NHGRI Division of Intramural Research Seminar Series

Ran Blekhman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Medicine, University of Chicago

Ran Blekhman, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, specializes in the intersection of human genomics and microbiome research. His research involves leveraging genomic and analytical techniques to unravel host-microbiome interactions in health and disease. The Blekhman Lab studies human genomic factors that control and interact with the microbiome. They utilize high-throughput genomics technologies and employ computational, statistical, machine learning, and population genetic analytical approaches, with the goal of understanding how to interact with the microbial communities, how host-microbe interactions affect human disease, and how the symbiosis between us and our microbiome evolved.

Hosts: Julie Segre and Zeyang Shen

Lars Steinmetz, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Genetics, and
Dieter Schwarz Foundation Endowed Professor of Genetics
Stanford University

The Steinmetz lab develops genomic technologies to study the genetic basis of complex phenotypes, the mechanisms of gene regulation, and the molecular systems underpinning disease. We’re leveraging biological insights across scales and organisms to predict, diagnose, treat and ultimately prevent disease.

While technological advances have enabled the association of thousands of genetic variants to complex traits of health and disease, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how genetic variation governs phenotypic diversity and disease. This is largely due to the challenge of discovering the mechanisms through which genetic variation shape cellular phenotypes, as well as the complex interplay between variants and the impact of environmental factors. The Steinmetz Lab's research is directed at developing genomics technologies and approaches to study the molecular processes that underlie complex genetic traits, gene regulation, and inherited diseases. Their approach has been to drive technology development together with biological application, in which they work across the broad axis of fundamental to translational research.

Hosts: Meru Sadhu

Genevieve Wojcik, Ph.D., MHS
Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Genevieve Wojcik, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD. As a statistical geneticist and genetic epidemiologist, Dr. Wojcik’s research focuses on method development for diverse populations, specifically in admixed populations. Many of her efforts focus on improving statistical methods for complex trait mapping and polygenic risk scores for these populations to address existing health inequities and ensure downstream translation for all.

The second arm of Dr. Wojcik’s research program focuses on the genetic susceptibility to infectious disease and vaccine response, with an eye towards host-pathogen co-evolution.

Dr. Wojcik is currently a member of numerous NIH consortia, including the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study, the Genome Sequencing Program (GSP), the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen), and the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, as well as several international collaborations.

Hosts: Daphne Bell, Charles Venditti and Carol Van Ryzin