Michael Saul, Ph.D.
Computational Scientist
Using computation, genetics, and genomics, I study neurobiology and behavior.
My perspective on biology celebrates what diversity can teach us. Within the mouse species, I study genetically diverse populations such as the BXD, Collaborative Cross, and Diversity Outbred. With Elissa Chesler and colleagues in the CSNA, my work has reiterated that who a mouse is – their genetic makeup and its sex – matters greatly to how a mouse behaves and how their brain responds. I am particularly interested in comparative and cross-species techniques, which give us perspective on the conserved systems that underpin similar behaviors spanning the animal kingdom.
Though I now work in Computational Science, my training was as a mouse behavioral neuroscientist who studies genetics and genomics. My work convinced me that biologists must do two things to understand complex systems like the brain: 1) collaborate with each other, and 2) use high-throughput techniques like next-generation sequencing and high-performance computing. I am delighted to collaborate with multiple investigators at JAX, where I apply the skills I attained in computational work to find the new biology of disease that will lead us to better treatments.
Education and experience
Education
The Jackson Laboratory
Postdoctoral Associate
Adv: Prof. Elissa Chesler
2018-2019
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Postdoctoral Fellow
Advs: Profs. Lisa Stubbs, Gene Robinson, and Alison Bell
2014-2018
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ph.D., Integrative Biology (Zoology)
Adv: Prof. Stephen Gammie
2010-2014
University of Iowa
B.S., Biological Sciences
2003-2008
Experience
The Jackson Laboratory
Computational Scientist
Supervisor: Vivek Phillip
2022-present
The Jackson Laboratory
Research Scientist, Chesler Lab
2019-present
UCLA
Field Assistant, Lomas Barbudal Capuchin Monkey Project
2009-2010
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Research Assistant, Tranel Lab
2008-2009
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Featured ArticleOctober 17, 2022People Who Believe in Your Success
Violet Kimble served as a Research Assistant in Professor Elissa Chesler’s Lab during the 2019 Summer Student Program.