Research Overview

Dr. Roberts is the director of the Children’s Hospital Boston Cardiac Gene Project (CHB CGP). This is a department wide patient registry and DNA repository for children with heart disease and much of her research focuses on cardiac gene discovery.

Research Background

Dr. Roberts obtained her M.D. degree from Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, NH. Following Pediatrics residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, she completed a second residency in medical genetics at Harvard Medical School. In 2007 she joined the Department of Cardiology at Boston Children’s Hospital to direct cardiovascular genetic research and to work in the cardiovascular genetics clinic caring for children with a variety of syndromic and nonsyndromic genetically acquired congenital heart diseases and cardiomyopathies.

Selected Publications:

  1. Roberts AE, Araki T, Swanson KD, Montgomery KT, Schiripo TA, Joshi VA, Li L, Yassin Y, Tamburino AM, Neel BG, Kucherlapati RS. Germline gain-of-function mutations in SOS1 cause Noonan syndrome. Nat Genet. 2007 Jan; 39(1):70-4.
  2. Smpokou P, Tworog-Dube E, Kucherlapati RS, Roberts AE. Medical complications, clinical findings, and educational outcomes in adults with Noonan syndrome. Am J Med Genet A. 2012 Dec; 158A(12):3106-11.
  3. Chen PC, Yin J, Yu HW, Yuan T, Fernandez M, Yung CK, Trinh QM, Peltekova VD, Reid JG, Tworog-Dube E, Morgan MB, Muzny DM, Stein L, McPherson JD, Roberts AE, Gibbs RA, Neel BG, Kucherlapati R. Next-generation sequencing identifies rare variants associated with Noonan syndrome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Aug 5;111(31):11473-8.
  4. Zaidi S, Choi M, Wakimoto H, et.al. De novo mutations in histone-modifying genes in congenital heart disease. Nature. 2013 Jun 13; 498(7453):220- 3.
  5. Pierpont EI, Tworog-Dube E, Roberts AE. Attention skills and executive functioning in children with Noonan syndrome and their unaffected siblings. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2015 Apr;57(4):385-92.
  6. Cordeddu, V, Yin, J, Gunnarson, C, et al. Activating mutations affecting the Dbl homology domain of SOS2 cause Noonan syndrome. Human Mutation, In Press

Education

Undergraduate School

Swarthmore College
1994 Swarthmore PA

Medical School

Dartmouth Medical School
1998 Hanover NH

Internship

University of Massachusetts Medical Center
1999 Worcester MA

Residency

University of Massachusetts Medical Center
2001 Worcester MA

Residency

Harvard Medical School Genetics Training Program
2004 Boston MA

Media

Caregiver Profile

Meet Dr. Amy Roberts

Publications

  1. Noncoding variants and sulcal patterns in congenital heart disease: Machine learning to predict functional impact. iScience. 2025 Feb 21; 28(2):111707. View Abstract
  2. Hospital-wide access to genomic data advanced pediatric rare disease research and clinical outcomes. NPJ Genom Med. 2024 Dec 02; 9(1):60. View Abstract
  3. SOX17-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension in Children: A Distinct Developmental and Clinical Syndrome. J Pediatr. 2024 Nov 26; 278:114422. View Abstract
  4. Identifying novel data-driven subgroups in congenital heart disease using multi-modal measures of brain structure. Neuroimage. 2024 Aug 15; 297:120721. View Abstract
  5. Meta-regression of sulcal patterns, clinical and environmental factors on neurodevelopmental outcomes in participants with multiple CHD types. Cereb Cortex. 2024 06 04; 34(6). View Abstract
  6. The Evolving Role of Genetic Evaluation in the Prenatal Diagnosis and Management of Congenital Heart Disease. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis. 2024 May 30; 11(6). View Abstract
  7. De novo variants in FRYL are associated with developmental delay, intellectual disability, and dysmorphic features. Am J Hum Genet. 2024 04 04; 111(4):742-760. View Abstract
  8. Matrisome and Immune Pathways Contribute to Extreme Vascular Outcomes in Williams-Beuren Syndrome. J Am Heart Assoc. 2024 Feb 06; 13(3):e031377. View Abstract
  9. Association of genetic and sulcal traits with executive function in congenital heart disease. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2024 02; 11(2):278-290. View Abstract
  10. Epilepsy in cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome: Clinical burden and response to anti-seizure medication. Am J Med Genet A. 2024 02; 194(2):301-310. View Abstract
  11. Sengers syndrome and AGK-related disorders - Minireview of phenotypic variability and clinical outcomes in molecularly confirmed cases. Mol Genet Metab. 2023 07; 139(3):107626. View Abstract
  12. Natural History of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Noonan Syndrome With Multiple Lentigines. Circ Genom Precis Med. 2023 08; 16(4):350-358. View Abstract
  13. Perspectives of Rare Disease Experts on Newborn Genome Sequencing. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 05 01; 6(5):e2312231. View Abstract
  14. Evidence-Based Assessment of Congenital Heart Disease Genes to Enable Returning Results in a Genomic Study. Circ Genom Precis Med. 2023 04; 16(2):e003791. View Abstract
  15. Association of Potentially Damaging De Novo Gene Variants With Neurologic Outcomes in Congenital Heart Disease. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 01 03; 6(1):e2253191. View Abstract
  16. Infantile epileptic spasms syndrome in children with cardiofaciocutanous syndrome: Clinical presentation and associations with genotype. Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet. 2022 12; 190(4):501-509. View Abstract
  17. The Genetics of Neurodevelopment in Congenital Heart Disease. Can J Cardiol. 2023 02; 39(2):97-114. View Abstract
  18. Neurologic and neurodevelopmental complications in cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome are associated with genotype: A multinational cohort study. Genet Med. 2022 07; 24(7):1556-1566. View Abstract
  19. The seventh international RASopathies symposium: Pathways to a cure-expanding knowledge, enhancing research, and therapeutic discovery. Am J Med Genet A. 2022 06; 188(6):1915-1927. View Abstract
  20. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in RASopathies: Diagnosis, Clinical Characteristics, Prognostic Implications, and Management. Heart Fail Clin. 2022 Jan; 18(1):19-29. View Abstract
  21. Abnormal Right-Hemispheric Sulcal Patterns Correlate with Executive Function in Adolescents with Tetralogy of Fallot. Cereb Cortex. 2021 08 26; 31(10):4670-4680. View Abstract
  22. Clinical Syndromic Phenotypes and the Potential Role of Genetics in Pulmonary Vein Stenosis. Children (Basel). 2021 Feb 10; 8(2). View Abstract
  23. In Memoriam: Jaqueline A. Noonan. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020 Sep 22; 76(12):1498-1500. View Abstract
  24. De Novo Damaging Variants, Clinical Phenotypes, and Post-Operative Outcomes in Congenital Heart Disease. Circ Genom Precis Med. 2020 08; 13(4):e002836. View Abstract
  25. Retrospective Analysis of Clinical Genetic Testing in Pediatric Primary Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Testing Outcomes and the Effects of Variant Reclassification. J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 06 02; 9(11):e016195. View Abstract
  26. Expanding the clinical and genetic spectrum of ALPK3 variants: Phenotypes identified in pediatric cardiomyopathy patients and adults with heterozygous variants. Am Heart J. 2020 07; 225:108-119. View Abstract
  27. Systems Analysis Implicates WAVE2 Complex in the Pathogenesis of Developmental Left-Sided Obstructive Heart Defects. JACC Basic Transl Sci. 2020 Apr; 5(4):376-386. View Abstract
  28. Abnormal Left-Hemispheric Sulcal Patterns Correlate with Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Subjects with Single Ventricular Congenital Heart Disease. Cereb Cortex. 2020 03 21; 30(2):476-487. View Abstract
  29. Phenotypic Manifestations of Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy in Children and Adolescents. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019 07 23; 74(3):346-358. View Abstract
  30. Insights Into the Pathogenesis of Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia From Engineered Human Heart Tissue. Circulation. 2019 07 30; 140(5):390-404. View Abstract
  31. Inducible Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes Reveal Aberrant Extracellular Regulated Kinase 5 and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase 1/2 Signaling Concomitantly Promote Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in RAF1-Associated Noonan Syndrome. Circulation. 2019 07 16; 140(3):207-224. View Abstract
  32. Phenotypic Characterization of Individuals With Variants in Cardiovascular Genes in the Absence of a Primary Cardiovascular Indication for Testing. Circ Genom Precis Med. 2019 03; 12(3):e002463. View Abstract
  33. Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line (TRNDi003-A) from a Noonan syndrome with multiple lentigines (NSML) patient carrying a p.Q510P mutation in the PTPN11 gene. Stem Cell Res. 2019 01; 34:101374. View Abstract
  34. Missense Mutations of the Pro65 Residue of PCGF2 Cause a Recognizable Syndrome Associated with Craniofacial, Neurological, Cardiovascular, and Skeletal Features. Am J Hum Genet. 2018 12 06; 103(6):1054-1055. View Abstract
  35. Missense Mutations of the Pro65 Residue of PCGF2 Cause a Recognizable Syndrome Associated with Craniofacial, Neurological, Cardiovascular, and Skeletal Features. Am J Hum Genet. 2018 11 01; 103(5):786-793. View Abstract
  36. The Congenital Heart Disease Genetic Network Study: Cohort description. PLoS One. 2018; 13(1):e0191319. View Abstract
  37. Trisomy 13 and 18: Cardiac Surgery Makes Sense if It Is Part of a Comprehensive Care Strategy. Pediatrics. 2017 11; 140(5). View Abstract
  38. Contribution of rare inherited and de novo variants in 2,871 congenital heart disease probands. Nat Genet. 2017 Nov; 49(11):1593-1601. View Abstract
  39. Genome-Wide Association Study to Find Modifiers for Tetralogy of Fallot in the 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome Identifies Variants in the GPR98 Locus on 5q14.3. Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2017 Oct; 10(5). View Abstract
  40. Genetic contribution to neurodevelopmental outcomes in congenital heart disease: are some patients predetermined to have developmental delay? Curr Opin Pediatr. 2017 10; 29(5):529-533. View Abstract
  41. Pulmonary vein stenosis in patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. Congenit Heart Dis. 2017 Jul; 12(4):475-483. View Abstract
  42. Congenital Chylothorax as the Initial Presentation of PTPN11-Associated Noonan Syndrome. J Pediatr. 2017 06; 185:248-248.e1. View Abstract
  43. Rare copy number variants and congenital heart defects in the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Hum Genet. 2016 Mar; 135(3):273-85. View Abstract
  44. Neuropsychological Status and Structural Brain Imaging in Adolescents With Single Ventricle Who Underwent the Fontan Procedure. J Am Heart Assoc. 2015 Dec 14; 4(12). View Abstract
  45. De novo mutations in congenital heart disease with neurodevelopmental and other congenital anomalies. Science. 2015 Dec 04; 350(6265):1262-6. View Abstract
  46. Activating Mutations Affecting the Dbl Homology Domain of SOS2 Cause Noonan Syndrome. Hum Mutat. 2015 Nov; 36(11):1080-7. View Abstract
  47. Cardiomyopathies in Noonan syndrome and the other RASopathies. Prog Pediatr Cardiol. 2015 Jul 01; 39(1):13-19. View Abstract
  48. Copy-Number Variation of the Glucose Transporter Gene SLC2A3 and Congenital Heart Defects in the 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome. Am J Hum Genet. 2015 May 07; 96(5):753-64. View Abstract
  49. MATR3 disruption in human and mouse associated with bicuspid aortic valve, aortic coarctation and patent ductus arteriosus. Hum Mol Genet. 2015 Apr 15; 24(8):2375-89. View Abstract
  50. Chromosome microarray testing for patients with congenital heart defects reveals novel disease causing loci and high diagnostic yield. BMC Genomics. 2014 Dec 17; 15:1127. View Abstract
  51. Attention skills and executive functioning in children with Noonan syndrome and their unaffected siblings. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2015 Apr; 57(4):385-92. View Abstract
  52. Cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome: clinical features, diagnosis, and management guidelines. Pediatrics. 2014 Oct; 134(4):e1149-62. View Abstract
  53. Next-generation sequencing identifies rare variants associated with Noonan syndrome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Aug 05; 111(31):11473-8. View Abstract
  54. Modeling the mitochondrial cardiomyopathy of Barth syndrome with induced pluripotent stem cell and heart-on-chip technologies. Nat Med. 2014 Jun; 20(6):616-23. View Abstract
  55. Activating mutations in RRAS underlie a phenotype within the RASopathy spectrum and contribute to leukaemogenesis. Hum Mol Genet. 2014 Aug 15; 23(16):4315-27. View Abstract
  56. Cardiovascular disease in Noonan syndrome. Arch Dis Child. 2014 Jul; 99(7):629-34. View Abstract
  57. Heart failure in congenital heart disease: a confluence of acquired and congenital. Heart Fail Clin. 2014 Jan; 10(1):219-27. View Abstract
  58. Learning and memory in children with Noonan syndrome. Am J Med Genet A. 2013 Sep; 161A(9):2250-7. View Abstract
  59. De novo mutations in histone-modifying genes in congenital heart disease. Nature. 2013 Jun 13; 498(7453):220-3. View Abstract
  60. Noonan syndrome. Lancet. 2013 Jan 26; 381(9863):333-42. View Abstract
  61. Medical complications, clinical findings, and educational outcomes in adults with Noonan syndrome. Am J Med Genet A. 2012 Dec; 158A(12):3106-11. View Abstract
  62. The Barth Syndrome Registry: distinguishing disease characteristics and growth data from a longitudinal study. Am J Med Genet A. 2012 Nov; 158A(11):2726-32. View Abstract
  63. Genetic and environmental risk factors in congenital heart disease functionally converge in protein networks driving heart development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Aug 28; 109(35):14035-40. View Abstract
  64. Correspondence regarding genetic assessment following increased nuchal translucency and normal karyotype. Prenat Diagn. 2012 Jun; 32(6):607-8; author reply 609-10. View Abstract
  65. Nprl3 is required for normal development of the cardiovascular system. Mamm Genome. 2012 Aug; 23(7-8):404-15. View Abstract
  66. Noonan syndrome due to a SHOC2 mutation presenting with fetal distress and fatal hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a premature infant. Am J Med Genet A. 2012 Jun; 158A(6):1411-3. View Abstract
  67. Genetic testing for dilated cardiomyopathy in clinical practice. J Card Fail. 2012 Apr; 18(4):296-303. View Abstract
  68. Chromosomal microarray testing influences medical management. Genet Med. 2011 Sep; 13(9):770-6. View Abstract
  69. Potocki-Lupski syndrome: an inherited dup(17)(p11.2p11.2) with hypoplastic left heart. Am J Med Genet A. 2011 Feb; 155A(2):367-71. View Abstract
  70. Noonan syndrome: clinical features, diagnosis, and management guidelines. Pediatrics. 2010 Oct; 126(4):746-59. View Abstract
  71. Dissecting spatio-temporal protein networks driving human heart development and related disorders. Mol Syst Biol. 2010 Jun 22; 6:381. View Abstract
  72. The language phenotype of children and adolescents with Noonan syndrome. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2010 Aug; 53(4):917-32. View Abstract
  73. Effects of germline mutations in the Ras/MAPK signaling pathway on adaptive behavior: cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome and Noonan syndrome. Am J Med Genet A. 2010 Mar; 152A(3):591-600. View Abstract
  74. Proceedings from the 2009 genetic syndromes of the Ras/MAPK pathway: From bedside to bench and back. Am J Med Genet A. 2010 Jan; 152A(1):4-24. View Abstract
  75. A restricted spectrum of NRAS mutations causes Noonan syndrome. Nat Genet. 2010 Jan; 42(1):27-9. View Abstract
  76. A suggested role for mitochondria in Noonan syndrome. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2010 Feb; 1802(2):275-83. View Abstract
  77. Novel presentation of Omenn syndrome in association with aniridia. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Apr; 123(4):966-9. View Abstract
  78. Genotype differences in cognitive functioning in Noonan syndrome. Genes Brain Behav. 2009 Apr; 8(3):275-82. View Abstract
  79. TFAP2A mutations result in branchio-oculo-facial syndrome. Am J Hum Genet. 2008 May; 82(5):1171-7. View Abstract
  80. Shared genetic causes of cardiac hypertrophy in children and adults. N Engl J Med. 2008 May 01; 358(18):1899-908. View Abstract
  81. Mutation analysis of Son of Sevenless in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia. Leukemia. 2007 May; 21(5):1108-9. View Abstract
  82. Germline gain-of-function mutations in SOS1 cause Noonan syndrome. Nat Genet. 2007 Jan; 39(1):70-4. View Abstract
  83. Double-chambered right ventricle in an adult with Noonan syndrome. Cardiol Rev. 2006 Sep-Oct; 14(5):e16-20. View Abstract
  84. Aneurysm syndromes caused by mutations in the TGF-beta receptor. N Engl J Med. 2006 Aug 24; 355(8):788-98. View Abstract
  85. The PTPN11 gene is not implicated in nonsyndromic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Am J Med Genet A. 2005 Jan 30; 132A(3):333-4. View Abstract
  86. The PTPN11 gene and nonsyndromic isolated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: no evidence of a causal link. Am J Med Genet. 2005; 132A(3). View Abstract
  87. Description of a case of distal 2p trisomy by array-based comparative genomic hybridization: a high resolution genome-wide investigation for chromosomal aneuploidy in a single assay. Am J Med Genet A. 2004 Oct 01; 130A(2):204-7. View Abstract
  88. Clinical presentation of 13 patients with subtelomeric rearrangements and a review of the literature. Am J Med Genet A. 2004 Aug 01; 128A(4):352-63. View Abstract
  89. Availability of 11-cis retinal and opsins without chromophore as revealed by small bleaches of rhodopsin in excised albino mouse eyes. Vision Res. 2003 Dec; 43(28):3069-73. View Abstract
  90. Knowledge of ethical standards in genetic testing among medical students, residents, and practicing physicians. JAMA. 2000 Nov 22-29; 284(20):2595-6. View Abstract
  91. How Medical Students Can Bring About Curricular Change. Academic Medicine. 1998; 73(11):1173-6. View Abstract

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