Research

My laboratory focuses on developing computational tools and approaches to reveal novel biological insights within the most challenging and rapidly evolving regions of the human genome—segmental duplications (SDs). Using cutting-edge long-read sequencing technologies, we study how gene regulatory elements within these complex genomic regions impact human evolution and disease. Our work bridges genome assembly, chromatin biology, and bioinformatics to characterize the regulatory networks of duplicated genes and understand their contributions to human-specific traits, particularly in the context of neurogenesis. Through collaborations with major genomics consortia, including the Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium and the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium, we are creating the first comprehensive atlas of gene regulation in the fastest-evolving euchromatic regions of the human genome.

More details to come as the lab opens in January 2026! See our publications for recent work.