The Munger Lab
Steven Munger, Ph.D., uses a systems genetics approach and advanced computational methods to study development and complex disease in advanced mouse populations.
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The genetic origins of most developmental disorders and diseases are complex and remain poorly understood. Rather than a single deleterious mutation, genetic susceptibility to common diseases is conferred by many variants that individually assert subtle effects but in certain combinations perturb cellular networks sufficiently to bias them to a disordered/diseased state. Classic single-gene experimental approaches fail to elucidate these interactions, but new integrative genomic and genetic approaches from the emerging field of “Systems Genetics” hold considerable promise.
The Munger lab combines experimental and computational methods with advanced mouse mapping populations to solve these complex genetic puzzles.
We examine the natural genetic variation driving individual differences in 1) susceptibility to sex reversal during primary sex determination of the gonad, 2) disease severity in a mouse model of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, and 3) transcript and protein expression in the adult liver. We apply our genetic and genomics toolkit to predict causal variants and genetic interactions underlying phenotypic variability, validate these predictions at the bench with functional genomics methods, and ultimately seek to extend these results to inform patient diagnosis and treatment.
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Research HighlightOctober 06, 2021Exploring the complex regulation of protein abundance
Using advanced mouse populations and newly developed research protocols for measuring proteins, JAX researchers are exploring how proteome is regulated, why it varies on individual genetics, and how consistent this is across different populations. -
Research HighlightSeptember 22, 2021JAX is tracking sub-genomic SARS-CoV-2 variation
Chia-Lin Wei looked at SARS-CoV-2 RNA genomes and sub-genomic viral RNA in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and found distinct, consistent differences between the patient groups. The findings have important implications for developing better COVID-19 risk mitigation and clinical strategies. -
Research HighlightAugust 10, 2021New actinin research focuses on the heart
In a paper published in Cell Reports, a team including JAX assistant professor Travis Hinson, M.D, present a detailed portrait of one of actinin’s interprotein interactions and provide a compendium of proteins that could be the focus of further study. -
Research HighlightJuly 29, 2021Working together to determine the function of genomic regulatory elements
A team of JAX and Broad Institute researchers, led by Ryan Tewhey, Ph.D., has developed HCR-FlowFISH, a method that provides high throughput characterization of regulatory elements and their complex interactions in nearly any expressed gene and cell system. The researchers investigated nearly 300,000 candidate regulatory locations and provided detailed functional insight for those that affect expression of a family of four specific genes associated with cholesterol levels.
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Press ReleaseSeptember 30, 2021
Genomic Innovator Award to JAX's Ryan Tewhey
Special 5-year, $2.5M National Human Genome Research Institute grant funds “highly innovative work” by early-career scientists. -
Featured ArticleSeptember 21, 2021Hartford Business Journal honors Albert Cheng
Assistant Professor at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Albert Cheng, receives award from the Hartford Business Journal -
Featured ArticleJuly 30, 2021Unlocking endometriosis one cell at a time
Elise Courtois, Ph.D., is an endometriosis researcher, but she doesn't know much about the disease. That's because no one knows much about endometriosis, which can cause debilitating pain and infertility in women as well as transgender and nonbinary people with uteruses. -
Research HighlightJuly 20, 2021Finding splice variants of clinical importance with SQUIRLS
Professor Peter Robinson, M.D., MSc., and Associate Computational Scientist Daniel Danis, Ph.D., used machine learning and datasets of splice variants associated with Mendelian (single-gene, inherited) disorders to develop a new algorithm to develop a new algorithm to improve clinical diagnostics.