Xihao Li, PhD
Xihao Li, PhD
Assistant Professor of
Biostatistics & Genetics
Core Faculty
Phone: (919) 843-3656* | Office: 4115D McGavran-Greenberg Hall*
Email: xihaoli@unc.edu | Website: https://xihaoli.org
Research Areas: Bioinformatics; Statistical and Population Genetics
Research Interests: My research interests lie in developing novel statistical methods and computational tools that (1) enable scalable and integrative analysis of large-scale whole-genome/whole-exome sequencing (WGS/WES) data and multi-omics data, (2) empower meta-analysis of large-scale sequencing data of ancestrally-diverse consortiums and biobanks, and (3) prioritize putative causal genetic variants using functional annotation data to better understand the relationships among genomic variation, genome function, and phenotypes.
Elisa Pieri, PhD
Elisa Pieri, PhD
Assistant Professor of
Chemistry
Core Faculty
Phone: 919-962-1619 | Office: 118 Caudill Labs
Email: elipieri@unc.edu | Website: https://www.pierilab.com/
Research Areas: Computational Biophysics
Research Interests: We seek to understand, predict and tune the events triggered by photon absorption in small biomimetic molecules and proteins, and develop rational design principles to build bio-imaging and optogenetics agents. In particular, we focus on tuning the fluorescence and photochromic properties of molecules and proteins using computational photoreaction discovery techniques. Note: recommend students taking Chem 495 if you are interested in the Pieri group.
Qingyun Liu, PhD
Qingyun Liu, PhD
Assistant Professor of
Genetics
Core Faculty
Phone: 919-843-6471 | Office: 5061 Genetic Medicine Building
Email: Qingyun_Liu@med.unc.edu | Website: https://qingyunliulab.com/
Research Areas: Population genomics, Bacterial evolution, Infectious disease, Antibiotic resistance, Pathogenicity
Research Interests: Infectious diseases due to highly pathogenic microbes continue to pose a persistent and evolving threat to humans. The Liu lab studies the evolutionary mechanisms underlying drug resistance and transmissibility in bacterial pathogens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium abscessus, among others.
Yinglong Miao
Yinglong Miao, PhD
Associate Professor of
Pharmacology and Computational Medicine
Core Faculty
Phone: 919-962-5696 | Office: 11004C Mary Ellen Jones Building
Email: yinglong_miao@med.unc.edu | Website: http://miaolab.org/
Research Areas: Bioinformatics, Computational Biophysics, Image Analysis
Research Interests: Dr. Miao develops novel theoretical and computational methods and Deep Learning techniques, which speed up molecular simulations by orders of magnitude, and applies these methods for unprecedented simulations of biomolecular dynamics and cellular signaling events. In collaboration with leading experimentalists, the Miao Lab combines complementary simulations and experiments to uncover functional mechanisms and design drugs of important biomolecules, including G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), membrane-embedded proteases, RNA-binding proteins and RNA.
Tessa Andermann, MD MPH
Tessa Andermann, MD MPH
Assistant Professor of
Medicine
Resource Faculty
Phone: 919-843-0834 | Office: 2341E Medical Biomolecular Research Building
Email: tessa_andermann@med.unc.edu | Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/infdis/directory/tessa-andermann/
Research Areas: Bioinformatics, Computational Genomics
Research Interests: As an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UNC-Chapel Hill, Tessa Andermann, MD, MPH, conducts multi-disciplinary research focused on investigating the impact of the intestinal microbiome on cancer outcomes. Her current projects include: 1) Investigating the role of the gut antimicrobial “resistome” in the development of bloodstream and other infections with multi-drug-resistant organisms in patients with hematologic malignancies, 2) developing microbial predictors of therapeutic efficacy and therapy-related gastrointestinal complications following administration of cellular and other immunotherapies in patients with cancer, and 3) using the intestinal microbiome as a tool to inform antimicrobial stewardship in immunocompromised patients.
Karin Leiderman
Karin Leiderman, PhD
Associate Professor of
Mathematics
Core Faculty
Phone: 919-962-5962 | Office: Mary Ellen Jones Building 11212A
Email: karinlg@unc.edu | Website: https://sites.google.com/view/leiderman-research-group
Research Areas: Computational Biophysics, Computational Systems Biology
Research Interests: I am a mathematical biologist interested in the biochemical and biophysical aspects of blood clotting and emergent behavior in biological fluid-structure interaction problems. I especially love mathematical modeling, where creativity, biological knowledge, and mathematical insight meet. My research typically includes the integration of mathematical and experimental approaches together with statistical analyses and inference, to determine mechanisms underlying complex biological phenomena.
Brian Miller, MD PhD
Brian Miller, MD PhD
Assistant Professor of
Medicine, Division of Oncology
Resource Faculty
Phone: 919-966-7763 | Office: 5202 Marsico Hall
Email: BrianMiller@med.unc.edu | Website: http://www.themillerlab.org/
Research Areas: Bioinformatics, Computational Systems Biology, Computational Genomics
Research Interests: The Miller lab is working to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy to treat cancer. Using single-cell transcriptomic and epigenetic techniques, along with functional genomic approaches, we want to understand the determinants of immune cell differentiation and function in the tumor microenvironment.
Laura Raffield, PhD
Laura Raffield, PhD
Assistant Professor of
Genetics
Core Faculty
Phone: (919) 966-7255 | Office: 5042 Genetic Medicine Building
Email: raffield@email.unc.edu | Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/genetics/directory/laura-raffield-phd/
Research Areas: Computational Genomics, Statistical and Population Genetics
Research Interests: My research program uses human genomics and multi-omics to understand inherited and environmental risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and related quantitative traits, particularly in understudied African American and Hispanic/Latino populations.
Shawn Ahmed, PhD
Shawn Ahmed, PhD
Professor of
Genetics and Biology
Resource Faculty
Phone: 919-843-4780 | Office: 216 Fordham Hall
Email: shawn@med.unc.edu | Website: http://labs.bio.unc.edu/ahmed/
Research Areas: Bioinformatics, Comparative Genomics and Molecular Evolution, Computational Genomics
Research Interests: We are interested in understanding potential functions of nuclear foci that are composed of telomere binding proteins, whose levels can be altered for several generations by a single gamete. This novel form of epigenetic inheritance may be relevant to roles that telomeres play in human aging, in cancer biology, and potentially to the mysterious relationship of environmental stress with human telomere length. We primarily study the nematode C. elegans but are also in translating our work to human biology. We are broadly interested in creative approaches to study telomere biology, genome silencing, small RNAs and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.
Jeremy Wang, PhD
Jeremy Wang, PhD
Associate Professor of
Pathology Lab Medicine & Genetics
Core Faculty
Phone: (919) 886-4006 | Office: 3144 Genome Sciences Building
Email: jeremy_wang@med.unc.edu | Website: http://jwanglab.org/
Research Areas: Bioinformatics, Computational Genomics
Research Interests: Genomic epidemiology of bacterial and viral pathogens, from E. coli to SARS-CoV-2; Metagenomics of the mucosa-associated gut microbiome; Machine-learning classification of pediatric cancers using nanopore sequencing of full-length transcriptomes.