Eugene R. Bleecker, MD
Professor of Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Co-Director, Center for Human Genomics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Section Head, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
1964 B.A. New York University
1968 M.D. State University of New York,
Downstate Medical Center (cum laude)
Research Interests
Genetics of Allergy, Asthma and Complex Diseases, Pathogenesis of Asthma and Chronic Airflow Obstruction, Airways Hyperresponsiveness and Bronchial Inflammation, Pharmacologic Interventions in Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases
Selected Publications: Journal Articles
Moore WC, Hasday JD, Meltzer SS, White B, Bleecker ER. Mild and moderate asthmatics respond to segmental allergen challenge with similar, reproducible, allergen specific inflammation. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001; 108: 908-914.
Howard TD, Koppelman GH, Xu J, Zheng S, Postma DS, Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Gene-gene interaction in asthma: IL4RA and IL13 in a Dutch population. Am J Human Genetics 2002; 70:230-236.
Koppelman GH, Stine OC, Xu J, Howard, TD, Zheng SL, Kauffman HF, Bleecker ER, Meyers DA, Postma DS. Genome-wide search for atopy susceptibility genes in Dutch families with asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002; 109:498-506.
Herrington DM, Howard T, Hawkins GA, Xu J, Reboussin DM, Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Estrogen receptor polymorphisms and effects of estrogen replacement on HDL cholesterol in women with coronary disease. N Engl J Med 2002; 346:967-974.
Chang, B, Zheng, SL, Hawkins GA, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Turner A, Carpten JD, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Trent JM, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB, Xu J. Polymorphic GGC repeats in the androgen receptor gene are associated with hereditary and sporadic prostate cancer risk. Hum Genet 2002; 110:122-129.
Herrington DM, Howard, TD, Brosnihan KB, McDonnell DP, Li X, Hawkins GA, Reboussin DM,Xu, Zheng SL, Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Common estrogen receptor polymorphism augments effects of hormone replacement therapy on E-selectin but not C-reactive protein. Circulation 2002; 105:1879-82.
Chang B, Zheng SL, Hawkins GA, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Turner A, Carpten JD, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Trent JM, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB, Xu J. Joint effect of HSD3B1 and HSD3B2 genes is associated with hereditary and sporadic prostate cancer susceptibility. Cancer Res 2002; 62:1784-9.
Xu J, Zheng SL, Turner A, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Hawkins GA, Chang B, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB. Associations between hOGG1 sequence variants and prostate cancer susceptibility. Cancer Res 2002; 62:2253-7.
Xu J, Meyers DA, Sterling D, Zheng SL, Catalona WJ, Cramer SD, Bleecker ER, Ohar J. Association studies of serum PSA levels and the genetic polymorphisms at the androgen receptor and prostate-specific antigen genes. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2002; 11:664-69.
Xu J, Bleecker ER, Jongepier H, Howard TD, Koppelman GH, Postma DS, Meyers DA. Major recessive gene(s) with considerable residual polygenic effect regulating adult height: confirmation of genomewide scan results for chromosomes 6, 9, and 12. Am J of Hum Genet 2002; 71:646-650.
Hawkins GA, Mychaleckyj JC, Zheng SL, Faith DA, Kelly B, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Chang B, Ewing, CM, Bujnovszky P, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB, Xu J. Germline sequence variants of the LZTS1 gene associated with prostate cancer risk. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 2002; 137:1-7.
Xu J, Zheng SL, Mychaleckyj J, Isaacs SD, Faith DA, Hu JJ, Sterling D, Lange E, Hawkins GA, Turner A, Ewing CM, Johnson JR, Komiya A, Bujnovszky P, Wiley KE, DeMarzo A, Chang B, Hall MC, MCCullough DL, Partin A, Kassabian VS, Carpten J, Bailey-Wilson J, Trent JM, Ohar J, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Isaacs WB, Meyers DA. Germline mutations and sequence variants of the macrophage scavenger receptor 1 gene are associated with prostate cancer risk. Nature Genet 2002; 32:321-5.
Hawkins GA, Cramer S, Zheng SL, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Chang B, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB, Xu J. Sequence variants in the human 25-Hydroxyvitamin D31- -Hydroxylase (CYP27) gene are not associated with prostate cancer risk. The Prostate 2002; 53:175-178.
Howard TD, Postma DS, Hawkins GA, Koppelman GH, Zheng SL, Xu J, Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Fine-mapping of an IgE controlling gene on chromosome 2q: analysis of CTLA-4 and CD28. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002; 110:743-751.
Xu J, Turner A, Little J, Bleecker ER, Meyers DA. Positive results in association studies are associated with departure from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium: hint for genotyping error? Human Genet 2002; 111:573-574.
Zheng SL, Chang B, Isaacs SD, Turner A, Wiley KE, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB, Xu J. Sequence variants of a-Methylacyl-CoA Racemase are associated with prostate cancer risk. Cancer Res 2002; 62:6485-6488.
Zheng SL, Mychaleckyj JC, Hawkins GA, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Turner A, Chang B, von Kap-Herr C, Carpten JD, Pettenati M, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Trent JM, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB, Xu J. Evaluation of DLC1 as a prostate cancer susceptibility gene: mutation screen and association study. Mut Res 2002. In Press.
Koppelman GH, Jansen DF, Schouten JP, van der Heide S, Bleecker ER, Meyers DA, Postma DS. Sibling effect on atopy in children of patients with asthma. Clin Exp Allergy 2002. In Press.
Selected Publications: Editorials and Scientific Reviews
Bleecker ER. Early life influences and interventions in asthma: Introduction. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000; 105:465.
Howard TD, Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Mapping susceptibility genes for asthma and allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000; 105:477-481.
Koppelman GH, Postma DS, Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Possible dual effect of CD14 molecule on atopy. Am J Respir Crit Care Med.2002; 165:551-552.
Larj MJ, Bleecker ER. Effects of ß2-Agonists on airway tone and bronchial responsiveness. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002 In press.
Selected Publications: Book Chapters
Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Asthma. In: Genetic Basis of Common Diseases, 2nd edition. King RA, Rotter JI, Motulsky AG, eds., Oxford University Press, 2000; 49-58.
Meyers DA, Howard TD, Bleecker ER. Genetics of Allergic Disease. In: Samter's Immunologic Diseases, 6th edition. Austen KF, Frank MM, Atkinson JP, Cantor H, eds., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001; 810-817.
Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Asthma. In: Emery & Rimoin's Principles and Practice of Medical Genetics, 4th Edition, Rimion DL, Connor JM, Pyeritz R, Korf BR, Eds.Harcourt Publishers Limited, 2001; 1607-1617.
Larj MJ, Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Genetics of Asthma. In: Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America, W. B. Saunders, 2002; 179-198.
Ohar J, Bleecker ER. NAEP (NHLBI) Guidelines: Treatment of Asthma. In: Current Review of Asthma. 2002. In Press.
Howard TD, Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Mapping Susceptibility Genes for Allergic Diseases. Chest 2002. In Press.
Chatterjee A, Howard TD, Bleecker ER. Genetic Targets in Asthma. In: Lung Biology in Health and Diseases. Lenfant C, Exec. Ed., Biology of Allergic Airway Inflammation: Therapeutic Targets. Eissa NT, Huston D, Eds. In Press.
Editorial Roles
Summary and Recommendations of a Workshop on the Investigative use of Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Individuals with Asthma. Bleecker ER, McFadden ER, co-chairman - National Institute of Health Workshop Summary. J All Clin Immunol 1991; Eur J Resp Dis 1991, Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 1991, The European Resp J 1992.
Advances in Airway Disease Research. Barnes PJ, Bleecker ER, Laitinin LA, Eds. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1994; 150, Supplement.
Recent Advances in the Genetics of Asthma and Allergy. Bleecker ER, Holgate ST, Meyers DA, Morton NE, Eds. Clin Exp Allergy 1995; 25, Supplement 2.
The Genetics of Asthma - A Report of a Workshop sponsored by the UCB Institute of Allergy. Holgate ST, Bleecker ER, Meyers DA, Kaprio J, Martinez F, Eds. Clin Exp Allergy 1998; 28: Supplement 1.
Early Life Influences and Interventions in Asthma. Bleecker ER, Meyers DA, Page C, Eds. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000; 105, Supplement.
Selected Visiting Professorships
Harvard Medical School and The Massachusetts General Hospital
7th Annual Partner's Asthma Visiting Professorship
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
January 15-16, 1998
Baylor College of Medicine
School of Medicine
Houston, Texas
September 23, 1999
University of Vermont School of Medicine
W. Allan Tinsdale Visiting Professor
Burlington, Vermont
March 30, 2001.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Phizer Visiting Professorship
New York, New York
October 30-November 1, 2002
Selected Abstracts
Bleecker ER, Hayden ML, Dolan CM, Morris SM, Johnson CA. High level health care utilization in severe and difficult-to-treat asthma. J Allergy Clin Imunol 2002; 109:S293.
Blumenthal M, Langefeld CD, Bleecker ER, Beaty TH, Ober C, Banks-Schlegal S, Meyers DA, Rich SS, and the Collaborative Study for the Genetics of Asthma (CSGA). Genome screen for susceptibility loci contributing to mite sensitivity in U.S. populations. J Allergy Clin Immunio 2002; 109:S174
Howard TD, Postma DS, Hawkins GA, Koppelman GH, Zheng SL, Xu JF, Meyers DA, A, Bleecker ER. Fine mapping of an increased total IgE susceptibility gene on chromosome 2q:analysis of CTLA-4 and CD28. J Allergy Clin Immunology 2002; 109:S174.
Chang B, Turner A, Zheng SL, Hawkins GA, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs, WB, Xu J. Polymorphisms in CYP1A1 gene are associated with decreased risk of prostate cancer. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research 2002; 43:A4596.
Xu J, Zheng SL, Turner A, Chang B, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Hawkins GA, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB. Evidence for an association between sequence variants of the hOGG1 gene and prostate cancer risk. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research 2002; 43:A2453.
Koppelman GH, Jansen DF, Schouten JP, van der Heide S, Bleecker ER, Meyers DA, Postma DS. Sibling effect on atopy in children of patients with asthma. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002; 165:A123.
Wenzel S, Bleecker E, Dolan CM, Johnson C Physician-based assessment of asthma severity may exceed that estimated from guideline parameters. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002; 165:A119.
Ober C, Colilla S, Blumenthal M, Rich S, Beaty T, Bleecker E, Cox NJ and the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Asthma (CSGA). Evidence for gene-environment interactions on 1p and 5q in the CSGA families. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002; 165:A809.
Blaisdell CJ, Zheng S, Howard TD, Bleecker E, Stine OC. CLC-2 polymorphisms do not predict cystic fibrosis disease severity. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002; 165:A803.
Ohar JA, Sterling D, Bleecker ER, Donohue J. The new face of asbestosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002; 165:A531.
Zheng S, Chang BL, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Turner AR, Hawkins GA, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB, Xu J. Novel germline mutations in the gene coding for a-Methylacyl-CoA Racemase may (be) associated with prostate cancer risk. Am Jour Hum Genet 2002; 71:A420
Xu J, Chang BL, Zheng S, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE,Turner AR, Hawkins GA, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB. No association between germline sequence variants in Angiopoeitin-2 gene and prostate cancer risk. Am Jour Hum Genet. 2002; 71:A421.
Chang B, Zheng SL, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Turner AR, Hawkins GA, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB, Xu J. A common haplotype of CYP1B1 is associated with prostate cancer risk in caucasians. Am Jour Hum Genet 2002; 71:A418.
Hawkins GA Chang BL, Zheng SL, Howard TD, Turner A, Isaacs SD, Wiley KE, Postma DS, Bleecker ER, Walsh PC, Meyers DA, Isaacs WB, Xu J. Analysis of the defensin gene family for DNA sequence variants. Am Jour Hum Genet 2002; 71:A1711.
Turner AR, Little JL, Bleecker ER, Meyers DA, Xu J. Positive results in association studies are associated with departure from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium: hint for genotyping error? Am Jour Hum Genet 2002; 71:A1111.
Wysong AKS, Howard TD, Hawkins GA, Jongepier H, Postma DS, Meyers DA, Bleecker ER. Identification and analysis of polymorphisms within STAT1: association with asthma and associated phenotypes. Am Jour Hum Genet 2002; 71:A1621.
Basehore M, Bleecker ER, Howard TD, Jongepier H, Meyers DA, Postma. Identification of novel variations within IL-4 and association with asthma and associated phenotypes in a Dutch population. Am Jour Hum Genet 2002; 71:A1828.
Howard TD, Meyers DA, Ampleford EJ, Zheng SL, Jongepier H, Postma DS, Bleecker ER. Association of ADAM33 with asthma and associated phenotypes in ethnically diverse populations. Am Jour Hum Genet 2002; 71:A1861.
Dolan CM, Bleecker E, Borish L, Chipps B, Hayden ML, Weiss S, Wenzel S, Zheng B. Introduction to epidemiology and natural history of asthma: outcomes and treatment regimens (TENOR) study. European Respiratory Society. 2002 Accepted.
Selected Talks: INVITED LECTURES AT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS
"Current Approaches to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma," Asthma and COPD Different Inflammation, Different Responses: From the Bench to the Bedside, Puerto Rican Society of Pneumology, San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 25, 2002.
"Adjunctive Therapy for Asthma: What to Add After Inhaled Steroids," American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, New York, New York, March 2, 2002.
"Evaluation of Asthma Management," Symposium Moderator, American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, New York, New York, March 3, 2002.
"Clinical Aspects of ß-Agonist in Asthma" Congress on Beta Agonist, Miami, Florida, April 20, 2002.
Postgraduate Course: Inflammatory Mechanisms in the Lungs and Airways: Cells, Cytokines and Mediators, "Genetic Links to Inflammation" (Speaker) 98th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society, Atlanta, Georgia, May 17, 2002.
"Genetics in Asthma: Human and Animal Studies" Poster Session Facilitator, 98th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society, Atlanta, Georgia, May 22, 2002.
"Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of COPD," Breakfast Symposium Diagnosis & Treatment Update on the #4 Killer in the US, AAPA's 30th Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, May 28, 2002.
"Introduction of GOLD Guidelines and Treatment Overview," Going for the Gold: Impact of the New Guidelines on Management of COPD Symposium, Boston, Massachusetts. May 31, 2002.
"The Genetics/Genomics of Asthma," State of the Art Speaker, Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference. Aspen, Colorado. June 5, 2002.
"Genetics of Asthma and COPD (overview)," Keynote Lecture, Genomics of Chronic Inflammatory Disorders, German National Genome Network Symposium, Kiel, Germany, July 6, 2002.
"Genomic Approaches to Understanding Asthma," 2002 Lovelace Symposium,: New Molecular Approaches for Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Respiratory Disease, Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 15, 2002.
"Update on ICS and Beta2-Agonist Mechanisms in Asthma" Asthma: From Research to the Real World Satellite Symposium, American College of Chest Physicians. San Diego, California. November 4, 2002.
"Classification of Asthma Severity: Physician Assesment Versus NAEPP Guidelines", Symposium Advancing the Science of Asthma: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going? American College of Chest Physicians. San Diego, California. November 6, 2002.
"The Role of the Beta Receptor in Asthma", Airway Smooth Muscle and Beta-2 Receptor Activity in Asthma Symposium, American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology annual meeting, San Antonio, Texas. November 14, 2002.
"Result of Asthma Study in Puerto Rico" Fifth Annual Convention of the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and Puerto Rican Society of Pneumology. November 16, 2002.
Selected Talks: INVITED MEDICAL LECTURES AND HOSPITAL ROUNDS
"The Evolving Scientific Evidence in the Treatment of Asthma," Asthma Management Alternatives for the Millennium, American Lung Association, Boston, MA, March 29, 2000.
"Genetics of Asthma," University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 6, 2000.
"Genetics of Asthma," Genomics Division, Glaxo SmithKline, Raleigh, NC, January 16, 2001.
"Genetic Approaches in Complex Diseases," W. Allan Tinsdale Lecture, University of Vermont School of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont, March 30, 2001.
"Current Approaches to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma," Shaping the Future of Asthma Management in Puerto Rico, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 26, 2002.
"New Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of COPD," Internal Medicine Grand Rounds, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, February 28, 2002
"Genetic Approaches in Common Diseases, Genetics of Allergy and Asthma" Pediatric Grand Rounds, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, October 31, 2002.