In Her Lifetime

As memorialized in the pictured collection containing more than 1,500 pages of her published work, Linda was a prolific scientist. First, she considered herself an epidemiologist, and early in her career, she studied the epidemiology of diabetes and related conditions.  During her early years on faculty at Johns Hopkins, she cemented her place in genetic epidemiology. She worked with Dr. Frederick Brancati to spearhead the work on the genetics of type 2 diabetes in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study; this work contributed to the involvement of the ARIC cohort in multiple genetics consortia that still produce the cutting edge work in the the genetics of metabolic disease.

Simultaneously, she was a pioneer in demonstrating the value of admixture mapping for understanding the genetic causes of end-stage renal disease and other diseases.  Her later work focused on the genetics of chronic kidney disease using genome-wide approaches - best demonstrated by her co-leadership of the CKDGen Consortium.

The PACE Study was especially dear to her as she never lost sight of the importance of improving the lives of others in her work. In the last years of her life, she devoted substantial time to the scientific questions that could be asked about patients undergoing dialysis, including those of quality of life.   

During her lifetime, Linda had >180 publications; she mentored over 20 students in Epidemiology and the MPH program at Johns Hopkins, including 10 PhD students; had numerous mentees in the School of Medicine; and received 10 external grants as a Principal Investigator.

Posthumous Legacy

Since Linda passed away on June 15, 2014, her mentees have had continued success, and her work continues to appear in the peer-reviewed literature. 

Mentees

The work of her mentees will be the largest part of her enduring scientific legacy.  Her last PhD students, Mandy Li and Poojitha Balakrishnan, completed their PhDs at Johns Hopkins in May 2015 and are now in post-doctoral fellowships. Dr. Adrienne Tin has joined the faculty of The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Publications

Since her passing, Linda's work has appeared in 38 additional publications (as of June 15, 2016) with more in progress.

Genetic discovery in community-based cohort studies

Genetic variants in RBFOX3 are associated with sleep latency. Eur J Hum Genet. 2016 May 4. [Epub ahead of print]

Tin A, Balakrishnan P, Beaty TH, Boerwinkle E, Hoogeveen RC, Young JH, Kao WH.  GCKR and PPP1R3B identified as genome-wide significant loci for plasma lactate: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.  Diabet Med. 2015 Oct 3. [Epub ahead of print]

Maruthur NM, Li M, Halushka MK, Astor BC, Pankow JS, Boerwinkle E, Coresh J, Selvin E, Kao WH.  Genetics of Plasma Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-Products and Cardiovascular Outcomes in a Community-based Population: Results from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.  PLoS One. 2015 Jun 17;10(6):e0128452. eCollection 2015.

Tin A, Köttgen A, Folsom AR, Maruthur NM, Tajuddin SM, Nalls MA, Evans MK, Zonderman AB, Friedrich CA, Boerwinkle E, Coresh J, Kao WH. Genetic loci for serum magnesium among African-Americans and gene-environment interaction at MUC1 and TRPM6 in European-Americans: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. BMC Genet. 2015 May 29;16(1):56.

Musani SK, Fox ER, Kraja A, Bidulescu A, Lieb W, Lin H, Beecham A, Chen MH, Felix JF, Fox CS, Kao WH, Kardia SL, Liu CT, Nalls MA, Rundek T, Sacco RL, Smith J, Sun YV, Wilson G, Zhang Z, Mosley TH, Taylor HA, Vasan RS. Genome-wide association analysis of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide in blacks: the Jackson Heart Study. Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2015 Feb;8(1):122-30. Epub 2015 Jan 5.

Tsai CW, North KE, Tin A, Haack K, Franceschini N, Saroja Voruganti V, Laston S, Zhang Y, Best LG, MacCluer JW, Beaty TH, Navas-Acien A, Kao WH, Howard BV. Both rare and common variants in PCSK9 influence plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in American Indians. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Feb;100(2):E345-9. Epub 2014 Nov 20.

Epidemiology of chronic kidney disease

Tin A, Grams ME, Maruthur NM, Astor BC, Couper D, Mosley TH, Selvin E, Coresh J, Kao WH. Results from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study suggest that low serum magnesium is associated with incident kidney disease.
Kidney Int. 2015 Apr;87(4):820-7. Epub 2014 Oct 1.

Grams ME, Li L, Greene TH, Tin A, Sang Y, Kao WH, Lipkowitz MS, Wright JT, Chang AR, Astor BC, Appel LJ. Estimating time to ESRD using kidney failure risk equations: results from the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK). Am J Kidney Dis. 2015 Mar;65(3):394-402. Epub 2014 Oct 14.

Grams ME, Matsushita K, Sang Y, Estrella MM, Foster MC, Tin A, Kao WH, Coresh J. Explaining the racial difference in AKI incidence. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2014 Aug;25(8):1834-41. Epub 2014 Apr 10.

Epidemiology of APOL1 genotype

Tin A, Grams ME, Estrella M, Lipkowitz M, Greene TH, Kao WH, Li L, Appel LJ. Patterns of Kidney Function Decline Associated with APOL1 Genotypes: Results from AASK. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2016 May 26. [Epub ahead of print]

Chen TK, Choi MJ, Kao WH, Astor BC, Scialla JJ, Appel LJ, Li L, Lipkowitz MS, Wolf M, Parekh RS, Winkler CA, Estrella MM, Crews DC.  Examination of Potential Modifiers of the Association of APOL1 Alleles with CKD Progression.  Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2015 Dec 7;10(12):2128-35. Epub 2015 Oct 1.

Jotwani V, Shlipak MG, Scherzer R, Parekh RS, Kao WH, Bennett M, Cohen MH, Nowicki M, Sharma A, Young M, Tien PC, Parikh CR, Estrella MM. APOL1 Genotype and Glomerular and Tubular Kidney Injury in Women With HIV. Am J Kidney Dis. 2015 Jun;65(6):889-98. Epub 2015 Apr 24. 

Tin A, Grams ME, Maruthur NM, Astor BC, Couper D, Mosley TH, Fornage M, Parekh RS, Coresh J, Kao WH. Hemostatic Factors, APOL1 Risk Variants, and the Risk of ESRD in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2015 May 7;10(5):784-90. Epub 2015 Apr 17.

Estrella MM, Li M, Tin A, Abraham AG, Shlipak MG, Penugonda S, Hussain SK, Palella FJ Jr, Wolinsky SM, Martinson JJ, Parekh RS, Kao WH. The association between APOL1 risk alleles and longitudinal kidney function differs by HIV viral suppression status. Clin Infect Dis. 2015 Feb 15;60(4):646-52. Epub 2014 Oct 3.

PACE Study

Kim ED, Sozio SM, Estrella MM, Jaar BG, Shafi T, Meoni LA, Kao WH, Lima JA, Parekh RS. Cross-sectional association of volume, blood pressures, and aortic stiffness with left ventricular mass in incident hemodialysis patients: the Predictors of Arrhythmic and Cardiovascular Risk in End-Stage Renal Disease (PACE) study. BMC Nephrol. 2015 Aug 7;16:131.

Tereshchenko LG, Kim ED, Oehler A, Meoni LA, Ghafoori E, Rami T, Maly M, Kabir M, Hawkins L, Tomaselli GF, Lima JA, Jaar BG, Sozio SM, Estrella M, Kao WH, Parekh RS. Electrophysiologic Substrate and Risk of Mortality in Incident Hemodialysis. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2016 Apr 29. [Epub ahead of print]

McAdams-DeMarco MA, Tan J, Salter ML, Gross A, Meoni LA, Jaar BG, Kao WH, Parekh RS, Segev DL, Sozio SM. Frailty and Cognitive Function in Incident Hemodialysis Patients.  Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2015 Dec 7;10(12):2181-9. Epub 2015 Nov 16.

Kim ED, Sozio SM, Estrella MM, Jaar BG, Shafi T, Meoni LA, Kao WH, Lima JA, Parekh RS.  Cross-sectional association of volume, blood pressures, and aortic stiffness with left ventricular mass in incident hemodialysis patients: the Predictors of Arrhythmic and Cardiovascular Risk in End-Stage Renal Disease (PACE) study.  BMC Nephrol. 2015 Aug 7;16:131.

Parekh RS, Meoni LA, Jaar BG, Sozio SM, Shafi T, Tomaselli GF, Lima JA, Tereshchenko LG, Estrella MM, Kao WH. Rationale and design for the Predictors of Arrhythmic and Cardiovascular Risk in End Stage Renal Disease (PACE) study. BMC Nephrol. 2015 Apr 24;16(1):63. 

Salter ML, Gupta N, King E, Bandeen-Roche K, Law AH, McAdams-DeMarco MA, Meoni LA, Jaar BG, Sozio SM, Kao WH, Parekh RS, Segev DL. Health-related and psychosocial concerns about transplantation among patients initiating dialysis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2014 Nov 7;9(11):1940-8. Epub 2014 Sep 11.

Salter ML, Orandi B, McAdams-DeMarco MA, Law A, Meoni LA, Jaar BG, Sozio SM, Kao WH, Parekh RS, Segev DL. Patient- and provider-reported information about transplantation and subsequent waitlisting. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2014 Dec;25(12):2871-7. Epub 2014 Aug 28.

Methods in epidemiology

Wang C, Kao WH, Hsiao CK.  Using Hamming Distance as Information for SNP-Sets Clustering and Testing in Disease Association Studies.  PLoS One. 2015 Aug 24;10(8):e0135918. eCollection 2015.

Wojcik GL, Kao WH, Duggal P. Relative performance of gene- and pathway-level methods as secondary analyses for genome-wide association studies. BMC Genet. 2015 Apr 8;16:34.

Bose M, Wu C, Pankow JS, Demerath EW, Bressler J, Fornage M, Grove ML, Mosley TH, Hicks C, North K, Kao WH, Zhang Y, Boerwinkle E, Guan W. Evaluation of microarray-based DNA methylation measurement using technical replicates: the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) Study. BMC Bioinformatics. 2014 Sep 19;15:312.

Genetics Consortia including CKDGen

Genetic associations at 53 loci highlight cell types and biological pathways relevant for kidney function. Nat Commun. 2016 Jan 21;7:10023.

DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis (DIAGRAM) Consortium. Genetic fine mapping and genomic annotation defines causal mechanisms at type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci.  Nat Genet. 2015 Dec;47(12):1415-25. Epub 2015 Nov 9.

Huffman JE, Albrecht E, Teumer A, Mangino M, Kapur K, Johnson T,...Kao WH, Caulfield M, Toniolo D, Völzke H, Gieger C, Köttgen A, Vitart V. Modulation of genetic associations with serum urate levels by body-mass-index in humans. PLoS One. 2015 Mar 26;10(3):e0119752.

Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology. Nature. 2015 Feb 12;518(7538):197-206. 

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution. Nature. 2015 Feb 12;518(7538):187-96. 

Low-frequency and rare exome chip variants associate with fasting glucose and type 2 diabetes susceptibility. Nat Commun. 2015 Jan 29;6:5897.

Gorski M, Tin A, Garnaas M, McMahon GM, Chu AY,...Köttgen A, Kao WH, Fox CS, Böger CA. Genome-wide association study of kidney function decline in individuals of European descent. Kidney Int. 2015 May;87(5):1017-29. Epub 2014 Dec 10.

Holliday EG, Traylor M, Malik R, Bevan S, Maguire J, Koblar SA, Sturm J, Hankey GJ, Oldmeadow C, McEvoy M, Sudlow C, Rothwell PM, Coresh J, Hamet P, Tremblay J, Turner ST, de Andrade M, Rao M, Schmidt R, Crick PA, Robino A, Peralta CA, Jukema JW, Mitchell P, Rosas SE, Wang JJ, Scott RJ, Dichgans M, Mitchell BD, Kao WH, Fox CS, Levi C, Attia J, Markus HS; CKDGen Consortium and the International Stroke Genetics Consortium. Polygenic overlap between kidney function and large artery atherosclerotic stroke. Stroke. 2014 Dec;45(12):3508-13.Epub 2014 Oct 28.

Ng MC, Shriner D, Chen BH, Li J, Chen WM, Guo X, Liu J, Bielinski SJ, Yanek LR,...Kao WH, Wilson JG, Rotter JI, Sale MM, Liu S, Rotimi CN, Bowden DW; MEta-analysis of type 2 DIabetes in African Americans Consortium.Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in African Americans provides insights into the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes. PLoS Genet. 2014 Aug 7;10(8):e1004517.

Genetic association study of QT interval highlights role for calcium signaling pathways in myocardial repolarization. Nat Genet. 2014 Aug;46(8):826-36. doi: 10.1038/ng.3014. Epub 2014 Jun 22. 

Multi-ethnic fine-mapping of 14 central adiposity loci. Hum Mol Genet. 2014 Sep 1;23(17):4738-44. Epub 2014 Apr 23.

Pharmacogenetics

Maruthur NM, Clark JM, Fu M, Kao WHL, Shuldiner AR. Effect of zinc supplementation on insulin secretion: interaction between zinc and SLC30A8 genotype in Old Order Amish. Diabetologia. 2015 Feb;58(2):295-303. Epub 2014 Oct 28.

The Family Investigation of Nephropathy in Diabetes Study

Dr. Rulan Parekh and Linda worked together on the FIND Study for 15 years. In 2015, a paper on the genetic underpinnings of diabetic nephropathy, based on Linda's and Rulan's collaboration, was published in PLoS Genetics.  The paper was dedicated to Linda and others who were a vital part of the multi-center collaboration.

Iyengar SK, Sedor JR, Freedman BI, Kao WH, Kretzler M, Keller BJ, Abboud HE, Adler SG, Best LG, Bowden DW, Burlock A, Chen YD, Cole SA, Comeau ME, Curtis JM, Divers J, Drechsler C, Duggirala R, Elston RC, Guo X, Huang H, Hoffmann MM, Howard BV, Ipp E, Kimmel PL, Klag MJ, Knowler WC, Kohn OF, Leak TS, Leehey DJ, Li M, Malhotra A, März W, Nair V, Nelson RG, Nicholas SB, O'Brien SJ, Pahl MV, Parekh RS, Pezzolesi MG, Rasooly RS, Rotimi CN, Rotter JI, Schelling JR, Seldin MF, Shah VO, Smiles AM, Smith MW, Taylor KD, Thameem F, Thornley-Brown DP, Truitt BJ, Wanner C, Weil EJ, Winkler CA, Zager PG, Igo RP Jr, Hanson RL, Langefeld CD; Family Investigation of Nephropathy and Diabetes (FIND).  Genome-Wide Association and Trans-ethnic Meta-Analysis for Advanced Diabetic Kidney Disease: Family Investigation of Nephropathy and Diabetes (FIND).  PLoS Genet. 2015 Aug 25;11(8):e1005352.  eCollection 2015 Aug.

Linda and her close colleagues, Dr. Michael J Klag and Dr. Rulan Parekh, were awarded  a grant from the NIH to study arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in patients on dialysis. The overall objective of this project was to determine whether risk factors (cardiovascular, dialysis-related, environmental and genetic) were associated with disordered cardiac autonomic regulation and ventricular conduction, as well as with incidence of sudden cardiac death, in end stage renal disease patients treated with hemodialysis. Linda played a major role in all aspects of the study including conceptualization of the research questions, study design, grant writing, development of the protocol, management of recruitment and data collection, data analysis and preparation of all abstracts and manuscripts. When Rulan moved to the University of Toronto, Linda became Co-Principal Investigator.

In addition to her leadership activities, her spirit and strength provided support to everyone through good times and bad. She enjoyed team lunches and was especially fond of sharing her favorite foods and discussing recipes anytime.  She always shared her ‘taste of the day’ with the team whether her yearning that day was for Hawaiian bread, or chips and dip from Whole Foods, or seaweed paper, or Popchips (that she mistakenly over ordered from Amazon).  Linda got to know each and every member of the team in a remarkable way.  Those of us who had the privilege to work with Linda will always cherish the time we spent with her. We will greatly miss her sage advice and counsel and, of course, her warmth and friendship.

As of June 15, 2015, the PACE Study continues with over 4 publications and 7 abstracts submitted this year based on Linda's hard work and commitment to patient-oriented research.  We miss her terribly but think she is smiling every time a paper from PACE gets published.

Linda was heavily involved in inception and development of the study of genetics of complex disorders in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Her late mentor, Dr. Fred Brancati, obtained a grant to evaluate selected candidate genes and risk of diabetes, obesity, and hyperinsulinemia in the ARIC Study in 1999.  As a junior faculty member, Linda was given the reins of this study and followed this up with her first R21 grant to use admixture mapping to identify genes for type 2 diabetes in African American in ARIC.  This work spawned multiple studies in the genetics of diabetes and related disorders in African Americans in ARIC and provided the basis for the study of genetics in ARIC.  Linda's group was instrumental in the genome-wide association analyses at all four sites of the ARIC Study which have spanned the spectrum of cardiovascular traits.

She was admired as a wonderful colleague by her collaborators in the ARIC Study, including Drs. Joe Coresh, Brad Astor, and Jim Pankow.

Anyone who knew Linda knew that Biscuit ("Mr. B") was the apple of her eye.  As a small toy poodle with a big personality, he often ran her life.  Linda could be seen sneaking him into the School of Public Health and the Welch Center at Hopkins in one of her many decorative, but functional, bags.

Linda's family meant so much to her.  She and her siblings, Mike, Dave, and Annie, spent their formative years together in the U.S. 

Allison Chen, Linda's old niece, was a most important source of love in Linda's life.  Allison recently turned 15 and started McDonogh Upper School in Fall 2015 and just like her aunt, has shown a predilection for science and math. She took both Honors Algebra II and Honors Geometry in her freshman year and finished the year on the Dean's LIst. She will be taking Chemistry this summer (2016).  She continues to ice skate competitively.

Close Encounters with a Kindred Mind
Linda and Warren met through a dating service in May 2010.  Each had instructions to meet at Jaleo in Washington, DC.  Over the course of multiple tapas, there was immediate recognition of similarities in interests and intellect.  Warren shared with Linda some recent photos from Boston and Linda identified the various landmarks in the photos.  Similar to Linda's undergraduate education at MIT, Warren had gone to Caltech.  As he dryly explained to Linda, "Once I got into Caltech, there was no need to continue my application to MIT and accept a compromise."As the dinner concluded, Linda had some guarded and cautious interest in this quirky fellow.

Agreeing to an actual first date, Linda suggested meeting at the National Portrait Gallery.  During the earlier meeting at Jaleo where Warren had shared his photos, she figured this would be a good activity because it would appeal to his interest in photography.  Her idea succeeded better than she intended.  Warren brought along his camera and ignored Linda while he focused on taking pictures.  Perhaps in retaliation, Linda poisoned Warren with her first dinner she made for him.  Warren suspected that it may have been the scallops, but Linda suffered no issues.

Maybe Warren realized that he had ignored Linda during the last date.  Or, in more typical male fashion, he may have wondered why Linda was not immediately enamored with his stunning personality and exuberant masculinity.  Whatever the case, Warren invited Linda on another date, where he would prepare dinner.  He wanted to reciprocate Linda's efforts from the previous date (making the dinner, not the poisoning).  Employing his CIA training, Warren prepared a multicourse gourmet feast for Linda.  She later told Warren that it was this date where she became convinced that perhaps there was something there.

Developments Leading to a Logical Conclusion
Over the next few months, Linda and Warren spent just about every weekend together.  They meet each others friends and family.  They explored the cultural sites and activities in Baltimore and Washington.  Dining and cooking together was frequent.  Their love for each other developed and flourished as each realized the amazing degree of similarity in values, accomplishments, interests, and ambitions.  As Linda described it to a friend about Warren, "I've been looking for him for forty years.  I'm not going to lose him."

In February 2011,  Warren learned of a 2-year job position that was promising where he was a strong candidate, but it was located in Los Angeles.  If he was selected for the position it would mean a 2-year period of being on opposite coasts.  Together, Linda and Warren concluded that he should apply for the position, figuring that there was plenty of time in the future together.  Warren was accepted for this position in March 2011, which would start in late April.

Their growing love and constant togetherness led to the logical conclusion that Linda and Warren should get married.  Exercising his Y-chromosomal skills, Warren noted one evening that with all of the time they were spending together, they were effectively acting like a married couple.  Warren concluded that it was perfectly logical to get married and asked Linda what she thought.  Whether Linda concurred with Warren's logical argument or was impressed by this romantic marriage proposal, she agreed.  Linda and Warren would get married.

The next step was getting a ring.  Linda and Warren agreed that the engagement ring should encompass their tastes:  simple, functional, not overtly extravagant, but with an inherent quality, things that typified them both.  A local jeweler incorporated the couple's wishes and produced a unique ring.  Perhaps learning from the last time, with the ring, a quiet romantic setting, and heartfelt request, Warren asked Linda if she would marry him.  Fortunately, Linda didn't pause.  She accepted again.  It was April 2011.

Wedding
The next few months were a flurry of activities.  Warren moved to Los Angeles for his job assignment.  Linda continued her work at Johns Hopkins and planned the wedding details.  They communicated daily on the day's events, but instead of talking at a dinner table, it was over a Skype connection.

In August 2011, there was a small setback. Linda's liver cancer seemed to have grown.  A persistent worry, it seemed to have been mostly dormant off and on since the initial discovery in 2008 and later treatments.  The surgery was successful and they refocused on the wedding plans.

The months on planning coincided with a gorgeous Washington DC day on October 22, 2011.  Following a small intimate ceremony outside, the guests moved indoors and found thieir table assignments.  For Linda and Warren's friends, they had to solve a mathematical equation.  The solution gave their table number.

[in work]

Honeymoon in Italy
[in work]

Another Setback
[in work]

Denouement
[in work]

Final Words and Thoughts
I do not believe that the final chapter is written nor can be written for Linda.  Researchers are starting to build upon her insights and knowledge with results that will affect millions.  Among each of us that she personally touched, there are seedlings of hope.  We can nurture these seedlings, spread their selfless goodness, and continue the legacy of Linda.

Linda, along with colleagues at Johns Hopkins, including Drs. Rulan Parekh and Mike Klag, published a seminal paper in Nature Genetics in 2008 implicating the MYH9 locus as a common variant in African Americans which increases the risk of end-stage renal disease five-fold.  Her use of admixture mapping to identify this locus placed her in small category of experts on the genetic epidemiology of chronic kidney disease.

Since that discovery, multiple groups have found similar results in other populations of African ancestry for a variety of types of kidney disease (e.g., HIV-associated nephropathy).

The APOL1 locus, which is near MYH9, has emerged as the likely main causal variant, and her work in this area was again recognized with the publication of work on APOL1 in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2013 from the AASK and CRIC cohort.  She received major awards as a result of this work as well (http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/genetic_kidney_disease_research_among_top_10_clinical_research_achievements_of_2013).

Linda joined the the faculty at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2000 with a joint appointment in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  She was also appointed as a Core Faculty member of the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research. 

She always placed her family first and took a leave of absence from 2001-2002 to be with her family during a difficult time.  She returned to Hopkins in 2002 and won the Faculty Innovation Award from the School of Public Health in 2003.  She received the AMTRA faculty mentorship award from the School of Public Helath in 2006 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2007.  She also served as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at Tulane University from 2008 to 2010.  She was promoted to Full Professor in 2012, and her colleagues from around the world joined in the celebration.

In addition to her personal work detailed in other chapters, Linda was a great team scientist and co-led multiple large consortia on the genetics of chronic kidney disease, including CHARGE, CHARGE-S, CKDGen, and CARe.

Linda was internationally recognized as a wonderful collaborator and independent scientist who studied the genetic epidemiology of chronic kidney disease and related conditions.  She also mentored many trainees so that they could also have successful careers in related fields. 

She was most concerned that her discoveries would lead to the improvement of the health of the population and always had that in mind in her work.  She went into such depth in her work that other researchers often thought that she was the "nephrologist in the room" when she was remarking on studies and their design. 

Her close colleague Dr. Josef Coresh said, "Linda was always humble and modest about her achievements.  She took the time to get to know her students and colleagues and was a thoughtful scientist.  It was interesting to often see people who knew her less well under-estimate her potential and be surprised when she produced world leading papers."

Linda received her MHS in Clinical Epidemiology in 1997 from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and went on to obtain her PhD in Clinical Epidemiology there in 2000. Drs. Fred Brancati and Joe Coresh were her mentors during her predoctoral training.  

"Linda was always humble and modest about her achievements.  She took the time to get to know her students and colleagues and was a thoughtful scientist. It was often interesting to see how people who knew her less well would under-estimate her potential and be surprised when she produced world class papers," Joe said.

Her fellow students and close friends included Hsien-Hsien Lei and Sophia Wang, among others. Their student life together was busy with research, studies, books, hiking, restaurants, cooking, and shopping, all combined with much laughter. 

"Linda was generous beyond measure. She was generous with her knowledge, her kindness, her time and her life. She was even generous with her clothing! For more than a decade, I kept a pair of Disney Winnie the Pooh shorts she gifted me one weekend while I stayed over at her home.

I was alone on the East Coast during my four years at JHSPH with a husband already working in Asia and the rest of my family in California. After meeting Linda, I never felt lonely again. She was a tremendous source of inspiration and support and changed the lives of everyone she met," Hsien shared.

On the research front, Linda was one of the first diabetes researchers at Hopkins to become familiar with the ARIC study and helped Fred Brancati introduce dozens of additional investigators to the study. This initative formed the foundation for a series of world leading investigations. She also collaborated with Alan Shuldiner, who eventually became Director, Program in Personalized and Genomic Medicine at the University of Maryland.

Linda was a Visiting Scientist at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (San Antonio, TX) where she worked on The Mexican American Program Project under the direction of Dr. Braxton (Bracky) Mitchell.  She continued her collaborations with Bracky after he moved to the University of Maryland and together, they published many papers on the genetics of diabetes.  

During her research career, Linda received several honors and awards. In 1997, Linda won the Jean Comb Award for excellence in epidemiologic research from the Johns Hopkins Department of Epidemiology and first prize in the Delta Omega Honorary Society Alpha Chapter poster competition. She again won the Jean Comb award in 1999. Linda also received the Michaela Modan Award by the American Diabetes Association for excellence in research in epidemiology and statistics in 2000.

At MIT, Linda studied biology, or course 7. She lived at Next House where she was commonly referred to as “mom” or “big sister” because she always took care of us.  Her dorm room was always inviting and open for visits to talk. She would take us all places - I remember going shopping with her in Boston Chinatown where she showed me how to select mandarin oranges or her driving us in her Volvo for various field trips.

Linda was an active member of many organizations, including the MIT Chinese Students Club (CSC). She served as co-Cultural Chair and then co-President. She was someone we can always depend on to bring order at the EC meetings and get things done. Even though she did so much for the club, she shied away from attention and never took credit for her contributions. I remember being shocked when she took the spotlight by as part of a rap ensemble piece performed at the CSC New Year’s Banquet.  It was such a hoot to see Linda up there rapping!  I remember her saying that it was surprisingly difficult to get the rapping voice right.

Linda also had a great skill in the kitchen.  I remember making Taiwanese sticky rice with her for a CSC study break. We all depended on her taste buds to tell just how much soy sauce and sesame oil we needed in a 5-gallon pot of rice.  

She was also Captain of our next house intramural basketball team.  She was welcoming and inviting to all players, no matter what our skill level.  She was never critical, but always had that amazing attitude, reflected in her words and her smile that encouraged us and made us feel good about how we played.

Linda was one of the first members of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at MIT, a sorority that’s still going strong.

Even with her other activities, Linda was focused on her school work at MIT, learning the basics for biology that would serve her well on the path to becoming a public health professor.

We all remember Linda as an incredible person, friend, confidante.  She always cared for us and took care of us.  She was empathetic, sensitive, and a beautiful woman, inside and out.

Linda moved from Taipei to Columbia, MD in 1984.  She started 6th Grade at Wilde Lake Middle School in the middle of the school year.  At first, she was quite shy - being new to the US, speaking English full time, and starting a new school.  After hanging out with her new friends at Wilde Lake Middle School, her true personality was revealed.  She was playful, funny, relaxed, creative and super intelligent.

We all enjoyed Linda’s company wherever we were - at the mall, at school, on school trips, and especially at Linda’s house.  Her parents, siblings, and extended family were very welcoming whenever any of us visited her house.  We were treated to excellent home-cooked Taiwanese food.

Linda never wanted any attention - so as teenagers we were always trying to get photos of her.  We have lots of photos of Linda trying to avoid the camera.

Her love of sports was evident then.  She loved shooting hoops outside her house with her brothers.  During the warm Maryland summers, she played tennis regularly with Naomi & Yoonah.

Linda was super accomplished as a young teenager. She loved baking and cooking.  She was always trying different recipes at home.  She had an impeccable sense of style. She played the cello through middle school and high school.  During her senior year, she was class president at Wilde Lake High School.