Steven Charles Hunt BS, PhD

Dr. Steven C. Hunt joined Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) in October 2014 as Professor of Genetic Medicine in the Research Division. Dr. Hunt attended the University of Utah where he obtained his B.S. in Mathematics and his Ph.D. in Genetic Epidemiology. In 1980, he was invited to join the faculty, and since 1993, served as Professor of Internal Medicine. He is trained in biostatistics, genetic epidemiology, physiology, and computer applications to biomedical research.

His research is centered around genetic and environmental causes of cardiovascular disease, particularly focusing on hypertension, lipids, and severe obesity. Relatives of probands of interest have been recruited to create extended, high-risk pedigrees for detailed phenotypic and genetic studies assessing underlying cardiovascular and obesity risk factors and disease outcomes. He directs a long-term, controlled, longitudinal study on the risks and benefits of gastric bypass surgery for the severely obese. He is working on detailed physiological studies relating gene variants and expression to salt sensitivity of blood pressure, focusing on the renin-angiotensin, cortisol, and catecholamine systems. He is also funded to look at gene expression of cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of sibships with high genetic risk of abnormal echocardiographic measurements obtained over 10 years.