Our group studies problems in evolutionary biology and human genetics through a combination of mathematical modeling, computer simulations, development of statistical methods, and inference from population-genetic data.

Currently we are focusing in three areas:

(1) Human genetic variation, and inferring human genetic history from genome-wide microsatellite, insertion/deletion, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms. We are also interested in how distributions of complex genetic diseases across populations have arisen from human evolutionary history, and in using evolutionary approaches to inform the development of statistical approaches for identifying disease genes.

(2) Gene trees and species trees, and incorporating the different signals produced by different parts of a genome into tools for phylogenetic reconstruction. More generally, we are using coalescent theory and combinatorial approaches to study the properties of gene genealogies, both in individual populations and in cases where lineages from several populations or species are considered.

(3) Pathogen evolution, and statistical methods for analysis of genotypes drawn from pathogens. We are looking into ways by which genetic variation in pathogens both within and across hosts can assist in inference about infectious epidemics and the histories of pathogen populations.

Other topics of recent interest include gene duplication and its effect on the analysis of microsatellite polymorphisms, linkage disequilibrium and its relationship to homozygosity, and lengths of adaptive walks through spaces of DNA sequences.

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