Bringing computation to unmet needs in Human Genomics
Based within Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the Below lab works to improve understanding of how genetic and other molecular factors influence human health and disease.
Overview
Dr. Below’s lab develops and applies computational methods to further understanding of the genetic and epigenetic basis of human disease. Specifically, she focuses on development of novel strategies for identifying and confirming genetic risk factors to a wide range of familial and complex traits including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, speech and language traits, oral and tooth traits, and infectious disease (pneumonia, COVID-19) via ascertainment of dense genetic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic data. She is particularly interested in the bioinformatics methods involved in network analysis of related individuals, genomic segments shared identical by descent, large-scale meta-analyses, and genetically derived predictions of expression in large electronic health record databases linked to DNA databanks, such as Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s biobank, BioVU, AllofUs, and the UKBioBank. She also works with numerous large-scale datasets with specific focus on populations that experience disparity in medical access, health outcomes, and have been historically underrepresented in genetics.