Professional Titles
- Director of Cardiovascular and Genetic Epidemiology
- PhD, Genetic Epidemiology
- MStat, Biostatistics
- MPH, Epidemiology
Research and Professional Experience
Dr. Horne has been with Intermountain since 1996 and also holds an appointment as a Clinical Associate Professor (Affiliated) in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford, CA).
Dr. Horne’s recent genetics publications include the first report that chromosome 9p21 variants are not associated with myocardial infarction (only with coronary artery disease). Also, an international consortium led by Dr. Horne published new pharmacogenetic warfarin dose refinement algorithms in 2012.
His most academically noteworthy paper to date was a genome-wide association study for peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare but devastating outcome that afflicts about 1 in 3,000 pregnant women. The study identified a genetic marker on chromosome 12 as a predictor of the disease.
Current Projects
- Fasting and Cardiovascular Disease:
Dr. Horne is actively pursuing studies of the relationship between water-only fasting and cardiovascular disease. His projects have found that short-term abstention from caloric intake that is practiced repeatedly over the lifespan may play a role in reducing risk of diabetes and coronary disease.
- Risk Scoring for Adverse Health Outcomes:
Dr. Horne is leading a project to predict adverse health outcomes using common laboratory tests (complete blood count and basic metabolic profile) that are inexpensive, widely available, and easily combined into a risk score outside of the clinical environment for use by physicians.
- Genetic Associations with Myocardial Infarction:
Dr. Horne is collaborating with investigators at various universities, including the University of Utah, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Universities to study genetic associations with myocardial infarction.