Gill Bejerano

Research Interests

Functional Landscapes of Vertebrate Genomes

The over-arching goal of the Bejerano lab is to bring Vertebrate Development and Genomics closer together. Research in the lab sits at the intersection of highly cross-fertilizing fields: evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo), comparative and functional genomics of extant species, and paleo-genomics (the reconstruction and study of ancestral genomes). Our focus is the functional landscape of vertebrate genomes, and in particular that of the Human Genome.

Recent research has highlighted many thousands of genomic regions that have never been studied before. These regions appear to enact the exquisite gene transcriptional control required during vertebrate development.

The Bejerano Lab focuses on mapping the individual and synergistic functions of these regions; tracing their evolutionary histories, thought to be the major contributor to morphological diversity among metazoans; and understanding the roles these novel regions play in contributing to human disease.

Our computational approaches rely heavily on machine learning, probabilistic and statistical reasoning, and aim to glean novel biological insights. Accordingly, projects range from the pursuit of novel biological knowledge through to the design and implementation of the tools that facilitate these studies.

Young Investigator Award, Human Frontier Science Program, 2008

Fellow, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 2008

Tomorrow’s Principal Investigator, Genome Technology magazine, 2008

Okawa Foundation Research Grant recipient, 2008

Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, 2008

Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship, 2009