I am a statistical and population geneticist interested in understanding the relationship between DNA sequence variation and complex human diseases or traits. To build this understanding, my lab constructs statistical and computational methods grounded in principles of population biology, applying them to genetic data collected across whole genomes. A central objective of my lab is to uncover how genetic variation contributes to the diverse set of traits evolved over recent human history and to the range of diseases we find today. My research has answered population genetic questions about recent demographic and selective events in human populations, and more recently I have focused on mapping risk alleles for common diseases, particularly type-2 diabetes and heart attack. I have also contributed to novel statistical approaches for population genetic inference, disease mapping studies, causal inference studies via Mendelian Randomization, as well as leading the development of next generation sequencing and genotypic assay technologies designed to improve characterization of genetic variation in the human genome.
Advised by Drs. Jonathan Pritchard (now at Stanford) and Nancy Cox (now at Vanderbilt), in 2006 I received my Ph.D. in Human Genetics at the University of Chicago. As a post-doctoral research fellow from 2006-2009, I worked with Drs. David Altshuler (now at Vertex Pharmaceuticals) and Mark Daly at the Center of Human Genetics Research at Massachusetts General Hospital. From 2009 until September of 2011, I remained at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT as a Research Scientist. In September of 2011, I joined the faculty ranks of the Departments of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics and Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor, becoming an Associate Professor (with tenure) in 2017. I am a member of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics and the Institute for Biomedical Informatics. I also serve as chair of the Genomic and Computational Biology (GCB) Graduate group here at Penn.