Ruth Loos, PhD
About Me
Dr. Loos is Director of the Genetics of Obesity and Related Metabolic Traits Program, in the Charles R. Bronfman Institute of Personalized Medicine.
Language
English
Position
PROFESSOR | Artificial Intelligence and Human Health, PROFESSOR | Environmental Medicine
Research Topics
Diabetes, Genetics, Genomics, Human Genetics and Genetic Disorders, Molecular Epidemiology, Obesity
Research
Ruth's primary research interests focus on the identification of genes and genetic loci contributing to the risk of obesity and related metabolic traits. She has been involved in gene - discovery since 2005, when ‘genome - wide association’ was introduced and has since actively contributed to many consortia that use this approach to identify genetic loci for a large number of metabolic traits. Increasingly, her gene - discovery work also focuses on the identification of low - frequency variants through the implementation exome - chip genotyping and sequencing projects, not only in individuals of white European descent, but also in those of African and Hispanic decent.
She is a member of steering committee of the GIANT (Genetic Investigation of ANTropometric Traits) consortium, led by Professor Joel Hirschhorn and is actively involved in the many working groups. She has set up the Genome - Wide Association Study (GWAS) consortia for body fat percentage, for leptin levels, and also for resting heart rate. Furthermore, she has been involved in the GWAS consortia for blood pressure (ICBP), lipids (GLGC), glucose and insulin (MAGIC), and type 2 diabetes (DIAGRAM), amongst others.
Besides gene-discovery, she uses epidemiological methods to follow - up on established loci with the aim to elucidate the pathways through which they increase risk of metabolic disease. Furthermore, her work also assesses the public health implications of the established loci by examining their predictive value and their interaction with lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity.
Research Interests:
- Gene-discovery for obesity and related metabolic traits
- Role of low-frequency variants in metabolic traits
- Genetic contribution to obesity and related metabolic traits in individuals of African and Hispanic origin
- Gene-environment interaction to study the influence of lifestyle on the genetic susceptibility to obesity and related metabolic traits
- The value of genetic prediction for obesity and related metabolic disease
- Use of epidemiological methods to gain insights in the pathways that connect genetic loci to increased risk of disease
Publications
Industry Relationships
Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology companies, and other outside entities to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their outside financial relationships.
Below are financial relationships with industry reported by Dr. Loos during 2025 and/or 2026. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.
Consulting or Other Professional Services Examples include, but are not limited to, committee participation, data safety monitoring board (DSMB) membership
- Foghorn Therapeutix
Outside Employment
- University of Copenhagen
Mount Sinai’s faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.