Frank Albert

We study how genomic variation influences gene expression and complex traits. Individual genomes differ from each other at thousands to millions of sites. Many of these differences have no effect, while others can dramatically influence the way the organism looks, how it behaves, or which diseases it is susceptible to. How can we tell which DNA differences have phenotypic consequences? How exactly do these polymorphisms exert their effects? And how did this genomic diversity evolve? We are examining these questions by combining experimental functional genomics and computational statistical genetics. A particular focus is on emerging technologies for high-throughput reading, editing, and synthesizing of genomes, which now allow us to systematically answer questions at the core of genetics. We deploy these tools in yeast and other species to learn fundamental principles of how genetic variation shapes phenotypes across eukaryotic life.