Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program
Genetics, Genomics & Bioinformatics

Genetics, Genomics & Bioinformatics

Researchers in this area are trying to better understand questions of development, function, and pathophysiology. Many MDB laboratories use genetics and genomics in their research in a wide variety of ways. The power of next-generation sequencing techniques is often employed in either model systems or directly in clinical populations to gain insight into the mechanisms of development and disease. A major challenge in the current genomics age is to properly interpret these massive datasets and this is an active area of research in the field of bioinformatics.

Faculty

	Theresa Alenghat, PhD, Assistant Professor Molecular mechanisms that mediate intestinal homeostasis and the host-microbiota relationship [Visit the Alenghat Lab ]
	Bruce Aronow, PhD, Professor Integrative bioinformatics and genomics relevant to human health and disease [Visit the Aronow / Jegga Lab]
	Artem Barski, PhD, Assistant Professor Epigenomics of immunological memory [Visit the Barski Lab]
	Cristina Cebrian Ligero, PhD, Assistant Professor The Cebrian lab studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive kidney organogenesis and renal disease.
	Lee Grimes, PhD, Professor Hematopoiesis, molecular biology, and molecular oncology including mouse modeling of hematopoiesis, myelopoiesis and leukemia. [Visit the Grimes Lab]
	John Harley, MD, PhD, Professor We work to bring the new technologies of genomics to clinical care. We do this for the institution as a service and for our own work in autoimmunity. At the moment we are evaluating the microbiome in blood for systemic lupus erythematosus. [Visit Rheumatology]
	Vivian Hwa, PhD, Associate Professor Genetic and cellular basis of severe pre- and post-natal growth failure in children who often present co-morbidities (immunodeficiencies, insulin insensitivity). [Visit the Hwa Lab]
	Rulang Jiang, PhD, Professor Understanding the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of major birth defects [Visit the Jiang Lab]
	Kenneth Kaufman, PhD, Professor Utilization of next generation DNA sequencing data to identify variants that cause disease. We are particularly interested in autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus. [Visit CAGE]
	Rafi Kopan, PhD, Professor The generation of different cell types and specialized organs. [Visit the Kopan Lab]
	Louis Muglia, MD, PhD, Professor Genetic and developmental mechanisms controlling the timing of birth and risk of preterm birth; molecular genetic analysis of the behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stress. [Visit the Muglia Lab]
	Ertugrul Ozbudak, PhD, Associate Professor Gene regulatory circuits and signaling pathways controlling pattern formation and cell fate determination in tissues and organs during embryonic development. [Visit the Ozbudak Lab]
	Joo-Seop Park, PhD, Assistant Professor Gene regulatory networks underlying organogenesis and disease, Kidney development. [Visit Urology]
	Matt Weirauch, PhD, Assistant Professor My lab uses computational and experimental approaches to study gene regulation, and gene mis-regulation in disease. [Visit the Weirauch Lab]
	Chunyue Yin, PhD, Assistant Professor The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying liver development and disease pathogenesis using the zebrafish model organism. [Visit the Yin Lab]
	Amanda Zacharias, PhD, Assistant Professor Our lab studies how gene expression is regulated by signaling pathways during embryonic development. We use Wnt signaling in the nematode worm, C. elegans, as a model system and utilize a novel time-lapse imaging approach. [Visit the Zacharias Lab]