Model Organisms

Benjamin R. Arenkiel, Ph.D.
Investigating the developmental and genetic mechanisms that govern the formation and function of neural circuits

Elizabeth Atkinson, Ph.D.
Using genomics to better understand the genetic architecture of complex traits and reduce health disparities across ancestries

Hugo J. Bellen, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Studying rare and common human genetic disease using flies

Blair Benham-Pyle, Ph.D.
Discovering cellular and molecular adaptations for whole body regeneration and resistance to aging and disease using planaria

Alison A. Bertuch, M.D., Ph.D.
Focusing on the molecular genetics of the telomere biology disorders and ribosomopathies

Steven Boeynaems, Ph.D.
Studying protein condensation and aggregation in health and disease

Juan Botas, Ph.D.
Integrating in silico and high-throughput experimental approaches to investigate brain disorders

Lindsay Burrage, M.D., Ph.D.
Investigating rare metabolic disorders as models for understanding basic biological processes that impact more common diseases

Hsiao-Tuan Chao, M.D., Ph.D.
Integrateing cross-species approaches in humans to uncover the genetic etiologies of neurodevelopmental disorders, fruit flies to elucidate the molecular pathways, and mice to explore the cascade of events in the mammalian brain

Chao Cheng, Ph.D.
Integrating multi-omics data for reveal human disease mechanism with emphasis on cancer

Chonghui Cheng, M.D., Ph.D.
Investigating breast cancer metastasis and circulating tumor cells regulated by RNA processes

Thomas A. Cooper, M.D.
Investigating the pathogenic mechanisms of myotonic dystrophy type 1, focusing on developmentally regulated RNA processing

Weiwei Dang, Ph.D.
Studying epigenetic regulation of aging

Ryan S Dhindsa, M.D., Ph.D.
Using population-level genetics, multi-omics, and stem cell models to identify targeted therapies, with an emphasis on neurological disease.

Herman A. Dierick, M.D.
Dissecting the genetic and neurobiological mechanisms of aggression using flies as a model system

Kyle P. Eagen, Ph.D.
Determining how DNA is folded inside cells

Gloria V. Echeverria, Ph.D.
Studying the metabolic evolution of breast cancer

Florent Elefteriou, Ph.D.
Focusing on understanding how bones form, grow, age and repair

Graham Erwin, Ph.D.
Investigating the functional role of repetitive DNA with a focus on translating these discoveries for human health.

Furqan M. Fazal, PhD
Focusing on systematically interrogating the subcellular transcriptomes of mammalian cells and characterizing the scope, regulation, and function of subcellular localization, particularly at the systems and organismal level

Richard H. Finnell, Ph.D.
Preventing preventable birth defects

Richard A. Gibbs, Ph.D.
Investigating genomics, genetics and genome biology

Margaret A. Goodell, Ph.D.
Investigating genetic regulation of stem cells and hematopoiesis

Andy Groves, Ph.D.
Studying development, regeneration and evolution of the inner ear

Sean M. Hartig, Ph.D.
Exploring fundamentals of metabolism and energy balance in obesity and diabetes

Jason D. Heaney, Ph.D.
Using mouse genetics, genomics and genome editing technologies to catalog gene function and contribution to human disease

Christophe Herman, Ph.D.
Transcription errors in epigenetic and genome stability

Kendal D. Hirschi, Ph.D.
Working to make plants healthier, to grow more effectively during difficult situations and to contain extra minerals and vitamins and less anti-nutrients

H. Courtney Hodges, Ph.D.
Using epigenomics and chemical biology to reveal new mechanisms related to chromatin, transcription factors, and gene regulation

Grzegorz Ira, Ph.D.
Investigating the mechanisms of DNA recombination and genome instability

Hamed Jafar-Nejad, M.D.
Using fly and mouse models to understand the contribution of glycosylation to embyonic development and the pathophysiology of specific human disease, with an eye on establishing novel therapeutic approaches

Benny A. Kaipparettu, Ph.D.
Investigating mitochondrial metabolism in cancer

William R. Lagor, Ph.D.
Studying lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, and developing new approaches for gene therapy and gene editing

Brendan Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
Investigating human and mouse genetics of skeletal and metabolic diseases, developing gene therapy, and studying undiagnosed diseases

Hongjie Li, Ph.D.
Performing single-cell analysis to understand aging

Pengfei Liu, Ph.D.
We are interested in translating new technologies to improve the diagnosis and therapy of Mendelian disorders.

Zhandong Liu, Ph.D.
Developing machine learning and AI tools for biomedical datasets

Philip J. Lupo, Ph.D.
Focusing on the genetic epidemiology of pediatric cancer and congenital anomalies

James R Lupski, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. (hon)
Investigating family based rare variant genome analyses, with an emphasis on mechanisms for structural variant mutagenesis, and exploring the 'Clan Genomics' hypothesis

Ronit Marom, M.D., Ph.D.
Studying inherited bone fragility disorders associated with protein trafficking defects using in vitro and in vivo models.

James F. Martin, M.D., Ph.D.
Understanding tissue regeneration in humans

Tamer M A Mohamed, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Understanding the genetic modulation of the cell cycle in cardiomyocytes and developing bioengineering approaches for drug testing in human heart tissues

David L. Nelson, Ph.D.
Studying human disorders caused by repeat sequence expansions using humans, mice and flies

Philip Ng, Ph.D.
Investigating gene therapy and gene editing

Eric Van Nostrand, Ph.D.
Using genomics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics to study how RNA binding proteins control a variety of RNA processing steps

Ronald J. Parchem, Ph.D.
Investigating stem cell function in development and disease

Dongsu Park, Ph.D.
Defining in vivo identity, function and regulation of distinct skeletal stem cells in different bones and compartments

D. Williams Parsons, M.D., Ph.D.
Focusing on the clinical application of genetics and genomics to the improve the care of childhood cancer patients and their families

Sharon E. Plon, M.D., Ph.D.
Expanding knowledge on the basis of genetic predisposition to childhood cancer

Ross A. Poché, Ph.D.
Identifying the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating mammalian development and regeneration

Jennifer E. Posey, M.D., Ph.D.
Studying the complex relationships between genotypes and human disease phenotypes, with a focus on the identification and study of genes and associated phenotypic traits that break from the ‘one-gene-one-disease’ paradigm

Russell S. Ray, Ph.D.
Understanding the neural circuits that underly human behavior and physiology and their roles in disease.

Jeffrey Rogers, Ph.D.
Focusing on two aspects of primate genetics: fundamental studies of basic primate genomics and the discovery of new primate models of human genetic disease

Susan M. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
Investigating molecular mechanisms of genome instability and evolution of cancers and infectious diseases

Buck Samuel, Ph.D.
Investigating the genetics of microbiome impact on host metabolism and physiology

Daryl A. Scott, M.D., Ph.D.
Identifying the genes that cause common, life-threatening birth defects and to determine the molecular mechanisms by which they function

Gad Shaulsky, Ph.D.
Study the molecular genetics of allorecognition and its relationship to development and sociality

Joshua M. Shulman, M.D., Ph.D.
Investigating the genomic mechanisms of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease

Richard N. Sifers, Ph.D.
Investigating altered proteostasis in inheried disease and cancer

Pawel Stankiewicz, M.D., Ph.D.
Studying the genetics and genomics of lung development in humans and the role of noncoding elements in lethal lung developmental disorders in neonates

Zheng Sun, Ph.D.
Investigating the circadian clock and epigenome in metabolism and neurocognition

Nicholas Tran, Ph.D.
Investigating mechanisms of neuroprotection and axon regeneration for neurodegenerative diseases that cause blindness

Ignatia B. Van den Veyver, M.D.
Investigating the genetics and epigenetics of reproductive and developmental disorders, and prenatal genetic diagnosis

Cheryl Walker, Ph.D.
Studying how our early-life environment shapes our epigenome to determine health and drive disease

Michael F. Wangler, M.D.
Investigating the molecular basis of Mendelian disorders leveraging fly and clinical studies

Xander Wehrens, M.D., Ph.D.
Focusing on the molecular basis of inherited arrhythmia syndromes as well as other more complex, multifactorial cardiac diseases.

Jeremy E. Wilusz, Ph.D.
Revealing how noncoding RNAs are generated, regulated, and function

Tao Wu, Ph.D.
Studying the epigenetic mechanisms underpinning cell fate transition and plasticity in human diseases

Mingshan Xue, Ph.D.
Elucidating the synaptic mechanisms of neural circuits in the mammalian brain and harness this knowledge to understand the pathogeneses and develop therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders

Shinya Yamamoto, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Studying diverse medically relevant questions using the fruit fly, primarily focusing on the nervous system and neurological disorders

Lilei Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Studying heart failure and inherited heart diseases

Hui Zheng, Ph.D.
Investigating lysosome signaling and immune regulation in Alzheimer's disease

Qian Zhu, Ph.D.
Applying single-cell, spatial, and imaging bioinformatics to the breast tumor microenvironment to uncover the genomic, epigenomic, cellular, and multicellular factors influencing patient survival and treatment outcomes.

Anthony Zoghbi, M.D.
Understanding the genomic basis of risk and treatment response across neuropsychiatric disorders using advanced computational and bioinformatic techniques

Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D.
Using genetic and biochemical tools to understand disease neurobiology

Chenghang (Chuck) Zong, Ph.D.
Developing novel single cell sequencing based methods for profiling cancer evolution and heterogeneity, understanding complex human diseases