Kasuga M (2008) Variants in KCNQ1 are associated with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nature Genetics 40:1092-1097.

Ng MCY, Tam CHT, Lam VKL, So WY, Ma RCW, Chan JCN (2007) Replication and  identification of novel variants at TCF7L2 associated with type 2 diabetes in Hong Kong Chinese. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 92:3733-3737.

Song XY, Lee SY, Ng MCY, So WY, Chan JC (2007) Bayesian analysis of structural  equation models with multinomial variables and an application to type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Statistical Medicine 26:2348-2369. 

Steinthorsdottir V, Thorleifsson G, Reynisdottir I, Benediktsson R, Jonsdottir T,  Walters GB, Styrkarsdottir U, Gretarsdottir S, Emilsson V, Ghosh S, Baker A, Snorradottir S, Bjarnason H, Ng MCY, Hansen T, Bagger Y, Wilensky RL, Reilly MP, Adeyemo A, Chen Y, Zhou J, Gudnason V, Chen G, Huang H, Lashley K, Doumatey A, So WY, Ma RC, Andersen G, Borch-Johnsen K, Jorgensen T, van Vliet-Ostaptchouk JV, Hofker MH, Wijmenga C, Christiansen C, Rader DJ, Rotimi C, Gurney M, Chan JCN, Pedersen O, Sigurdsson G, Gulcher JR, Thorsteinsdottir U, Kong A, Stefansson K (2007) A variant in CDKAL1 influences insulin response and risk of type 2 diabetes. Nature Genetics 39:770-775.

Gudbjartsson DF, Arnar DO, Helgadottir A, Gretarsdottir S, Holm H, Sigurdsson A,  Jonasdottir A, Baker A, Thorleifsson G, Kristjansson K, Palsson A, Blondal T, Sulem P, Backman VM, Hardarson GA, Palsdottir E, Helgason E, Sigurjonsdottir R, Sverrisson JT, Kostulas K, Hillert J, Ma RCW, Ng MCY, Baum L, So WY, Wong KS, Chan JCN, Furie KL, Greenberg SM, MacRae CA, Smith EE, Rosand J, Ellinor PT, Thorgeirsson G, Gulcher JR, Kong A, Thorsteinsdottir U, Stefansson K (2007) Genome-wide association study reveals major susceptibility variants to atrial fibrillation on chromosome 4q25. Nature 448:353-357.

Zeggini E, Damcott CM, Hanson RL, Karim MA, Rayner NW, Groves CJ, Baier LJ, Hale  TC, Hattersley AT, Hitman GA, Hunt SE, Knowler WC, Mitchell BD, Ng MCY, O'Connell JR, Pollin TI, Vaxillaire M, Walker M, Wang X, Whittaker P, Xiang K, Jia W, Chan JC, Froguel P, Deloukas P, Shuldiner AR, Elbein SC, McCarthy MI; International Type 2 Diabetes 1q Consortium (2006) Variation within the gene encoding the upstream stimulatory factor 1 does not influence susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in samples from populations with replicated evidence of linkage to chromosome 1q. Diabetes 55:2541-2548.

Hayes MG, Pluzhnikov A, Miyake K, Sun Y, Ng MCY, Roe CA, Below JE, Nicolae RI,  Konkashbaev A, Bell GI, Cox NJ, Hanis CL (2007) Identification of type 2 diabetes genes in Mexican Americans through genome-wide association studies. Diabetes 56:3033-3044.

Ng MCY, Baum L, So WY, Lam VK, Wang Y, Poon E, Tomlinson B, Cheng S,  Lindpaintner K, Chan JC (2006) Association of lipoprotein lipase S447X, apolipoprotein E exon 4, and apoC3 -455T>C polymorphisms on the susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy. Clinical Genetics 70:20-28. 

Li JKY, Ng MCY, So WY, Chiu CK, Ozaki R, Tong PCY, Cockram CS, Chan JCN (2006)  Phenotypic and genetic clustering of diabetes and metabolic syndrome in Chinese families with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Metabolism Research and Review 22:46-52.

Wang Y, Ng MCY, So WY, Ma R, Ko GTC, Tong PC, Chan JCN (2005) Association  between tumour necrosis factor-alpha G-308A polymorphism and risk of nephropathy in obese Chinese type 2 diabetic patients. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 20:2733-2738.

Ng MCY, Miyake K, So WY, Poon EWM, Lam VKL, Li JKY, Cox NJ, Bell GI, Chan JCN  (2005) The linkage and association of the gene encoding upstream stimulatory factor 1 with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome in the Chinese population. Diabetologia 48:2018-2024.

Ng MCY, So WY, Cox NJ, Lam VKL, Cockram CS, Critchley JAJH, Bell GI, Chan JCN  (2004) Genome-wide Scan for Type 2 Diabetes Loci in Hong Kong Chinese and Confirmation of a Susceptibility Locus on Chromosome 1q21-q25. Diabetes 53: 1609-1613.

Ng MCY, So WY, Lam VKL, Cockram CS, Bell GI, Cox NJ, Chan JCN (2004) Genome- wide Scan for Metabolic Syndrome and Related Quantitative Traits in Hong Kong Chinese and Confirmation of a Susceptibility Locus on Chromosome 1q21-q25. Diabetes 53: 2676-2683.

Ng MCY, Lee SC, Ko GTC Li JKY, So WY, Hashim Y, Barnett AH, Mackay IR, Critchley  JAJH, Cockram CS and Chan JCN (2001) Familial early-onset Type 2 diabetes in Chinese: the more important roles of obesity and genetics than autoimmunity. Diabetes Care 24:663-671.

Ng MCY, Cockburn BN, Lindner TH, Yeung VTF, Chow CC, So WY, Li JKY, Lee ZSK, Lo,  YMD, Cockram CS, Critchley JAJH, Bell GI and Chan JCN (1999) Molecular genetics of diabetes mellitus in Chinese: identification of mutations in glucokinase and hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 genes in patients with early-onset Type 2 diabetes mellitus/MODY. Diabetic Medicine 16:956-963.