Jennifer “Piper” Below (she/her)
Professor of Medicine
Postdoctoral Fellow, Genome Sciences (University of Washington)
PhD, Human Genetics (University of Chicago)
B.A. Mathematics, (Carleton College)
Jennifer (Piper) Below, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine with a primary appointment in the Division of Genetic Medicine within the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
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.
Dr. Below leads the international efforts to meta-analyze all type 2 diabetes and lipids GWAS data available from Hispanic populations (>60,000 samples) as part of the DIAMANTE and the Hispanic/Latino Lipids Consortium, respectively and collaborates with the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort to explore the effects of gene expression and genetic variation on multiple cardiometabolic traits, bone mineral density, COVID-19, and other longitudinal omics studies in Hispanics. In addition, she is a member of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, and analyzes dense genomic data in admixed populations to improve understanding of dementia risk. She is a mentor for the James Carter Scholars Program, a training program that promotes career development of students from Meharry Medical College, a historically Black medical institution, and the Human Genetics Scholars Initiative of the American Society of Human Genetics, providing mentorship for diverse investigators in genetics.
Today, she leverages her expertise in social media and communications to facilitate mass online science outreach and serve on the communications committees for several major genetics societies. She was a 2020 Vanderbilt University Chancellor Faculty Fellow and currently serves as PI of seven NIH funded R01s.
Dillon Pruett (he/him)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) training program
PhD, Hearing & Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University
BS, Biology, Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington
My long-term goal is to establish a comprehensive understanding of genetic factors related to stuttering. My recent research uses biobank data to conduct genome-wide association analyses to identify novel genetic variants associated with stuttering. Additionally, I’ve investigated comorbidities associated with stuttering and instances of drug-induced stuttering within electronic health records. Previously, I’ve conducted human subjects research working with children who stutter. I’m also passionate about the stuttering community and working with children who stutter through the National Stuttering Association, the Stuttering Foundation of America, and Camp TALKS at Vanderbilt. Ultimately, I hope to foster interdisciplinary collaboration between speech-language pathologists, geneticists, and basic and applied researchers to inform diagnosis and treatment of stuttering and to integrate research into outreach to reduce the stigma associated with stuttering.
Joshua Landman, PhD (he/him)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Genetic Medicine
PhD, Computational and Data Sciences (Social Work/Public Health), Washington University in St. Louis
MS, Computer Science, Washington University in St. Louis
BS, Computer Science & Linguistics, Washington University in St. Louis
I am a postdoctoral research fellow in the Below Lab with broad interests in data science and biomedical informatics, relating to applying both novel and extant methods toward building models that predict a wide variety of outcomes. I joined the Below Lab in 2023, and my current research focuses on developing machine learning and statistical methods for multi-omics approaches to gene discovery for diverse phenotypes. My long-term goal is to develop a research program integrating electronic health records, social determinants of health, and multi-omics data to develop clinical outcome prediction models that encompass the broadest possible array of factors that contribute to health.
Lauren Petty, PhD (she/they)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Clinical Pharmacology & Genetic Medicine
PhD, Epidemiology, Vanderbilt University
MS, Epidemiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
BS, Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
Lauren joined the Below Lab in 2013, and after completing an MS and PhD with the lab, is now a postdoctoral research fellow. She has been involved in many different lab projects, ranging from testing Below-lab-developed relatedness inference methods in primate populations, to family-based studies of tooth agenesis, to large-scale GWAS meta-analyses of cardiometabolic traits. She is a passionate generalist with broad research interests and enjoys learning and developing new statistical genetic methods to advance understanding of many phenotypes.
Ting-Chen Wang (she/her)
Ph.D. student
B.S. in Bioinformatics (Baylor University)
Ting-Chen is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Human Genetics under the co-mentorship of Dr. Piper Below and Dr. Logan Dumitrescu in VMAC’s Computational Neurogenomics Team. Ting-Chen's research interests focus on studying the sex-specific genetic architecture of Alzheimer's disease by leveraging extant data resources and developing novel computational genomic approaches to facilitate precision medicine therapeutic development. In her free time, she likes to watch drama and play sports with friends.
Lizzie Frankel (she/her/hers)
Ph.D. student
B.S. in Microbiology (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Lizzie is a Ph.D. student in the department of human genetics. Lizzie’s research interests include understanding the mechanisms underlying metabolic disorders, specifically type 2 diabetes, in underrepresented populations. In her free time she likes to draw, paint, read sad fiction, and go on hikes.
Wanying Zhu (she/her)
Ph.D. student
M.S. in Pharmacology (Northeastern University)
Wanying is a Ph.D. student in the department of human genetics. Her research interests include studying genetic architectures and biological mechanisms of metabolic traits utilizing multiomics data and machine learning approaches. In her free time she likes to paint, bake, crochet, knit and hike.
Alyssa Scartozzi (she/hers)
Ph.D. student
B.A. in Psychology (Muhlenberg College)
Alyssa is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Human Genetics, and joined the Below Lab in the spring of 2022. Alyssa works on projects characterizing the genetic risk for developmental stuttering using novel transcriptome-wide and family-based approaches. In her free time, Alyssa enjoys going for hikes, practicing yoga, reading any fiction novel, and cooking.
J.T. Baker (he/him)
Ph.D. student
B.S. in Chemistry and B.S. in Biochemistry (N.C. State University)
J.T. Baker is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Human Genetics. J.T.’s research interests included methods development that leverages cryptic relatedness within biobanks to understand the genetic architecture of rare diseases. In his free time, he enjoys running, hiking, playing guitar, reading, and cooking.
Grahame Evans (he/him)
Ph.D. student
B.S. in Biology (Duke University)
Grahame is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Human Genetics. Grahame’s research involves methods development to build and test software used to analyze genetic relatedness patterns at biobank scale. In his free time, Grahame enjoys playing tennis and pickleball, skiing, traveling, and cooking.
Rashedeh Roshani (she/her)
Ph.D. student
M.S. in Applied Physics (University of Geneva)
Rashedeh is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Human Genetics. Her research interests include understanding the mechanisms underlying metabolic disorders using high-dimensional multiomics data. In her free time, she enjoys reading novels and poetry, going on walks, writing short stories, and baking.
Kimberlyn Ellis (she/her)
Ph.D. student
B.S. in Biology (Spelman College)
Kimberlyn (Kim) Ellis is a doctoral candidate in the Below Lab actively working to diversify and advance genomics-centered interdisciplinary research. Her expertise lies at the intersection of computational genomics, bioethics, and health policy, with the ultimate goal to promote equitable precision medicine for underserved populations. In her free time, Kim enjoys cooking, painting, reading, and spending time with her family. In another life, Kim would be a Pilates instructor and own an apothecary shop.
Anna Lorenz (she/her)
Ph.D. student
M.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience (Free University of Berlin, Germany)
B.S. in Psychology (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany)
B.A. in Theatre Studies, Musicology and Art History (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany)
Anna is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Human Genetics under the co-mentorship of Dr. Piper Below and Dr. Timothy Hohman. Her research interests include understanding the genomic architecture of neurodegeneration of white and grey matter and its interaction with lipid metabolism utilizing neuroimaging and multiomics data.
Alex Petty (he/him)
Cloud Computing Developer
B.S. Biomedical Engineering (University of Texas at Austin)
Alex joined the Below Lab in 2021 and works as technical generalist, on everything from computing infrastructure design and operations to software development and packaging. Alex is optimistic about open source software and the collective power of communities to solve collective problems. Alex also enjoys teaching and helping others develop technical skills to further their own goals.
Ben Lippi (they/them)
Cloud Computing Developer
B.S. Computer Engineering/Electrical Engineering (Michigan Technological University)
Ben joined in 2023 as a cloud software developer after leaving the automotive industry. They primarily work on handling the computational infrastructure as well as assist with optimization. In their spare time they own and manage a board game store with their partner.
Dayi Bian, PhD (he/him)
Data Scientist
PhD, Electrical Engineering (Vanderbilt University)
Dayi joined in 2024 as a Data Scientist after transitioning from the healthcare industry. His expertise includes machine learning, statistical inference, and software development. He is passionate about applying machine learning techniques to diverse data sets. The most rewarding aspect of his work is extracting meaningful biomarkers from complex, health-related data. In his free time, he enjoys music, traveling, and spending quality time with his family.
Cara Sutcliffe (she/her)
Senior Project Manager
B.A. Biology (Knox College)
M.S. Human and Molecular Genetics (Baylor College of Medicine)
Cara has worked at Vanderbilt since 1997. She is a Senior Project Manager in the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute and shares her expertise with the Institute, our lab, and the Genetic Counseling Research Program.