Dr. Amirreza Haghighi is a Lecturer on Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a Senior Scientist in the Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the Director for Research, International Center for Genetic Disease, Harvard Medical School.  He investigates the genetic basis of human disease and translates the findings into better diagnostics and improved patient care.  His studies have aimed to identify new genes responsible for a number of conditions from complex disorders to Mendelian diseases.  He also directs the international training programs (such as the International Genomic Medicine and Genetic Counseling Courses) which aim to build capacity in genomic medicine globally.

His research on common diseases has focused on obesity.  He has investigated the genetic and environmental factors underlying obesity.  For example, his GWA analyses showed that OPRM1 modulates dietary intake of fat and hence risk for obesity, and this effect may be modulated by subtle variations in the amygdala volume.  He led a cross-sectional study of a population-based cohort to analyze the association between maternal smoking and obesity, and showed that prenatal exposure to maternal cigarette smoking may promote obesity by enhancing dietary preference for fat, and this effect may be mediated in part through subtle structural variations in the amygdala.

Dr. Haghighi uses different genomic technologies, including whole genome, exome, and RNA sequencing to investigate Mendelian disease with focus on the genetics of inherited conditions of the kidney (e.g., polycystic kidney disease, PKD) and liver (e.g. polycystic liver disease, PLD).

Dr. Haghighi has been actively involved in participating in and leading the international projects.  He is a research investigator and the Research Director of GENetics of NEtwork in the Middle East (GENE-ME).