Ziyue Gao, PhD
Assistant Professor of Genetics
Ziyue Gao, PhD and her lab are focused on the genesis and accumulation of mutations in natural populations. They are particularly interested in the mechanisms and timing of mutagenesis in the germline and somatic tissues, as well as the causes and consequences of mutation rate variation. To answer these questions, her team takes a computational approach to integrate data from comparative genomics, human genetics, cancer genetics and developmental biology. Another research direction in the Gao Lab is understanding the genetic basis and evolution of human phenotypes. Dr. Gao and her team have developed methods to detect and quantify impacts of natural selection under diverse evolutionary scenarios, including purifying selection on severe Mendelian disease mutations, balancing selection in maintaining ancient polymorphism, and stabilizing selection on gene expression. A primary aim of her current research is to understand the genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits in human populations by mathematical modeling and statistical analysis of genomic data from modern and ancient samples.