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John Blangero, PhD

Professor

John Blangero, PhD, has dedicated his research to developing and applying advanced statistical methods for analyzing the vast amounts of genetic data generated in large family studies. He is creating innovative approaches to integrate bioinformatics, data mining, gene expression analysis, epigenomics, metabolomics, functional genomics, and association analysis. These methods aim to significantly reduce the time and cost of gene discovery. In addition to being the Director of the STDOI Genomics Computing Center at the UTRGV School of Medicine, Dr. Blangero directs the San Antonio Family Heart Study, which serves as a valuable resource for investigating numerous genetic questions. His research group is leveraging data from this project to identify genes that influence the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. They are also conducting a major program to search for genes that regulate brain structure and function. Notably, the San Antonio Family Heart Study was one of the first significant investigations to incorporate genomic imaging, a cutting-edge field that combines genetic analysis with magnetic resonance imaging to obtain detailed information about both anatomical variations and functions in the heart and brain. Dr. Blangero has played a key role in establishing state-of-the-art molecular genetics laboratories and computing facilities on the UTRGV Brownsville campus. He orchestrated the installation of an 11,000-processor high-performance computing cluster named MEDUSA, which is one of the world’s largest parallel computing clusters dedicated to genetic research. His group has also added new genome sequencers that facilitate deep sequencing techniques, allowing for quicker identification of gene variants, measurement of their effects, and accelerated translational research that leads to improved diagnostics and treatments for better human health. Recently, Dr. Blangero has been involved in a large-scale initiative to routinely produce stem cells from blood for use in functional genomic studies. His laboratory is focused on high-dimensional phenotyping of various cell types derived from these stem cells to enhance the understanding of human sequence variation. Dr. Blangero has secured major multi-year, multi-million dollar research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. These grants support the use of whole-genome sequencing to search for genes associated with psychiatric disorders, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, respectively.