Frank Conlon, PhD

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded funding to Dr. Frank L. Conlon of the University of North Carolina to investigate the molecular basis of sex differences in congenital heart disease (CHD), the most common type of birth defect. The research focuses on DDX3X, an X-linked gene that Dr. Conlon’s team has identified as a critical regulator of heart development in females but not males, and which is linked to CHD in female patients. Using novel mouse models and cutting-edge techniques spanning genetics, proteomics, and RNA biology, the project aims to define how DDX3X controls the sex-specific translation of genes essential for cardiac function. These findings could advance understanding of why certain heart conditions affect the sexes differently and lay the groundwork for precision therapies tailored to patients with DDX3X-associated CHD.

Elizabeth Brunk, PhD

Dr. Elizabeth Brunk, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology and member of iBGS, has received a Lung Cancer Research Foundation–Boehringer Ingelheim Early Investigator Award to investigate how extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) reshapes genome architecture and drives therapeutic resistance in lung cancer. Her laboratory combines artificial intelligence, single-cell genomics, imaging, and computational modeling to understand how cancer cells adapt to targeted therapies. The work will provide new insights into genome plasticity and may reveal new strategies for preventing treatment resistance in aggressive cancers.

Elizabeth Brunk, PhD

Elizabeth Brunk, PhD, Assistant Professor in the UNC Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology, has been awarded a prestigious NSF CAREER Award for her project, “Decoding Gene Regulatory Mechanisms with AI and Population-Scale Multi-Omics.” The five-year award will support the development of new artificial intelligence approaches that combine protein structure, genetics, and large-scale biological datasets to uncover how proteins control gene regulatory networks. By integrating AI with population-scale genomics and transcriptomics data, the project aims to reveal previously hidden mechanisms of gene regulation and create more interpretable, biologically grounded AI models. The award also supports an innovative educational program that will expand AI and data science training for undergraduate and high school students across North Carolina, helping prepare the next generation of scientists at the intersection of biology, computation, and artificial intelligence.

Jeff Sekelsky, PhD

Jeff Sekelsky, PhD, Professor of Biology and IBGS faculty member, received a renewal of his R35 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) for a project titled “Mechanisms of meiotic and mitotic recombination”.

The renewal allows the lab to continue their studies of how DNA breaks get repaired both in meiosis, where crossovers need to be made to ensure correct chromosome segregation, and in mitotically proliferating cells, where breaks are detrimental and crossovers are avoided. Ongoing projects include investigating how large gaps are repaired (relevant to gene drive strategies) and how chromatin modifications prevent chromosome fragility, and testing hypotheses for how meiotic cells that crossovers occur in places that promote chromosome segregation while being kept out of regions where they can interfere with segregation.

Wonho Kim, PhD

Wonho Kim, PhD, Assistant Professor of Genetics and IBGS faculty member, received a new R35 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) for his project titled “Deciphering the Stepwise Regulatory Mechanisms of Genome Folding”.

The three-dimensional folding of the genome facilitates interactions between distal genomic regions, playing roles in gene transcription, DNA damage repair and DNA replication. Dysregulation of genome folding has been linked to various diseases, including cancer and developmental disorders. This proposal aims to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of genome folding in living cells. Using genetic approaches, we will identify new factors involved in genome folding and determine the specific process within the genome folding regulated by these factors. Collectively, our studies aim to unveil novel molecular mechanisms governing genome folding, offering a deeper understanding of its contributions to disease states.

Parul Johri, PhD

Parul Johri, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biology and Genetics and IBGS faculty member, received a new R35 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) for her project titled “Jointly modeling the effects of evolutionary processes on genomic variation”.

The work will result in a better understanding of how natural selection shapes genomic variation, as well as the development and application of methods that jointly account for multiple evolutionary processes. The first goal will be to generate a better estimate of the shape of the genome-wide fitness effects of new mutations. As lower rates of recombination result in stronger effects of selection, the second goal is to better understand how selection against deleterious mutations affects genome-wide patterns of variation in species that undergo high rates of self-fertilization and to develop methods that account for the effects of selection. The third goal is to apply methods to perform inference of demography and identification of recent selective sweeps in species with compact genomes, like those of Plasmodium falciparum and vivax.