The laboratory combines human endothelial cell culture and perturbation systems with genomic discovery tools to dissect how genetic variation at CAD-associated loci operates through the vessel wall.
Active research areas include:
- Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) mapping in human endothelial cell cohorts exposed to various in vitro environments.
- Genetic and heterogeneity-based analysis of endothelial cell molecular traits using single-cell RNA sequencing and chromatin accessibility profiling .
- Colocalization and Mendelian Randomization between genetic signals in endothelial cells and GWAS signals for vascular phenotypes.
- Integration with population-scale biobanks including UK Biobank, All of Us, and others.
- Functional characterization of candidate effector genes using laboratory assays for endothelial functions.
Primary Job Duties Include:
- Design and execute experiments using primary human endothelial cells.
- Prepare and QC sequencing libraries including bulk RNA-seq, small RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, and single-cell libraries.
- Perform genome-scale mapping and genetic colocalization with GWAS summary statistics.
- Analyze *-seq datasets using standard and custom bioinformatics pipelines.
- Contribute to grant writing, manuscript preparation, and presentations at national conferences.
- Mentor and support trainees and other members of the laboratory.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- Ability operating specialized equipment in a laboratory setting.
- Proficiency in sequencing library preparation, including bulk RNA-seq, small RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, and single-cell sequencing protocols.
- Knowledge of genetic colocalization methods using GWAS and molecular QTL summary statistics.
- Working knowledge of large-scale biobank resources, particularly the All of US Research Program and phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) frameworks.
- Biological knowledge of vascular cell types, endothelial function, and the pathobiology of atherosclerosis.
