PhD
Professor, Genetics
Director of Graduate Studies, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Genetics
Area of Interest
I lead a statistical genetics laboratory interested in the relationship between genes and complex disease. My group develops and applies statistical methodology to advance the use of animal models of multifactorial human disease and the study of complex traits in genetically varying populations more broadly. Specific foci include: modeling gene-by-treatment interactions; characterizing model uncertainty in quantitative trait loci (QTL) genome-wide association; the design of mouse resource populations for medical research; the analysis of phenotype variability and its use in uncovering complex relationships, and general statistical methods for analyzing data from replicable genetic resource populations (GRPs) such as inbred strain panels, non-replicable multiparental populations (MPPs) such as outbred populations including heterogeneous stocks (HS) and Diversity Outbred populations, and multiparental GRPs (MP-GRPs) such as the Collaborative Cross (CC).
Awards and Honors
- Award for Excellence in Basic Science Mentoring, UNC School of Medicine Office of Graduate Education, 2023
- Maximizing Investigator Research Award (NIGMS Outstanding Investigator Grant), 2017
- IBM Junior Faculty Development Award, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2012
- Adjunct Assistant Professorship in Dept of Biostatistics, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2010
- Career Development Fellowship in Statistical Genetics, Medical Research Council, UK. Funding for salary, equipment and travel for 3 years, 2008
- Access to Research Infrastructures Fellowship, European Commission. Funding for salary and travel for 1 month research at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. 2005
