The School of Biological Sciences Spring 2023 Seminar Series presents Dr. Sahin Naqvi

Quantitative effects on gene expression levels (dosage) underlie much of the genotype-to-phenotype pathway. In this talk, I will introduce “analog genomics,” which seeks to combine quantitative experimental and computational tools to understand gene regulation in human variation and disease. I will first discuss genetic studies of variation in human face and brain shape that revealed a key role for transcription factors (TFs) acting in facial progenitor cells. I will then describe an experimental approach to precisely modulate TF dosage and its application in dissecting the role of the dosage-sensitive TF SOX9 in craniofacial variation and disease. Future work will build upon these findings to understand mechanisms dictating dosage sensitivity and robustness in transcriptional networks across diverse developmental contexts.