Marlin Touma

Dr. Marlin Touma is an Associate Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). His research focuses on understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying congenital heart defects and cardiac development, with particular emphasis on gene-environment interactions during perinatal heart maturation.

Dr. Touma's research interests span multiple areas including congenital heart defects, cardiac development genetics, long noncoding RNA biology, and precision cardiovascular medicine. His work bridges basic science with clinical applications, investigating how genetic variants and environmental factors interact to influence cardiac chamber development and function. His laboratory employs cutting-edge genomic technologies including whole-exome sequencing, ChIRP-seq, and murine models to uncover molecular pathways critical for normal heart development and to identify pathogenic mechanisms in congenital heart disease.

Analysis of Dr. Touma's recent publications reveals a strong focus on genetic causes of congenital heart defects, with particular attention to chamber-specific development and maturation. His work combines genomic approaches with functional validation to identify novel variants in genes like GATA5/6, FBN1/2, and LMOD2 that cause specific cardiac phenotypes. A significant portion of his research investigates the role of long noncoding RNAs, particularly Ppp1r1b-lncRNA, in regulating cardiac development through epigenetic mechanisms. His publications also demonstrate a growing interest in environmental influences on cardiac development, including air pollution exposure and hypoxemia during perinatal transition.

Dr. Touma serves as Principal Investigator on NIH-funded research projects including 'Novel Gene-Environment Regulatory Circuit in Chamber-Specific Growth of Perinatal Heart' (R01HL153853, 2020-2024) and previously led the R56HL146738 project. His collaborative work involves multiple co-investigators across UCLA, particularly with the Congenital Heart Defects-BioCore Faculty, and extends to clinical applications in precision child health cardiovascular medicine.