Cleft lip and/or palates (CL/P) are common congenital malformations, and mutations in the transcription factor IRF6 are the most significant genetic contributors to cleft pathogenesis. IRF6 is a master regulator of epithelial ...

This thesis studies the properties and prevalence of natural selection operating on our species on a global or genome-wide scale. It is still not known how negative selection against deleterious mutations operates genome-wide, ...

Transcriptional control is critical to the proper functioning of cells, their growth, differentiation, and survival. Because genomic and epigenomic alterations can deregulate transcription and promote an oncogenic state, ...

The machinery of life is encoded in biological polymers for which sequence, structure, and function are intimately connected. This dissertation presents new probabilistic models for uncovering these connections from ...

Due to recent advances in sequencing technologies, genomics has emerged as a powerful tool for combating viral outbreaks. In this dissertation, I show how genomic data can be used to understand the transmission, as well ...

Conflict is ever present in nature, serving as an essential driver of adaptation. In this dissertation I examine both intra- and interpersonal conflicts as they occur at the genetic level. Specifically, what happens when, ...

In all eukaryotic cells, the genetic material is organized into a complex structure composed of DNA and protein: chromatin. Organization of chromatin structure in the nucleus influences all functions of the genome including ...

The emergence of single-cell technologies has highlighted the potential to discover novel cellular subpopulations and states within heterogeneous populations. Such technologies are achieving increasingly higher-throughput, ...

Biological systems self-organize into complex well-ordered structures and can evolve new patterns when perturbed. To identify principles underlying self-organization, I turned to the model organism C. elegans for its ...

Embryos pattern themselves with remarkable consistency and readily adjust their patterning programs to drastic changes in embryo size. This robustness of pattern formation, termed scale invariance, requires cells to determine ...