Current Human Genetics Scholars
2022-2024 Human Genetics Scholars
PhD Candidate
Emory University
kdiazpe@emory.edu
Kimberly Diaz Perez is a PhD candidate in the Genetics & Molecular Biology graduate program at Emory University. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Georgia State University. Currently, Kimberly works with Dr. Elizabeth Leslie at Emory University, where her research focuses on exploring the role of rare genetic variants associated with orofacial clefts using whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing. As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam fellow, she is an active advocate for diversity and inclusion in STEM, primarily focusing on increasing awareness about accessibility for individuals with disabilities in academia.
PhD Candidate
University of Utah
u1247633@utah.edu
Paige Haffener is a PhD Candidate in the Leffler Lab at the University of Utah. Originally from Oklahoma, she received a Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma City University in cell and molecular biology. In graduate school, Paige has transitioned into the field of population genomics. Her thesis work uses population genetic and genomic techniques to study the effects of admixture and selection on malaria susceptibility in human and non-human primate populations. In addition to research, she has taken a strong interest in science outreach programs that focus on building the interest and awareness of STEM careers for students from underrepresented groups in K-12 schools.
PhD Candidate
Vanderbilt University
gabrielle.hampton@vanderbilt.edu
Gabrielle Hampton obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Belmont University, a Master of Science from Lipscomb University, and she is currently pursuing a Doctoral degree from Vanderbilt University. Gabrielle’s current research interests include understanding chronic health disparities in individuals of African descent. Under the mentorship of Dr. Todd Edwards, her thesis work uses computational and statistical genetic approaches to identify and use shared genetic architecture to increase the utility of risk prediction models in diverse populations.
MD/PhD Candidate
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
eric.sosa@einsteinmed.edu
Eric Sosa is a Salvadoran-American from South Central Los Angeles. His mother moved to California to flee the political corruption of post-civil war El Salvador. At an early age Eric began working to financially assist his mother, whose health issues hindered her. He attended public schools where funding was low, and courses were overcrowded. Despite these odds, Eric graduated and was admitted to UCLA. Eric majored in Human Biology & Society, where he focused on the intertwining of disease and social determinants. Eric graduated in 2017 with highest departmental honors. In 2018, Eric matriculated at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. He has begun his PhD training in Dr. John Greally’s lab; studying the role of non-coding variants in GABAergic neuron differentiation as a model for autism. Eric’s diverse learning experiences, at home and in the Bronx, has reinforced his commitment to research, and helping the underserved.
PhD Candidate
University of Chicago
lizethtamayo@uchicago.edu
Lizeth Tamayo is a Ph.D. candidate in genetic epidemiology at the University of Chicago. She completed her undergraduate studies at Augustana College in Biochemistry and French and her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. Her current research broadly focuses on the interplay between genetic and environmental factors and their impact on complex disease risk in low-resource and understudied populations. More specifically, she developed a dissertation project that bridges multiple aspects of methodological training related to genome-wide association studies, gene-environment interactions, and the implementation of a public health intervention of returning genetic results. She has also worked to understand specific molecular characteristics of breast cancer in Peruvian women with high Indigenous Ancestry. Outside of the lab, Lizeth enjoys reading, spending time with her family and friends, and rating French fries throughout the city.
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Michigan
adelaidetovar@gmail.com
Dr. Adelaide Tovar is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan where she uses multidisciplinary expertise in quantitative genetics, bioinformatics, and functional genomics to study the effects of genetic variation on transcriptional regulation and diabetes risk. In 2021, she earned her PhD in Genetics & Molecular Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For her graduate research, she employed genetic and genomic approaches in a large, genetically diverse mouse population to discover gene-environment interactions with air pollution. Dr. Tovar is currently leading an effort to characterize regulatory activity across all known type 2 diabetes-associated variants as part of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership for Common Metabolic Diseases consortium and is a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Diversity Enrichment Program Fellow (2022-2025).
PhD Candidate
University of Utah
travis.tuifua@utah.edu
Travis Tu’ifua is a PhD candidate in the department of human genetics at the University of Utah. His thesis work is in functionally characterizing genetic modifiers of a rare congenital disorder of deglycosylation called NGLY1 deficiency. He has a passion for equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) work and serves in his PhD program’s EDI Task Force and his department’s EDI committee. Travis received his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Utah. He is the father of three young girls and is married to the love of his life.
MSTP Student
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
matanel.yheskel@einsteinmed.edu
Matanel Yheskel graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Biochemistry. He then was a technician at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the laboratory of Dr. Vishal Patel where he studied the role of microRNAs in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease. He is currently pursuing his MD/PhD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is performing his thesis research laboratory of Dr. Julie Secombe where he is studying how intellectual disability associated missense variants in histone demethylase KDM5C affect its function using Drosophila melanogaster as a model.
2021-2023 Human Genetics Scholars
Assistant Professor
California State University Northridge
eduardo.amorim@csun.edu
Dr. Eduardo Amorim is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Cal State Northridge. His research focuses on leveraging genetic diversity from present-day and ancient human individuals to learn about population history, adaptation, and disease. Dr. Amorim’s academic background includes postdoctoral training at Columbia University, Stony Brook University, UCLA, and the University of Lausanne, and a Ph.D. from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. His current research centers on developing approaches to characterize natural selection in humans using ancient DNA. Dr. Amorim is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in STEM and has worked for promoting the visibility of underrepresented scholars and individuals from historically marginalized groups.
PhD Candidate
Meharry Medical College
kactkins17@email.mmc.edu
Ky’Era Actkins obtained her Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Alabama and is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Meharry Medical College where her research interests include understanding health disparities in women’s health conditions. Under the mentorship of Dr. Lea Davis at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, her thesis work uses computational and statistical genetic methods to characterize genetic and environmental risk factors of polycystic ovary syndrome in diverse populations. Ky’Era is also a recipient of the Ruth L. Kirschstein Pre-Doctoral National Research Service Award.
Postdoctoral Fellow
NCI
lesley.chapman@nih.gov
Dr. Lesley Chapman Hannah is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Rochester Medical Center where she studied the effects of microRNAs on mediating the host immune response. Dr. Chapman Hannah is currently leading an effort to identify rare non-coding variants that are associated with cancer risk in a cohort of childhood cancer survivors using machine learning based strategies. She is a fellow within the NCI Intramural Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (iCURE) Program, and is actively involved in the mentorship of underrepresented minorities within cancer research.
Doctoral Candidate
Howard University
gretchj@gmail.com
Gretchen Johnson is a PhD candidate in Biology at Howard University. Her dissertation investigates the genomic origins and diversity in the human skeletal remains of mid-19th century Liberated Africans, a forgotten population of the transatlantic slave trade discovered on remote St. Helena Island. Gretchen conducted a six-month field research on St. Helena for her dissertation. During her fieldwork, she stimulated an island-wide interest in genetics and ancient DNA research among the diverse St. Helenian population, and created interdisciplinary research opportunities for St. Helena’s School System. As a National Geographic Explorer, Gretchen was selected as a National Geographic Early Career Leader, and AAUW Fellow based on her pioneering field research work on St. Helena. Gretchen earned her Master of Science degrees in Biomedical Forensic Science, and in Medical Science from Boston University School of Medicine; Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Research Associate
University of Pittsburgh
juan.deltoro@pitt.edu
Dr. Juan Del Toro is a Research Associate at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Del Toro received his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology with a concentration in Advanced Quantitative Analyses from New York University. As an applied psychologist, Dr. Del Toro takes a multi-method, multidisciplinary, and collaborative approach to investigate: (1) why distinguishing between perpetrators of racial discrimination matters for child development, (2) what are the direct and intergenerational consequences of involvement in the criminal justice system, and (3) what are opportunities that peers, educators, and families can leverage to reduce the negative effects of unwarranted involvement in the criminal justice system on children’s developmental competencies. This work has resulted in first-authored publications in Child Development, American Psychologist, and Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences (PNAS) and has garnered support from the National Institutes of Health and the Spencer Foundation.
Research Fellow
Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School
ricardo.harripaul@gmail.com
Dr. Ricardo Harripaul is currently a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and combines multidisciplinary training in bioinformatics and human genetics to identify and characterize novel genes in neurological disorders. His thesis work at the University of Toronto identified the role autosomal recessive variants play in neurodevelopmental disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorders, Intellectual Disability and Bipolar Disorder. Dr. Harripaul has identified over 40 novel genes for ID and contributed to the discovery of Inborn Errors of Metabolism in hard-to-treat psychiatric patients. Dr. Harripaul is currently investigating how splicing defects affect expression in neurological disorders. He is also very passionate about teaching and has taught many workshops on computational biology to general and graduate-level audiences. Dr. Harripaul is an advocate for teaching disadvantaged populations and has also taught special needs children at Grandview Children’s Centre for over a decade.
MD/PhD Student
Harvard Medical School
nathan_nakatsuka@hms.harvard.edu
Nathan Nakatsuka (kānaka maoli) was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama High School then attended Harvard College, earning an AB in Chemical and Physical Biology. He then attained an MPhil in Genetics from University of Cambridge on a Gates Cambridge scholarship, working at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute with Inês Barroso. Nathan is currently an MD/PhD student at Harvard Medical School in the Harvard-MIT Health, Sciences, and Technology MD track. He received his PhD from the Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology PhD program working in the laboratory of David Reich on population genetics of South Asia and the Americas with relevance for human health.
Postdoctoral Fellow
NHGRI/NIH
calandra.whitted@nih.gov
Dr. Calandra Whitted is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Human Genome Research Institute in the Social and Behavioral Research Branch. She obtained a Doctor of Public Health degree in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health and the National Institutes of Health Graduate Partnership Program where her dissertation focused on health disparities in genomics education. Dr. Whitted performs research in the field of social and behavioral genomics. She is currently leading a project to help Black individuals and families understand how to assess risk of heritable diseases using family health history tools with the aim of improving communication and generational family health. She is an advocate for mentoring underrepresented students and developing strategies to support scientists of diverse backgrounds.
2020-2022 Human Genetics Scholars
Assistant Professor
Grambling State University
harrisja@gram.edu
Dr. Jacqueline Harris is currently an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and has multidisciplinary training in biostatistics and biochemistry. Her academic background includes post-doctoral training in statistical genetics at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the Department of Biostatistics Section on Statistical Genetics. She received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Mississippi. Dr. Harris has received formal and practical training in statistics and statistical genetics. She has published in the following areas: statistical modeling of health disparities, and genetic network discovery in the Hap Map data set. Dr. Harris’ research aims to contribute to the understanding of underlying genetic and environmental factors that contribute to metabolic disease and health disparities.
Graduate Research Fellow
Pennsylvania State University, Bioinformatics and Genomics
jmh791@psu.edu
Jordan Hughey is a Bioinformatics and Genomics PhD Candidate under Dr. Dajiang Liu at Penn State. His thesis work focuses on developing computational approaches that integrate multi-omic data to elucidate mechanisms behind complex traits. Furthermore, Jordan performed experimental research developing and testing DNA sequencing technologies during his undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Cruz. As a graduate fellow, he has been awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Minority PhD Scholarship. Being a member of many STEM diversity groups, Jordan is a passionate advocate for increasing diversity and inclusion in STEM higher education.
Intramural Research Training Award Postdoctoral Fellow
National Human Genome Research Institute
deyana.lewis@nih.gov
Dr. Deyana Lewis is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Human Genome Research Institute. She obtained a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health where her dissertation focused on health disparities in dental genetics. Dr. Lewis performs research in the field of genetic epidemiology/statistical genetics. She is currently leading analyses of whole exome and genome sequencing of African American men with hereditary prostate cancer from the African American Hereditary Prostate Cancer (AAHPC) study with the aim to identify causal genes and high-risk variants. She is also an advocate for mentoring underrepresented minority students in STEM.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Emory University, Department of Human Genetics
trenell.mosley@emory.edu
Trenell Mosley received her Doctoral Degree at Emory University. She obtained her Bachelor’s in Science in Human Biology from The University of Texas at Austin. She currently works under Dr. Michael Zwick and Dr. Jennifer Mulle, and her thesis work is aimed at understanding the contributions of genetic and genomic variation to rare genetic disorders. Specifically, she focuses on the influence of genomic architecture in the formation of recurrent copy number variants. She also works extensively within the university to aid and advocate for diversity support and inclusion on campus and, more broadly, in STEM higher education and the workforce.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Columbia University, Institute for Genomic Medicine
tdp2117@cumc.columbia.edu
Dr. Tess Pottinger is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Columbia University where she performs research in the field of statistical genetics. Her current project includes optimizing rare variant analysis techniques through machine learning across various disease phenotypes using whole exome and whole genome data. She obtained a Ph.D. in Biomedical Informatics with a focus in Human Genetics from Northwestern University where she performed research in uncovering rare and common variation underlying heart failure using longitudinal phenotyping in a medical biobank.
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Louisville School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
oscar.rodriguez.1@louisville.edu
Oscar Rodriguez is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and was recently awarded The Zuckerman Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship. He received his PhD from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Sharp and Dr. Ali Bashir. His research focuses on resolving complex regions of the human genome and structural variants with a particular focus on tandem repeats and the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus. He received his B.Sc. in Biomedical Science with a focus on Bioinformatics from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.
Assistant Professor
The University of Chicago
lsaulsberry@uchicago.edu
Dr. Loren Saulsberry is an Assistant Professor in Health Policy and Health Services Research in the Department of Public Health Sciences at The University of Chicago. Her research program aims to evaluate and guide the implementation of pharmacogenomics (PGx) into clinical practice in a manner that advances health equity within genomic medicine. She has studied the diffusion and uptake of emerging medical technologies to treat chronic diseases with a particular focus on how health innovations impact health disparities. Dr. Saulsberry received her Ph.D. in Health Policy from Harvard University and is an alumna of the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center’s Training in Oncology Population Sciences Program. Before entering academia, her prior experiences include cancer genetics research and working with the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Graduate Research Associate
The University of Arizona, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
mtrejo@arizona.edu
Mario Trejo is completing a PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Arizona. His dissertation involves analyzing clinical trial genomic data to examine the association between genetic variation and colorectal adenoma recurrence. During his MPH program, Mario was a CEESP fellow in Zambia where he studied HIV’s relation to cervical cancer progression. Mario, originally from South Central Los Angeles, earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Merced prior to his service with the Peace Corps in El Salvador. Mario has experience working with populations locally and abroad including Zambia, El Salvador, and along the U.S. Mexico border.
2019-2021 Human Genetics Scholars
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry
College of Medicine
University of Florida
giustirodriguezp@ufl.edu
Dr. Paola Giusti-Rodríguez is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida. She previously held a position as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Paola grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Puerto Rico. Paola has a Ph.D. from Harvard University, where her dissertation focused on the molecular basis of neurodegeneration. Her postdoctoral work was done at UNC, studying antipsychotic pharmacogenomics. Paola is applying functional genomics to gain mechanistic insight onto psychiatric disorders as part of a K01 award. She is committed to the diversification of psychiatric genomics studies through collaborations.
Genomic Medicine Fellow
Harvard Medical School/ Harvard School of Public Health/BWH/DFCI
latrice_landry@hms.harvard.edu
Latrice Landry is a Fellow specializing in precision medicine and health disparities at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard School of Public Health. As the Inaugural Food and Drug Administration’s Genomic Medicine and Minority Health Fellow, she was recognized as a thought leader in minority health and precision medicine by the National Minority Quality Forum and as a top 10 under 40 rising stars by Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. She is helping lead equity and disparities research in the field of precision medicine.
Lead Statistical Geneticist
Goldfinch Bio
candace.middlebrooks@nih.gov
Dr. Candace Middlebrooks currently works at Goldfinch Bio as the Lead Statistical Geneticist. She previously held a position as a Research Fellow at the National Human Genome Research Institute. Candace obtained a Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology at Emory University where she performed research in the field of genetic epidemiology. Dr. Middlebrooks performs research in the field of translational genetic epidemiology/statistical genetics. Her current research includes a whole genome sequencing study of leg ulcers in individuals with Sickle Cell Disease from the Insights study as well as a study to determine whether individuals from families with hereditary cancer syndromes are at risk of other cancers.
Assistant Professor
University of Southern California
mortond@usc.edu
Derrick Morton’s main research objective is to understand key developmental pathways and how alterations in gene expression contribute to neurological disease. His current studies specifically exploit a Drosophila melanogaster model to examine RNA exosome-linked disease. The RNA exosome is an evolutionary-conserved riboexonuclease complex critically important for both precise processing and complete degradation of a variety of cellular RNAs. By testing the hypothesis that defects in assembly and interactions of the RNA exosome contribute to neurologic disease, we will further our knowledge of RNA exosome-linked disease and also provide invaluable insights into distinct tissue-specific consequences due to altered subunits within RNA exosome.
Graduate Research Fellow
UCLA
crrobles@cs.ucla.edu
Christopher Robles is a PhD Candidate at UCLA working on developing computational and statistical methods to draw conclusions from large genomic datasets under Dr. Sriram Sankararaman. His thesis work focuses on ancient DNA, specifically how Neanderthal introgression affects modern human biology. He is also an advocate for increasing diversity in STEM higher education. Chris grew up in Los Angeles and after attending community college, earned his bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering at UC Santa Cruz.
Associate Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
astarlar@uthsc.edu
Dr. Athena Starlard-Davenport is a molecular biologist dedicating her research efforts toward investigating molecular mechanisms involved in breast cancer disparities and sickle cell disease. Dr. Starlard-Davenport has over 10 years of research training in breast cancer biology and genetics. She received her MS degree in Biology with a research focus in agricultural microbiology from the University of Louisiana. After being the first African American to receive her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) she completed postdoctoral training in the Division of Biochemical Toxicology at the FDA National Center for Toxicological Research, and in the Department of Medical Genetics and Cancer Control and Population Sciences at the UAMS.
Senior Genetic Epidemiologist
Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford
jmtorres@well.ox.ac.uk
Jason Torres is a senior genetic epidemiologist in the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, where he leads genetic analyses of the Mexico City Prospective Study. He has a longstanding interest in identifying genetic risk factors for metabolic disease among populations of non-European ancestry. Through analyses of large-scale genomic data, Jason elucidates underlying biological processes that mediate susceptibility to disease onset and progression. Jason received his PhD at the University of Chicago and previously worked at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics where he resolved causal genes and tissues at loci associated with type 2 diabetes.
Doctoral Researcher
Vanderbilt University
krystal.s.tsosie@vanderbilt.edu
Krystal Tsosie (Diné/Navajo), MPH, MA, is currently completing an interdisciplinary PhD in Genomics and Health Disparities at Vanderbilt University. She also serves as research faculty at a tribal college and co-leads genomic studies related to women’s health in a tribal community in North Dakota. Krystal advocates strongly for genomic and data sovereignty and is a co-founder of the first Indigenous-led biobank for tribes in South Dakota. She has expertise in population genetics, CELSI (Cultural, Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues), and Indigenous data sovereignty to the Strong Heart Study, Stanford University, and the University of Oklahoma.