Genetics, Epigenetics and Genomics

Faculty

• Tallie Z. Baram, tallie@uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics 
  Epigenetic mechanisms in brain plasticity; stress, epilepsy, learning and memory
• Kevin T. Beier, kbeier@uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics
  Molecular and neural circuit basis of mental illness, substance use disorders, Alzheimer’s disease – genetic/epigenetic individual vulnerability factor identification
• Emiliana Borrelli, borrelli@uci.edu,  Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
  Involvement of dopamine in addiction and in neurological and psychiatric disorders
• Minji Byun, byunm1@uci.edu, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
  Epigenetic modulator dysfunction in human developmental and immune disorders
• Rui Chen, ruic20@hs.uci.edu, Physiology and Biophysics Our lab utilizes cutting-edge genetics, genomics, single-cell omics, computational analysis, machine learning, and advanced imaging techniques to investigate the link between genetic variants and human diseases. By integrating these approaches, we precisely map disease mechanisms and develop innovative therapeutic strategies, striving to bridge the gap between genetic research and effective treatments
• Timothy Lamont Downing, tim.downing@uci.edu, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
  The Downing Lab explores new and innovative approaches to cell and tissue engineering. We are particularly interested in understanding how the genome is regulated through non-sequence-based changes to DNA (epigenetics) during healthy tissue development and disease progression.
• J.J. Emerson, jje@uci.edu, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  Population genetics and molecular evolution of genome structure
• Klemens Hertel, khertel@uci.edu, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
  Regulation of gene expression by alternative splicing, bioinformatics, human genetic disease
• Seungsoo Kim, seungsoo.kim@uci.edu Developmental & Cell Biology
  The Kim Lab focuses on transcription factor control of cell states using genomic approaches in mammalian stem cell models
• Evgeny Kvon, ekvon@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
  The Kvon lab investigates mammalian gene regulation using cutting-edge genomics, genome editing, and transgenic tools. We are particularly interested in studying the role of gene regulation in development and evolution and how its malfunction leads to congenital disease.
• Albert La Spada, alaspada@uci.edu, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
  Our research seeks the mechanisms that underlie neurodegeneration and neuron cell death in spinal & bulbar muscular atrophy, spinocerebellar ataxia type 7, Huntington’s Disease, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, and by reproducing molecular pathology in mice and in neurons, astrocytes, and skeletal muscle cells derived from human patient stem cells, we are developing therapies to treat these diseases.
• Grace Yuh Chwen Lee, grylee@uci.edu, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  I study how the widespread genomic parasite, transposable element, influences health and the myriad diversity of life, by combining population genomics, epigenomics, and computational biology
• Wei Li, wei.li@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  Computational Biomedicine: Epigenetics Liquid Biopsy and Alternative Polyadenylation Therapy
• Anthony D. Long, tdlong@uci.edu, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  Population genetics, the genetics of complex traits, the genetics of adaptation, and bioinformatics
• Ivan Marazzi, imarazzi@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  The Marazzi Laboratory studies epigenetic and chromatin-mediated control of gene expression in the context of the cellular response to pathogens or cellular differentiation.
• Ali Mortazavi, ali.mortazavi@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
  Our lab is focused on mammalian functional genomics using short and long-read sequencing to understand gene regulatory networks.
• Stanley W.K. Ng, stanlewn@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  The Ng Lab uses multiple spatial and omics sequencing technologies to profile tissue clones and assess their contribution to overall disease state, treatment response, and patient outcomes
• Trina M. Norden-Krichmar, tnordenk@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  Bioinformatics; genetic factors in human diseases; medical, environmental and marine genomics; computational drug discovery; machine learning
• Jose Ranz, jranz@uci.edu, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  Insect functional and comparative genomics, evolution of the expression network, speciation
• Marcus Seldin, mseldin@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  Population genetics approaches to investigate inter-organ signaling
• Yongsheng Shi, yongshes@uci.edu, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
  Our laboratory studies the mechanism and regulation of mRNA processing in development and in pathogen-host interactions.
• Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, dorotask@hs.uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics
  Skowronska-Krawczyk’s laboratory focuses on understanding the molecular mechanism of aging in the eye and on discovering novel treatments to prevent age-related vision loss.
• Bryan Sun, sunb8@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  The Sun Laboratory studies genetic mechanisms of skin tissue development and disease with a particular interest on regulatory elements of the noncoding genome. We use primary cell culture, skin organoids, and human/patient samples for our research.
• Sha Sun, shasun@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
  The main focus of our research involves the functional roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in epigenetic programming.
• Vivek Swarup, vswarup@uci.edu, Neurobiology & Behavior
  Genomics of Neurodegenerative dementia
• Kevin Thornton, krthorn@uci.edu, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  Computational methods in population genetics.
• Katrine Whiteson, katrine@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
  The Whiteson lab studies human associated microbial and viral communities. We use metagenomics, metabolomics, microbiology and bioinformatics to answer questions about how microbes and viruses (especially phages!) affect human health.
• Marcelo A. Wood, mwood@uci.edu, Neurobiology & Behavior
  Research in the Wood lab is focused on understanding the epigenetic mechanisms underlying long-lasting forms of synaptic plasticity and memory in the adult and aging brain, as well as maladaptive memory processes underlying addiction.
• Xiangmin Xu, xiangmix@uci.edu, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
  Neural circuits, brain diseases, Viral genetic tool development
• Qin Yang, qiny3@uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics
  Identifying novel targets and developing new tools for the treatment of obesity and diabetes
• Kyoko Yokomori, kyokomor@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry

  We study the mechanism and function of heterochromatin dynamics in human cells using muscular dystrophy FSHD and DNA damage response as the model systems.

Faculty – Secondary Affiliation

• Bogi Andersen, bogi@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  The goal of my research is to understand the role of the circadian clock in skin and the gene-regulatory mechanisms underlying epidermal differentiation and repair.
• Kavita Arora, karora@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
  We are interested in the diverse cellular responses triggered by TGF-ß signaling proteins in development. Recent areas of study are: the neuroendocrine control of developmental timing, and the regulation of metabolism by TGF-ß ligands.
• Claudia Benavente, claudia.benavente@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
  Identifying therapeutic vulnerabilities in solid malignancies harboring RB1 mutations, with special emphasis on epigenetics.
• Bruce Blumberg, blumberg@uci.edu,  Developmental & Cell Biology
  My lab focuses on multi-‘omic analyses of gene environment interactions important for development, adult physiology and disease predisposition using in vitro and in vivo models.
• Anne L. Calof, alcalof@uci.edu,  Developmental & Cell Biology
  My laboratory uses genetic model organisms to study how stem cell behaviors and gene expression changes both direct normal development and contribute to the etiology of syndromic and non-syndromic birth defects.
• Ken W.Y. Cho, kwcho@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
  Using genomics, we study how early cellular differentiation events, particularly in the endodermal lineage leading to an animal’s gut and extraembryonic structures, are programmed.
• Xing Dai, xdai@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  Intrinsic and microenvironmental control of skin and mammary epithelial stem cell function in development and repair/regeneration, and how such control mechanisms go awry in disease and aging.
• Nir Drayman, nirdra@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
  Studies how cell-to-cell variability affects viral infection outcomes using technologies such as live-imaging, machine learning, single-cell RNA-sequencing and microfluidics
• Asuka Eguchi, asuka.eguchi@uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics
  We study the pathogenic progression of genetic cardiomyopathies to develop therapeutic strategies for heart failure. Human iPSCs provide the disease model to study disease phenotypes
• Todd C. Holmes, tholmes@uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics
  We study non-image forming visual mechanisms controlling arousal, phototaxis/light avoidance, time-of-day information behaviors in Drosophila (Fogle et al., 2011, Science; Ni, Baik et al., 2017, Nature)
• Mehboob Hussain, m.hussain@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  My laboratory is focused on the biology of endocrine pancreatic cells, which synthesize and secrete the principal hormones that regulate blood sugar levels
• Peter Kaiser, pkaiser@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  Our lab studies the ubiquitin proteasome pathway, cell cycle, and cancer metabolism, focusing on mechanism of diet/therapeutics interactions and development of mutant p53 reactivation compounds.
  
• Mei Kong, meik1@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
  Nutritional microenvironment in tumor development and drug response, metabolism, epigenetics and cancer stem cells, protein phosphatase regulation in diabetes and obesity.
• Orkide Koyuncu, okoyuncu@hs.uci.edu, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
  In the Koyuncu lab, we study virus infections of the nervous system with a focus on local and global changes in neuronal biology during alpha herpesvirus infection
• Wei Ling Lau, wllau@uci.edu, Physiology & Biophysics
  Vascular injury and gut dysbiosis in chronic kidney disease
• Chang Liu, ccl@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
  What does the map between macromolecular sequence and function look like? How does a gene’s evolutionary past shape its future?
• Haoping Liu, h4liu@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  We study the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans, Candida-host cell interaction, mechanisms of pathogenesis and drug resistance.
• Andrej Luptak, aluptak@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
  RNA biology and chemistry
• Rachel W. Martin, rwmartin@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
  Structural biology and biophysics of both highly soluble proteins and protein aggregates; enzyme discovery; NMR methods development.
• Thomas F. Martinez, t.martinez@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  Unannotated microprotein discovery and characterization, proteomics, genomics, cell biology, protein biochemistry
• Krzysztof Palczewski, kpalczew@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Physiology & Biophysics
  Kris Palczewski’ s laboratory is focused on the fundamental process of vision taking place in rod and cone photoreceptors of the retina and the adjacent pigment epithelium.
• Nicholas Pannunzio, nrpann@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  Cancer etiology, cancer genetics, genome integrity, DNA double-strand break repair, and cancer health disparities in underrepresented groups
• Farah Rahmatpanah, frahmatp@uci.edu, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
  Prostate cancer disparities, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, bioinformatics, epigenetics
• Matt Rose, mfrose@hs.uci.edu, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
  Mapping gene networks, cell fate, and neural wiring decisions with multi-omics and 3D-cleared and live imaging in neurodevelopment and models of neurologic disease
• Thomas F. Schilling, tschilli@uci.edu, Developmental & Cell Biology
  Our laboratory is generally interested in the early embryonic development of the vertebrate nervous and musculoskeletal systems. We study zebrafish, small teleost fish that have emerged as a powerful new genetic system for studying how genes control early development. The genetic mechanisms we are studying have important implications for human craniofacial birth defects and cancers.
• Leslie M. Thompson, lmthomps@uci.edu, Biological Chemistry
  Molecular and biochemical mechanisms of disease pathogenesis and therapeutic approaches to human neurodegenerative disease
• Momoko Watanabe, momokow@uci.edu, Anatomy & Neurobiology
  We use brain organoids derived from hPSCs to study human neural development and disease using molecular, cellular, and bioinformatic approaches
• Travis Wiles, travis.wiles@uci.edu, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
  Wiles Lab research focuses on the form and function of microbiomes, the ecology and evolution of antibiotic resistance, and immune sensing of gut bacterial communities.
• Katherine Xue, k.xue@uci.edu,Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
  The Xue lab studies how microbes interact and evolve in complex communities like the human gut microbiome using a combination of experimental and computational techniques.
•