PostDoctoral Research Fellowship

Hernandez Ryan D, Ithaa NY

Investigators

Abstract

This National Science Foundation Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship will investigate detailed questions regarding the interaction of the effects of demographic and selective forces on patterns of genetic variation within and between human populations. The Fellow will perform his research in the department of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago under the direction of Dr. Molly Przeworski. Dr. Przeworski?s research has focused on developing a deeper understanding of the effects of natural selection on patterns of variation, and enlightening our perspective on the effects of genetic recombination. The research will produce broadly applicable population genetic methods that will incorporate the action of natural selection on linked loci. In particular, through both simulations and theoretical modeling, the Fellow will quantify the effect of natural selection purging deleterious mutations from the human genome on linked neutral loci (i.e. background selection). By simulating data under realistic models of human evolution, the circumstances under which background selection confounds our inference of adaptation and historical demographic events can be better understood. Moreover, such simulations will provide a basis for identifying novel characteristics of background selection, which could then be used to identify novel targets of deleterious mutations in the human genome. By constructing a population genetic model of background selection, more accurate inference of our species' demographic history can be obtained, and a more thorough understanding of adaptation can be achieved. The broader impact of the proposed work is the refinement of a computer package for forward population genetic simulations that is currently in its initial stages, and the production of a novel program for inferring the effect of background selection from genomic polymorphism data. The two programs would initially be used for human population genetic analysis, but would be developed in sufficient generality to be applied to any organism. Moreover, by studying patterns of polymorphism in the context of background selection across several species, genomic regions that have long been subject to recurrent deleterious mutations may be identified. Such regions would be strong candidates for functional analysis, and could provide insight into whether or not model organisms for human diseases share evolutionarily important genetic features. The extensive array of seminars and courses offered at the University of Chicago will broaden the Fellow?s perspective on the field of population genetics, and the research experience in the Przeworski Lab will enhance the Fellow's quantitative skills. Coupled together, the Fellow's postdoctoral experience will help to position him in the rapidly growing field of evolutionary genomics with the specific goal of attaining a tenure-track position at a research-intensive university.