LASSEINGE LAB

Because
Science.

An integrative genomics lab, applying machine learning and data-driven approaches to elucidate disease mechanisms.

About

We develop and apply genomic strategies to map molecular processes contributing to the etiology, progression, and treatment of diseases originating in the brain and/or the kidney. We investigate the impact of cell- and tissue-specific gene and transcript regulation and expression, cell-cell communication, and sex-associated molecular changes on disease manifestation.

Through machine learning and data-driven approaches, we identify optimal precision preclinical models to streamline drug targets and repositioning candidates for treating diseases.

Publications

Funding

Kidney Research • Brain Research • Drug repurposing • Methods & Tools •

Team

Our Team

Our vibrant team is dedicated to making meaningful contributions to the science community through innovative research and collaboration.

Dr. Lasseigne

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Brittany Lasseigne, PhD

Dr. Lasseigne is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology with a secondary appointment in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Data Sceince, and an Associate Scientist in the Precision Medicine Institute (PMI), the Nephrology Research & Training Center (NRTC), Comprehensive Neuroscience Center (CNC), the Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics (CNET), and the Experimental Therapeutics section of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine.

She previously completed a BS in Biological Engineering at Mississippi State University, an interdisciplinary biology, chemistry, and chemical engineering PhD in Biotechnology Science and Engineering from The University of Alabama in Huntsville (identifying biomarkers and genomic signatures of renal cell carcinoma diagnosis and progression, respectively), and a postdoctoral fellowship in genetics and genomics at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (determining predisposing variants and genes contributing to neurodegenerative disorders).

Brittany is passionate about developing and applying genomics technologies to human diseases and teaching genomics and data science to students and scientists of all backgrounds. To that end, she also serves as PI, Director, and a student research mentor for the current NHGRI-funded R25 Summer Undergraduate and Postbacc Experiences in Research in Genomic Medicine (SUPER-GM) program, which provides research experiences for students from diverse backgrounds, especially Alabama students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

T.C. Howton, PhD

Senior Computational Biologist

Dr. Howton earned his PhD in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During his doctoral studies, T.C. focused on using network-based approaches to elucidate the molecular interactions between plants and bacterial pathogens. T.C. is currently serving as a lab manager as well as research scientist within the Lasseigne lab.

Lizzy Wilk

Associate Computational Biologist

Lizzy earned her B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Alabama at Huntsville and M.S. in Biotechnology with a specialization in Bioinformatics from University of Maryland Global Campus. Previously, she applied genomics technologies such as RNA-Seq to understand cancer and chemotherapy resistance as a research assistant. Currently, works as a staff scientist, applying transfer learning and drug repurposing methods to gene expression data.

Mualla Eraslan

Researcher IV

Mualla earned her first B.S. in Chemistry Education from Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, her second B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and Clinical Laboratories from Boston University, and her M.S. in Biotechnology from the UAB. She worked as a histotechnologist at Boston Medical Center Pathology Department. She worked as a researcher at UAB Spain Rehab Research Lab and Dermatology Research Lab. Now, she Researcher IV in Dr. Lasseigne's lab.

Amanda Clark, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Clark is an IRACDA-MERIT Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed a B.S. in Molecular Biology at UAB and a PhD in Biology at Auburn University. Amanda is passionate about integrating computational thinking and data science into undergraduate biology education, the evolutionary dynamics of complex systems, and comparative multi-omics for human disease modeling.

Tabea Soelter, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Soelter is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology. She has a B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Piedmont University and earned her PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. During her doctoral studies, Tabea investigated the role of altered glia-neuron communication and its downstream effects on gene expression and gene regulation in Alzheimer’s disease using snRNA-seq and network approaches. Currently, Tabea is working on identifying a transcriptomic exercise signature from mouse hippocampus snRNA-seq data using machine learning approaches and investigating their utility as drug repurposing candidates

Emma Jones, PhD

2021-2024

Graduate Student

Currently: Postdoctoral Fellow at Washington University

LASSEINGE LAB

Because Science.

About

Our Team

Brittany Lasseigne, PhD

Alumni

Because
Science.