Leah C. Kottyan, PhD
Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

I am an associate professor and director of the Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE). My work is centered on identifying the molecular mechanisms that underlie specific genetic associations with human disease, with a particular focus on the role of genotype-dependent transcriptional mechanisms at genetics risk loci. Additionally, I co-lead the Cincinnati site of eMERGE, a multi-site study that develops polygenic risk scores (PRS) and utilizes them in a prospective pragmatic clinical study. Our aim is to understand the impact of returning PRS to patients and their primary care providers.

View Leah C. Kottyan, PhD's full web bio.

Arame Diouf
Research Assistant

I'm a research assistant focusing on several projects such as the vTR project (viral transcriptional regulators), where my main role is to generate new cell lines using genome editing. I also handle the processing of patient samples and conduct both bulk and single nuclei experiments for the infant food allergy project. I earned my BS in chemistry at Central State University in 2019 and my MS in biological sciences at Nova Southeastern University in 2020.

Omer Donmez
Research Assistant

I am a research assistant, and my work involves performing functional genomics experiments at the bench, with a primary focus on ChIP-seq and ATAC-seq. Additionally, I am responsible for preparing barcoded libraries for sequencing. On the computational side, I handle the initial quality assessment for most of the next-generation sequencing data generated in the lab and run analytical pipelines for both in-house projects and collaborative efforts. I earned my BS in environmental studies from the University of Cincinnati in 2014, and I am currently pursuing a Master of Biomedical Informatics from The University of Texas Health Houston.

Katelyn Dunn
Research Assistant

I am a research assistant who joined Cincinnati Children's in 2018. My primary focus is on bacterial cloning of molecularly tagged protein constructs to be used in the study of the effects of viral transcription factors on the human genome. I earned my BS in biology from Northern Kentucky University in 2017.

Carmy Forney
Senior Researcher

I am a senior researcher, and I support patient sample processing for the Cincinnati Autoimmune Registry and Repository and the Infant Food Allergy project. In addition, I perform low-input library preparations for RNA-sequencing and maintain EBV-transformed B cells and cell lines for ongoing experiments. I joined the Kottyan Lab in 2016 after earning my BS in biochemistry from the University of Cincinnati.

Olivia Gittens
Research Assistant

I am a research assistant, and my primary focus is on the vTR project. In my role, I engage in bacterial cloning, conduct luciferase and split luciferase reporter assays, and perform various other laboratory procedures. I earned my BS in biology and BA in music from the University of Cincinnati and the College-Conservatory of Music, respectively, in 2023.

Marissa Granitto
Student

I am a PhD candidate in the molecular and developmental biology program at Cincinnati Children's and the University of Cincinnati. My research centers around the interaction of Epstein Barr virus at multiple sclerosis risk loci in B cells. I earned my BS in neuroscience at The Ohio State University.

Matt R. Hass, PhD
Staff Scientist

I am a staff scientist, and I lead the Viral Transcriptional Regulator (vTR) project. This project focuses on investigating the human genomic regulatory function of viral proteins from major viruses that infect humans. In the study of vTR proteins, we employ RNA-seq for transcriptional regulation, ChIP-seq for DNA binding, and ATAC-seq to assess their ability to alter chromatin accessibility. I received my BS in biology from the University of Iowa and earned my PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University.

Sydney Jones
Research Assistant

I am a research assistant, and my primary focus is on the vTR projects. In my role, I conduct tissue culture, extract proteins and nucleic acids from patient-derived samples, and perform various biochemical assays. I obtained my BS in Medical Sciences from the University of Cincinnati.

Lucinda P. Lawson, PhD
Research Associate

I am a research associate with a background in evolutionary biology, genomics, and computational biology across vertebrate systems. My undergraduate degree is in developmental biology and genetics from Macalester College, and I earned my PhD in evolutionary biology from the University of Chicago.

Lois Parks
PhD Student

I am a PhD student in the immunology program at Cincinnati Children's and the University of Cincinnati. My research is centered around the genetic etiology of inflammatory bowel disease.

Hayley Prosser
Research Assistant

I am a research assistant, and my main contributions are to the viral transcriptional regulator (vTR) projects. I focus on tasks such as cloning, generating cell lines, and conducting cellular and biochemical assays on samples. I earned my BS in biology from the University of Cincinnati in 2022.

Molly Shook, PhD
Research Associate

I am a research associate in the Kottyan Lab, having started in 2022. My current research revolves around assessing the regulatory effects of genetic variants in allergic diseases using massively parallel reporter assays. I hold a PhD in genetics from Cornell University. In the past, I have also published work on epigenetics in plants and honeybees.

Samuel Virolainen
PhD Student

I am an immunology PhD student in the Kottyan/Weirauch lab at Cincinnati Children's and the University of Cincinnati. My thesis work involves a combination of experimental and computational tools to investigate how both common and rare changes in DNA contribute to the risk of complex diseases such as lupus and atopic dermatitis. I completed my BS in chemistry at Wheaton College.

Cailing Yin
Research Assistant

I am a research assistant, and my primary focus is on functional genomics experiments, including ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, and HiChIP-Seq. In addition to these experiments, I also perform essential lab duties. I earned my BS in pharmaceutical science from China.