PhD
Professor, Genetics
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Genetics Research Program
Area of Interest
Area of Interest Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), primarily consisting of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is the result of an inappropriate immune response to the intestinal microbiota in a genetically susceptible individual. We have partnered with Dr. Shehzad Sheikh (Dept of Medicine, CGIBD) and Dr. Praveen Sethupathy (Cornell Univ) to uncover molecular determinants of IBD disease phenotypes. In particular, we hypothesize that changes in gene expression profiles mediated by an altered chromatin landscape in part influenced by the host genetic background are significantly contributing to aberrant intestinal inflammation. Using both human tissue and mouse models, we seek to identify where chromatin is altered, the impacts on gene expression, and how these are driven by genetic variation in affected individuals. To do this, we use high-throughput sequence-based assays to identify regions of nucleosome-depleted open chromatin that mark all types of regulatory elements genome-wide in tissues and cell-types. The computational integration of these data with related gene expression, transcription factor binding, and epigenetic data provide a more complete picture of the complex process of gene transcription and regulation. With these data, we can investigate the effects of genetic variation on regulation, as can been seen in quantitative trait loci (QTL)-based analyses of these data across individuals. Combining these with extensive patient phenotypes will allow us to uncover how genetics and gene regulation are contributing to diverse IBD phenotypes.
Awards and Honors
- Thomson ISI New Hot Papers, Computer Science, January, 2000
- Achievement Rewards for Scientists (ARCS) Fellowship, 2000-2002
- UC Regents Fellowship, 1998-1999
