People

Current lab members

Yuriko Harigaya

Type: PhD student (BCB)
Years: 2022-present
Degree Type: , PhD Program: BCB
Background: biophys & biochem (BS, MS, PhD, Tokyo)
Advisor(s): Will Valdar & Mike Love
Project: Bayesian modeling of gene-by-treatment effects
Email: harigaya@live.unc.edu

Teresa McGee

Type: PhD student (BCB)
Years: 2022-present
Degree Type: , PhD Program: BCB
Background: chemistry (BA Blinn Coll), genetics (BS Texas A & M)
Advisor(s): Will Valdar
Project: Statistical analysis of gene by treatment interactions in mouse models
Email: tmcgee@unc.edu

Ellen Risemberg

Type: PhD student (BCB)
Years: 2021-present
Degree Type: PhD, PhD Program: BCB
Background: mol cell biol (BA Vanderblit)
Advisor(s): Will Valdar & Marty Ferris
Project: Statistical genetics of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccine efficiency in a multiparent mouse model
Email: erisembe@email.unc.edu

Jialiu Xie

Type: Graduate research assistant (from Biostatistics program)
Years: 2021-present
Degree Type: , PhD Program: Biostatistics
Background: stat & math (BS, Illinois Urbana-Champaign), biostat (MS, UNC-CH)
Advisor(s):
Project:
Email: jialiux2@live.unc.edu

 

Former lab members

Marissa Ashner

Type: Graduate research assistant (from Biostatistics program)
Years: 2018-2020
Advisor(s): Will Valdar
Degree Type: , Background: appl math (BS, Illinois Tech)
Thesis Title:
Current Position:

Yanwei Cai

Type: PhD student (BCB)
Years: 2016-2020
Advisor(s): Will Valdar
Degree Type: , Background: biol sci (BS, Fudan, China)
Thesis Title: Analysis of Genetic and Gene-by-Treatment Effects in the Collaborative Cross Mice
Current Position: Staff Scientist, Fred Hutchinson Institute, WA

Robert Corty

Type: MD-PhD student (BCB/MSTP)
Years: 2013-2018
Advisor(s): Will Valdar
Degree Type: , Background: chem/physical biol (AB, Harvard)
Thesis Title: Variance heterogeneity in genetic mapping
Current Position: Clinical Fellow in Rheumatology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Wesley Crouse

Type: PhD student (BCB)
Years: 2015-2019
Advisor(s): Will Valdar & Samir Kelada
Degree Type: , Background: econ/math (BA, UNC-CH)
Thesis Title: Bayesian inference of the allelic series in multiparental populations with applications
Current Position: postdoc, Xin He and Matthew Stephens Labs, U Chicago.

Greg Keele

Type: PhD student (BCB)
Years: 2013-2018
Advisor(s): Will Valdar
Degree Type: , Background: biol sci (BS, Nebraska-Lincoln), biostat (MS, Michigan)
Thesis Title: Experimental design and analysis with multiparental populations
Current Position: postdoc, Gary Churchill Lab, Jackson Laboratory

Yunjung Kim

Type: Research Assistant Professor
Years: 2015-2016
Advisor(s): Will Valdar
Degree Type: , Background: pharm (BS, Yeung Nam, Korea), stat (MS, Iowa), bioinf (NC State)
Thesis Title: N/A
Current Position: Senior Research Scientist, Rho Inc.

Alan Lenarcic

Type: Postdoc
Years: 2010-2014
Advisor(s): Will Valdar
Degree Type: , Background: physics (AB, Harvard), stat (AM, PhD, Harvard)
Thesis Title: N/A
Current Position: Quantitative Fellow, US Securities and Exchange Commission

Paul Maurizio

Type: PhD student (BCB)
Years: 2013-2018
Advisor(s): Will Valdar & Mark Heise
Degree Type: , Background: biochem (BA, Swarthmore), microbio/immuno (ScM, Hopkins)
Thesis Title: Modeling the host genetic determinants of Influenza pathogenesis in mice
Current Position: Bioinformatics Scientist at Vaccine Research Center, NIAID

Daniel Oreper

Type: PhD Student (BCB)
Years: 2013-2018
Advisor(s): Will Valdar
Degree Type: , Background: comps sci (BS, MEng, MIT)
Thesis Title: Computational methods for studying parent-of-origin effects via reciprocal mouse crosses
Current Position: Bioinformatics Associate at Genentech

Jeremy Sabourin

Type: PhD student (Statistics & Operations Research)
Years: 2010-2013
Advisor(s): Will Valdar & Andrew Nobel
Degree Type: , Background: math/stat (BA, Castleton), stat (MS, PhD, UNC)
Thesis Title: LASSO based Resample Model Averaging for Genetic Association Studies
Current Position: Postdoc at Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, NHGRI, Baltimore, MD

Kathie Sun

Type: PhD student (BCB)
Years: 2017-2021
Advisor(s): Will Valdar
Degree Type: , Background: env/biol (BS Duke; MS UNC-CH)
Thesis Title: Statistical modeling of parent-of-origin effects and allelic imbalance in genetically-diverse, reciprocal mouse crosses
Current Position: Associate Scientist in Bioinformatics, Regeneron

Yuying Xie

Type: PhD student (Statistics & Operations Research)
Years: 2010-2015
Advisor(s): Will Valdar & Yufeng Liu
Degree Type: , Background: biol sci (BS, Fudan), genetics (PhD, UNC), stat (MS, UNC)
Thesis Title: Estimation of graphical models with biomedical applications
Current Position: Tenured faculty at Michigan State University

Zhaojun Zhang

Type: PhD student (Computer Science)
Years: 2010-2014
Advisor(s): Will Valdar & Wei Wang
Degree Type: , Background: comp sci (BS, Peking)
Thesis Title: Efficient computational genetics methods for multiparent crosses
Current Position: Software Engineer at Coursera Inc.

 

Current and former rotation students

  • Nolan Hamilton, BBSP rotation student, Spring 2023
  • Teresa McGee, BBSP rotation student, Spring 2022
  • Kalika Kamat, BBSP rotation student, Winter 2021
  • Ellen Risemberg, BBSP rotation student (joint with Marty Ferris), Fall 2020
  • Yuriko Harigaya, BBSP rotation student (joint with Marty Ferris), Winter 2019
  • Jamshaid Shahir, BBSP rotation student, Winter 2018
  • Siyao Liu, BBSP rotation student (joint with Mark Heise), Summer 2017
  • Kathie Sun, BBSP rotation student, Summer 2016
  • Yanwei Cai, BBSP rotation student, Spring 2016
  • Youli Xia, BBSP rotation student, Winter 2015
  • Thanh Hoang, BBSP rotation student, Winter 2015
  • Wes Crouse, BBSP rotation student (joint with Samir Kelada), Winter 2014
  • Robert Corty, MD/PhD rotation student, Summer 2013
  • Paul Maurizio, BBSP rotation student (joint with Mark Heise), Winter 2012/2013
  • Bailey Peck, BBSP rotation student (joint with Daniel Pomp), Winter 2012/2013
  • Greg Keele, BBSP rotation student, Fall 2012
  • Dan Oreper, BBSP rotation student, Fall 2011