Paul Franks

B.S. (Hons), 1996, Brunel University, UK
M.S., 1998, Exeter University, UK
M.Phil., 2000, Cambridge University, U.K.
Ph.D., 2003, Cambridge University, U.K.

Professor of Genetic Epidemiology, Lund University, Sweden
Head, Genetic & Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University, Sweden
Guest Professor, Umeå University, Sweden

Dr. Franks' major research interests include:

• Epidemiology and prevention of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases through diet and lifestyle
• Gene x environment interactions in relation to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
• Gene x treatment interactions in intervention studies
• Early-life determinants of obesity and type 2 diabetes

Dr. Franks’ research has focused on elucidating the interactions of genetic and lifestyle factors in the etiology of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease and translating this information into the preventive setting. He is the Principal Investigator of the GLACIER Study, a prospective cohort study of around 20,000 adults from northern Sweden designed to explore hypotheses of gene x lifestyle interactions in complex disease. Dr. Franks is also a co-investigator on the Diabetes Prevention Program Genetics Working Group. He has led research on early-life programming and cardiovascular and metabolic risk later in life. His research has also expanded our understanding of how genetic and lifestyle exposures interact in childhood and adulthood to impact obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular risk.

• Barroso I, Luan J, Middleberg RPS, Harding A-H, Franks PW, Jakes RW, Clayton D, O’Rahilly S, Schafer AJ, Wareham NJ. Candidate gene association study in type 2 diabetes indicates a role for genes involved in beta-cell function as well as insulin action. PLoS Biology. 1(1):41-55. 2003
  
  
• Franks PW, Looker HC, Kobes S, Touger L, Tataranni PA, Hanson RL, Knowler WC. Gestational glucose tolerance and risk of type 2 diabetes in young Pima Indian offspring. Diabetes 55(2):460-465. 2006
  
  
• Franks PW, Hanson RL, Knowler WC, Moffett C, Enos G, Infante AM, Krakoff J, Looker HC. Childhood predictors of young-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes. 56(12):2964-72. 2007

• Franks PW, Jablonski KA, Delahanty L, McAteer JB, Kahn SE, Knowler WC, Florez JC: for the Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Assessing gene-treatment interactions at the FTO and INSIG2 loci on obesity-related traits in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetologia. 51(12):2214-2223. 2008
  
  
• Renström F, Payne F, Nordström A, Brito EC, Rolandsson O, Hallmans G, Barosso I, Nordström P, Franks PW: the GIANT consortium. Replication and extension of genome-wide association study results for obesity in 4,923 adults from Northern Sweden. Hum Mol Genet. 18(8):1489-96. 2009
  
  
• Eriksson MK, Franks PW, Eliasson M. A randomized controlled trial of low-cost lifestyle intervention for cardiovascular risk reduction in the primary care setting: 3-year follow-up of the Swedish Björknäs Study. PLoS ONE 4(4):e5195. 2009
  
  
• Brito EC, Lyssenko V, Renström F, Berglund G, Nilsson P, Groop L, Franks PW. Previously associated type 2 diabetes variants may interact with physical activity to modify the risk of impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes: a study of 16,003 Swedish adults. Diabetes. 58(6):1411-8. 2009

• Franks PW, Hanson RL, Knowler WC, Sievers ML, Bennett PH, Looker HC. Childhood obesity, other cardiovascular risk factors and premature death.  N Eng J Med. 362: 485-93. 2010
  
  
• Fontaine-Bisson B, Renström F, Rolandsson O, the MAGIC investigators, Hallmans G, Barroso I, Franks PW. Examining the discriminative power of multi-trait genetic risk scores for type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia 53(10): 2155-2162. 2010
  

• Jablonski KA, McAteer JB, de Bakker PIW, Franks PW, Pollin TI, Hanson RL, Saxena R, Fowler S, Shuldiner AR, Knowler WC, Altshuler D, Florez JC: for the Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Common Variants in 40 Genes Assessed for Diabetes Incidence and Response to Metformin and Lifestyle Interventions in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetes. 59(10):2672-81. 2010
  
  
• Nettleton JA, McKeown NM, Kanoni S, Lemaitre RN, Hivert M-F, Ngwa J, van Rooij FJA, Sonestedt E, Wojczynski MK, Ye Z, Tanaka T, Garcia M, Anderson JS, Follis JL, Djousse L, Mukamal K, Papoutsakis C, Mozaffarian D, Carola Zillikens C, Bandinelli S, Bennett AJ, Borecki IB, Feitosa MF, Ferrucci L, Forouhi NG, Groves CJ, Hallmans G, Harris T, Hofman A, Houston DK, Hu FB, Johansson I, Kritchevsky SB, Langenberg C, Launer L, Liu Y, Loos RJ, Nalls M, Orho-Melander M, Renstrom F, Rice K, Riserus U, Rolandsson O, Rotter JI, Saylor G, Sijbrands EJG, Sjogren P, Smith A, Steingrímsdóttir L, Uitterlinden AG, Wareham NJ, Prokopenko I, Pankow JS, van Duijn CM, Florez JC, Witteman JCM, the MAGIC Investigators, Dupuis J, Dedoussis GV, Ordovas JM, Ingelsson E, Cupples LA, Siscovick DS, Franks PW, Meigs JB. Interactions of dietary whole grain intake with fasting glucose– and insulin–related genetic loci in individuals of European decent: a meta-analysis of 14 cohort studies. Diabetes Care. (12):2684-2691. 2010 
  
  
• Franks PW, Nettleton JA. Gene x lifestyle interactions on complex disease traits: infering cause and effect from observational data, sine qua non. Am J Epid. 172(9): 992-997. 2010
  
  
• Renström F, Shungin D, Johansson I, the MAGIC investigators, Florez JC, Hallmans G, Hu FB, Franks PW. Genetic predisposition to long-term non-diabetic deteriorations in glucose homeostasis: ten-year follow-up of the GLACIER Study. Diabetes. 60(1):345-54. 2011

• Hivert MF, Jablonski KA, Perreault L, Saxena R, McAteer JB, Franks PW, Hamman RF, Kahn SE, Haffner S, the DIAGRAM Consortium, Meigs JB, Altshuler D, Knowler WC, Florez JC. An updated genetic score based on 34 confirmed type 2 diabetes loci predicts diabetes incidence and regression to normoglycemia in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetes (in press)