Mutation and Recombination | Germline Genomics Laboratory

We research the mechanisms and impacts of changes to our DNA

We use statistical and experimental approaches to understand the mechanisms through which the DNA we inherit from our biological parents undergoes change. We investigate how these genetic changes impact our health and the evolution of species.

We are based at the Dunn School of Pathology and have close links with the Department of Statistics and the Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford.

Our Research

Our goal is to understand processes that impact DNA in the germline and how they affect human health and diversity. Many of these processes, such as mutation and meiotic recombination, are complex and dynamic, involving the interplay of numerous proteins.

Our approach is data driven. We perform a range of experimental assays, including CRISPR-Cas9 mediated genome-editing, to learn how these proteins interact with the genome. We then use machine learning and other statistical techniques to unravel their complex choreography.

We also utilise large-scale genetic and phenotypic data in humans (e.g., the UK Biobank) to understand their impacts on our health.

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