Genetics PhD Mentors

The following faculty advise students in our Genetics PhD Program.

Mentors can also be viewed by specific field or study organism.

To view faculty in the Departments of Genetics and Medical Genetics only, please see our Faculty List.

Reid Alisch

Address:
Neurological Surgery
The role of epigenetics in human health and disease processes, particularly in relation to the origins of mental illness.

Richard Amasino

Address:
Biochemsitry
Understanding how plants sense and respond to seasonal environmental changes

Matt Anderson

Address:
Medical Genetics
Gene families, Intraspecies variation, genome evolution, population dynamics, microbiomes

Jean-Michel Ané

Address:
Bacteriology/Agronomy
Symbiotic associations between plants and microbes (bacteria and fungi)

Alan Attie

Address:
Biochemistry
Genetics & Genomics of Metabolic Disease and Response to Diet

Anjon Audhya

Address:
Biomolecular Chemistry
Regulation of vesicle biogenesis and membrane transport during development

Arash Bashirullah

Address:
Pharmacy
Intercellular communication: uncovering mechanisms that coordinate the development of multicellular organisms

Andrew Bent

Address:
Plant Pathology
Molecular/Genetic Mechanisms of Plant Disease Resistance

Seth Blair

Address:
Integrative Biology
Developmental genetics of patterning and cell signaling in Drosophila

Barak Blum

Address:
Cell and Regenerative Biology
Regenerative biology of the endocrine pancreas, genetics of type-1 and type-2 diabetes

Grace Boekhoff-Falk

Address:
Anatomy
Developmental biology, gene expression, hormones, growth and differentiation factors

Karl Broman

Address:
Biostatistics and Medical Informatics
Statistical problems in genetics and genomics, particularly methods for identifying genes contributing to variation in complex traits in experimental organisms.

Jake Brunkard

Address:
Genetics
Plant Biology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Genomics

Hao Chang

Address:
Dermatology
Planar cell polarity in mammalian skin development and cancer

Qiang Chang

Address:
Medical Genetics and Neurology
DNA methylation-dependent epigenetic regulation of brain functions

Kerri Coon

Address:
Bacteriology
Insect-microbe interactions, impacts of gut microbes on the biology of disease vectors

Timothy Donohue

Address:
Bacteriology
Unlocking the secrets of microbes to benefit society

Katie Drerup

Address:
Integrative Biology
Neuronal Cell Biology, Neurodegenerative disease, Neurodevelopment

Daniela Drummond-Barbosa

Address:
Genetics
Stem cell metabolism and physiology, oogenesis, Drosophila genetics

Feyza Engin

Address:
Biomolecular Chemistry
Diabetes and metabolic disorders, organelle dysfunction, stress responses, beta cell biology

Andrea Galmozzi

Address:
Medicine
Metabolism - Adipose Tissue physiology - Obesity - Type 2 Diabetes - Cachexia

Audrey Gasch

Address:
Medical Genetics
Elucidating the role, regulation, and evolution of eukaryotic stress responses

Yevgenya Grinblat

Address:
Integrative Biology and Neuroscience
Neural development, zebrafish developmental genetics

Mary Halloran

Address:
Integrative Biology
Understanding mechanisms controlling development of the nervous system

Jeff Hardin

Address:
Integrative Biology
Cell movement, cell adhesion, embryonic development

Melissa Harrison

Address:
Biomolecular Chemistry
Transcriptional regulation during development

David Hershey

Address:
Bacteriology
Mechanisms of surface colonizatoin in bacteria, mechanosensing, extracellular matrix biosynthesis

Gaelen Hess

Address:
Biomolecular Chemistry
High-throughput functional genomics to investigate DNA repair and pathogenic effectors

Chris Todd Hittinger

Address:
Genetics
Evolutionary genomics of yeast carbon metabolism with applications in brewing and bioenergy

Aaron Hoskins

Address:
Biochemistry
RNA splicing, gene expression, fluorescence microscopy, RNA/protein complexes

Zhen Huang

Address:
Neurology and Nueroscience
Neuron and glial cell fate specification and differentiation, cortical neuron migration, migration disorders

Christina Hull

Address:
Biomolecular Chemistry and Medical Microbiology & Immunology
Fungal pathogen biology, eukaryotic development and differentiation, host-pathogen interactions, molecular mechanisms of infectious spore germination

Anna Huttenlocher

Address:
Pediatrics
Cell migration, Wound repair, Inflammation

Tu-Anh Huynh

Address:
Food Science
Bacterial signal transduction and pathogenesis, stress response, host-microbe interactions

Akihiro Ikeda

Address:
Medical Genetics
Identifying genes involved in aging, cell proliferation and neovascularization using mouse genetics

Junsu Kang

Address:
Cell and Regenerative Biology
Zebrafish, regeneration, fin, heart, enhancer, genetic mutant

Nancy Keller

Address:
Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Fungal genetics, fungal/bacterial interactions, mining fungal genomes for bioactive chemicals

Judith Kimble

Address:
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Medical Genetics
Molecular regulation of germ line self-renewal and differentiation in C. elegans

Patrick Krysan

Address:
Horticulture
Functional genomics of Arabidopsis signal transduction

Dudley Lamming

Address:
Medicine
Biology of aging and age-related diseases, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease

Robert Landick

Address:
Biochemistry
RNA polymerase structure/function; regulation of RNA chain elongation

Carol Eunmi Lee

Address:
Integrative Biology
Rapid Evolutionary responses to global change, including biological invasions, climate, and pollution. Genetic architecture of invasive species, functional ecological and evolutionary genomics

Peter Lewis

Address:
Biomolecular Chemistry
Mechanisms of chromatin assembly, gene silencing, and epigenetic inheritance

Ci Ji Lim

Address:
Biochemistry
Telomeres, chromatin structure-function relationship, protein-DNA interactions, molecular machines

Valentina Lo Sardo

Address:
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Stem cell biology, reprogramming, cell fate determination, genetic risk factors for Cardiovascular disease and Cancer, genomics, transcriptomics, human specific genomic regions, evolution

Ahmed Mahmoud

Address:
Cell and Regenerative Biology
Mammalian cardiac regeneration

Mark Mandel

Address:
Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Bacterial genetics, colonization of host epithelial tissue, signal transduction, Vibrio fischeri-squid symbiosis

Patrick Masson

Address:
Genetics
Genetic investigations of root growth behaviors and polyamine responses in Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon

Phil Newmark

Address:
Integrative Biology
Germ cell development and regeneration in planarians; developmental biology of parasitic flatworms

Marisa Otegui

Address:
Botany
Plant Molecular and Cell Biology; Plant Genetics and Development

Brian Parks

Address:
Nutritional Sciences
Leveraging genetics to understand the pathways and molecular mechanisms that contribute to metabolic diseases.

Bret Payseur

Address:
Genetics and Medical Genetics
Speciation, Evolution of Extreme Phenotypes, Recombination

Francisco Pelegri

Address:
Genetics and Medical Genetics
Cellular and developmental mechanisms in the vertebrate egg-to-embryo transition, early cell fate specification

Caitlin Pepperell

Address:
Medicine
Ecological and evolutionary interactions between humans and human pathogens

Nicole Perna

Address:
Genetics
Systems-scale evolutionary genomics of agriculturally, biomedically and industrially significant bacteria

Jason Peters

Address:
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Roles of bacterial gene networks in antibiotic resistance and biofuel production

John Pool

Address:
Genetics
Population genomics and the genetic basis of adaptive evolution

Tomas Prolla

Address:
Genetics and Medical Genetics
DNA repair, cancer and the aging process

Aaron Ragsdale

Address:
Integrative Biology
Population genetics, applied math, human history and genomics

Vatsan Raman

Address:
Biochemistry
High-throughput functional assays, variant effect prediction, human and microbial genomics

Claire Richardson

Address:
Genetics
Neurobiology, cell biology, aging and stress, genetics, C. elegans

Sushmita Roy

Address:
Biostatistics and Medical Informatics
Machine learning methods; the structure, function and evolution of regulatory networks; predictive models

Steven Schrodi

Address:
Medical Genetics
Human genomics of inflammatory diseases, statistical genetics, genetic architecture of diseases

David Schwartz

Address:
Genetics and Chemistry
Discovery of fundamental molecular phenomena, which are harnessed within fully integrated systems for comprehensive genome analysis; creation of a cell-free system (“GenSyn”) for the direct fabrication of synthetic chromosomes, which adapt/advance micro- and nanofluidics technologies previously developed for genome analysis by the Schwartz group

Prashant P. Sharma

Address:
Integrative Biology
Developmental genetics; evolution of developmental mechanisms; phylogenomics; molecular evolution

Nathaniel Sharp

Address:
Genetics
Mutation, Evolution, Genome Architecture, Genetic Variation, Sexual Selection

Ahna Skop

Address:
Genetics, Medical Genetics
Affiliate appointments in Life Science Communication and Art
Newly appreciated signaling organelle called the midbody (MB) and the midbody remnant (MBR)

Rupa Sridharan

Address:
Cell and Regenerative Biology
Epigenetics: histone modification crosstalk and RNA processing,
Development and differentiation: from mouse and human stem cells
Genomics: Single cell transcriptomics and epigenomics

Michael Sussman

Address:
Biochemistry
Signal transduction and plasma membrane receptors in Arabidopsis thaliana, genomic technologies

Owen Tamplin

Address:
Cell and Regenerative Biology
Blood stem cells and their microenvironment

Michael Taylor

Address:
School of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences Division
Regulation of CNS angiogenesis and barriergenesis

Randal Tibbetts

Address:
Human Oncology
Genetic control of DNA replication and repair in mammals. Mechanisms of neurodegeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Daifeng Wang

Address:
Biostatistics and Medical Informatics
Gene regulatory networks, functional genomics, genotype-phenotype prediction, single-cell biology, brain disorders

Han Wang

Address:
Integrative Biology
Molecular and Circuit Mechanisms of Sleep and Behaviors in C. elegans; Development of Novel Genetic Tools

Jue D. (Jade) Wang

Address:
Bacteriology
Bacterial Stress Response, Nucleotide Signaling, Mutagenesis, Antibiotic Resistance

David Wassarman

Address:
Genetics
Mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration

Beth A. Weaver

Address:
Cell and Regenerative Biology; Oncology/McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research
Mitosis, Aneuploidy, Chromosomal instability, Cancer

Deneen Wellik

Address:
Cell & Regenerative Biology
The role of Hox genes in the development, growth and homeostasis of the adult skeleton, muscle and lung.

Donna Werling

Address:
Genetics
Genetic risk for autism and other neuropsychiatric conditions, sex differences in neurobiology and risk for disease

Justin Wolter

Address:
Genetics
Genetic modifiers of neurodevelopment

Jerry Yin

Address:
Medical Genetics and Neurology
cAMP/PKA/dCREB2 signaling in sleep, memory formation, neurodegenerative diseases, developmental disabilities

Jing Zhang

Address:
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research
Cell signaling in hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis

Fei Zhao

Address:
Comparative Biosciences
Sex organ development

Xinyu Zhao

Address:
Neuroscience
Gene regulation of stem cells and brain development, autism spectrum disorders