Evolution@Vanderbilt

Research Interests: We develop and apply genomic and computational methods to investigate the genetic architecture of complex traits, including disease risk and drug response. We are interested in what can be learned from DNA sequence and multi-omics data about disease mechanism, therapeutic intervention, molecular evolution, and genome function. An ongoing project involves understanding gene regulation across tissues and cell types to gain insights into disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets. We utilize large-scale DNA biobank data linked to electronic health records, along with data science and computation, to identify genes involved in human health and disease in diverse populations, to discover novel biomarkers, and to enable a comprehensive systems view of the disease phenome.

His laboratory is an interdisciplinary group with expertise in computational genomics and molecular biology. The lab has been the research training ground for a Barry Goldwater Scholar, a Fulbright Scholar, and a NARSAD Young Investigator Grant recipient.