Zixuan (Eleanor) Zhang, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Zixuan Zhang collaborates with Dr. Brielin Brown, Dr. Bogdan Pasaniuc, and Dr. Michael Gandal. Her research centers on developing statistical and computational methods in human genetics, with a particular focus on integrating single-cell and functional genomics to advance understanding of the genetic basis of complex traits and diseases. She earned her Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the University of Southern California, where she was co-advised by Dr. Nicholas Mancuso and Dr. Steven Gazal. She previously received an M.S. in Biostatistics from Columbia University and a B.S. in Genetics and Genomics from UC Davis.
Research Areas
Causal Inference, Genetics/Omics, Novel Methods
Education
- PhD, Biostatistics, University of Southern California 2025
Contact
Email: Zixuan.Zhang@PennMedicine.upenn.edu
🎓 Google Scholar
🔗 GitHub
Research Highlights
Dr. Zhang is currently working on a method to identify and characterize heterogeneous eQTL effects across latent cell clusters in single-cell data.
Her previous work includes developing statistical and computational tools that are scalable to population-level data, such as:
- jaxQTL – a tool for single-cell eQTL mapping using count-based models.
- Applied to the OneK1K single-cell dataset.
- Used successfully on datasets generated by collaborators.
- FactorGo – a Bayesian factor analysis tool for GWAS summary statistics.
- Scalable to thousands of human complex traits.