Office Address
6-134 MCB
420 Washington Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States
Lab Address
United States
PingHsun
Hsieh
Assistant Professor
Genetics, Cell Biology and Development
The Hsieh lab is interested in studying translational and evolutionary medicine at the intersection of long-read based multi-omics, evolutionary biology, and human health. Our lab is particularly interested in the fitness consequences of structural variants (SVs, e.g., deletions, duplications, and variable number of tandem repeats)—an important but understudied class of genomic variation that is known to alter many more bases than single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the human genome, more likely to result in phenotypes and, thus, subject to selection. We use population genomics to study key evolutionary processes, such as hybridization and selection, that lead to genetic novelties in populations in response to environmental changes. Our approach to these questions combines the development of statistical modeling, long-read sequencing technology, large single-cell/single-molecule multi-omics, and biobanking databases.
Selected publications
- Hsieh, PingHsun, Dang V, Vollger MR, Mao Y, Huang T, Dishuck PC, Baker C, Cantsilieris S, Lewis AP, Munson KM, Sorensen M, Welch AE, Underwood JG, Eichler EE. (2021) Evidence for opposing selective forces operating on human-specific duplicated TCAF genes in Neanderthals and humans. Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25435-4
-Wilfert AB, Turner TN, Murali SC, Hsieh, PingHsun, Sulovari A, Wang T, Coe BP, Guo H, Hoekzema K, Bakken TE, Winterkorn LH, Evani US, Byrska-Bishop M, Earl RK, Bernier RA, The SPARK Consortium, Zody MC, Eichler EE. (2021) Recent ultra-rare inherited mutations identify novel autism candidate risk genes. Nature Genetics DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00899-8
- Hsieh, PingHsun, Vollger MR, Dang V, Porubsky D, Baker C, Cantsilieris S, Hoekzema K, Lewis AP, Munson KM, Sorensen M, Kronenberg ZN, Murali S, Nelson BJ, Chiatante G, Maggiolini FAM, Blanche H, Underwood JG, Antonacci F, Deleuze JF, Eichler EE. (2019) Adaptive archaic introgression of copy number variants and the discovery of previously unknown human genes. Science DOI: 10.1126/science.aax2083.
- Hsieh, PingHsun, Hallmark B, Watkins J, Karafet TM, Osipova LP, Gutenkunst RN, Hammer MF. (2017) Exome sequencing provides evidence of polygenic adaptation to a fat-rich animal diet in indigenous Siberian populations. Molecular Biology and Evolution 34 (11), 2913-2926
- Hsieh, PingHsun, Woerner AE, Lachance J, Tishkoff S, Wall JD, Gutenkunst RN, Hammer MF. (2016) Model-based analyses of whole-genome data reveal a complex evolutionary history involving archaic introgression in Central African Pygmies. Genome Research 26: 291
- Hsieh, PingHsun, Veeramah KR, Lachance J, Tishkoff S, Wall JD, Gutenkunst RN, Hammer MF. (2016) Whole genome sequence analyses of Western Central African Pygmy hunter-gatherers reveal a complex demographic history and identify candidate genes under positive natural selection. Genome Research 26: 279
Education and background
Education
- 2016 Ph.D. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- 2008 M.S. Computational Molecular Biology, University of Southern California, CA
- 2005 M.S. Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
- 2002 B.S. Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan
Previous Academic Appointments
- 2016-2022 Senior Fellow, Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, WA.
- 2008-2010 Statistical Genetic Programmer, Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute, OHSU, OR.
Grants, Awards, and Scholarships
- 2020-2025 NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00). Role: PI.
- 2013 Charles J. Epstein Trainee Awards for Excellence in Human Genetics Research, semifinalist, American Society of Human Genetics
- 2013 Government Study Abroad Scholarship, Ministry of Education, Taiwan
- 2013 Galileo Circle Fellowship, University of Arizona, U.S.A.