Jackson Laboratory

The Robinson Lab

Principal Investigator: Peter Robinson, M.D., MSc.

The Jackson Laboratory
Farmington, CT

Contact me at: 860-837-2095

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Develops algorithms and software for the analysis of exome and genome sequences.

The Robinson Lab is primarily located at The Jackson Laboratory. Together with the Phenomics Team, our group develops the Human Phenotype Ontology and applications of this ontology to differential diagnostics and genomics analyses.

We develop algorithms for exome and genome sequencing, ChIP-seq, immunogenomics, and other genomics applications, Gene Ontology analysis, computational phenotype analysis, as well as various algorithms from the fields of Machine Learning and modeling of biological networks with the tools of linear algebra and graph theory. We also collaborate on the computational analysis of wetlab biological data, especially in the fields of human hereditary disease and the molecular basis of bone development and fracture healing.

Robinson Lab on Github

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Open Positions

Job	Job Title	Location	Description

Lab Staff

Hannah Blau, Ph.D.

Research Software Engineer

Applies machine learning and text mining techniques to the analysis and curation of the Human Phenotype Ontology and other ontologies under development in the Robinson Lab.
Leigh Carmody, Ph.D.

Scientific Curator

R. Leigh Carmody, PhD, obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a minor in Chemistry in May 1997 from Bryn Mawr College. After a short hiatus, Dr. Carmody started her doctoral work at Vanderbilt University.
Daniel Danis, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

I work on development of new algorithms designed to analyze big data to enable precision medicine
Peter Hansen, Ph.D.

Bioinformatics Analyst I

Develops software that implements statistical and algorithmic approaches to analyze and integrate immunoprofile and metagenomic data.
Kristen Mulvey

Research Administrative Assistant I

Provides administrative support to Drs. Verhaak, Oh and Robinson along with their scientific staff.
Vida Ravanmehr, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

Machine learning, Translational bioinformatics, Big data, Deep learning
Peter Robinson, M.D., MSc.

Professor of Computational Biology

Develops algorithms and software for the analysis of exome and genome sequences.
Xingmin "Aaron" Zhang, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

Patient deep phenotyping from various data types in electronic health records; phenotype- and genomic-based disease modeling and algorithm development for translational research and differential diagnoses

Selected Publications

Highlighted Abstract

There are many thousands of hereditary diseases in humans, each of which has a specific combination of phenotypic features, but computational analysis of phenotypic data has been hampered by lack of adequate computational data structures. Therefore, we have developed a Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) with over 8000 terms representing individual phenotypic anomalies and have annotated all clinical entries in Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man with the terms of the HPO. We show that the HPO is able to capture phenotypic similarities between diseases in a useful and highly significant fashion.

View full list of publications

Research HighlightAugust 03, 2020
Unlocking age-dependent coronavirus susceptibility
Genetically varied mouse populations revealing genetic elements contributing to SARS-CoV-2 infection risk.
Press ReleaseJuly 28, 2020
Building better mouse models for addiction research
NIDA grant to Vivek Kumar of JAX will fund development of new preclinical models of addiction.
Featured ArticleJuly 06, 2020
Telomere length in mice
Telomere length in animals is not significantly affected by inbreeding and domestication. It varies across strains and sub-strains of mice, as does lifespan, and there is no direct correlation between telomere length and longevity within a population.
Search MagazineJune 23, 2020
More genetic counselors are needed to realize the potential of precision medicine
The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health predicts that 60 million genomes will be sequenced worldwide by 2025.
- Precision medicine
- Genetics and Genomics

Press ReleaseAugust 03, 2020
Correcting splicing-factor defects in disease
Five-year, $2.1 million federal grant to Olga Anczuków of JAX will reveal the role of splicing-factor defects in cardiac or neurological disorders, cancer, and more.
Research HighlightJuly 28, 2020
Assembling the 3D genome with ChIA-PIPE
ChIA-PIPE expands the capabilities of previous analysis pipelines that identified chromatin loops, the DNA sequences of linked DNA, and protein binding peaks within the DNA sequences.
Blog PostJune 30, 2020
Moving beyond amyloid to treat Alzheimer's disease
The repeated clinical trial failures of Alzheimer’s disease therapies based on clearing beta-amyloid have been discouraging, but new research strategies and capabilities are providing renewed hope.
Blog PostJune 22, 2020
How to address secondary findings from genomic testing
Consider this scenario: Jayne is 50 years old and has experienced progressing neurological symptoms over the past two years with no diagnosis. She recently had exome testing which show no genetic variants that explain her symptoms, but identifies a pathogenic variant (mutation) in MSH6.