Genetic and epigenetic signatures associated with plasma oxytocin levels in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Duke Autism Clinic

The incorporation of personalized medicine to all areas of human health represents a turning point for human genetics studies, a point at which the discoveries made have real implications for clinical medicine.  It is important for students to gain experience in how human genetics studies are conducted and how results of those studies may be used.  As a statistical geneticist and biostatistician my research interests are focused on developing and applying statistical methods to search for genes causing common human diseases.  My research programs combine development and application of statistical methods for genetic studies, with a particular emphasis on understanding the joint effects of genes and environment. 

These studies I work on cover diverse areas in biomedicine but are always collaborative, with the goal of bringing robust data science and statistical methods to the project.  Collaborative studies include genetic and ‘omics studies of cardiovascular disease, health effects of air pollution, genetic analysis of adherence to an exercise program, genetic analysis in evaluating colon cancer risk, genetic analysis of suicide, and systems biology analysis of Gulf War Illness.

Keywords: human genetics, genetic association, gene mapping, genetic epidemiology, statistical genetics, biostatistics, cardiovascular disease, computational biology, diabetes, aging, colon cancer, colon polyps, kidney disease, Gulf War Illness, exercise behavior, suicide

Dr. Gregory is the Margaret Harris and David Silverman Distinguished Professor and Director of the Brain Tumor Omics Program in the Duke Department of Neurosurgery, the Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Neurology, and Director of the Molecular Genomics Core at the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. 

As a neurogenomicist, Dr. Gregory applies the experience gained from leading the sequencing of chromosome 1 for the Human Genome Project to elucidating the mechanisms underlying multi-factorial diseases using genetic, genomic, and epigenetic approaches. Dr. Gregory’s primary areas of research involve understanding the molecular processes associated with disease development and progression in brain tumors and Alzheimer’s disease, drug induced white matter injury repair in multiple sclerosis, and the characterization of lesion microenvironmental changes in MS.

He is broadly regarded across Duke as a leader in the development of novel single cell and spatial molecular technologies towards understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of disease development. Dr. Gregory is also the Section Chair of Genomics and Epigenetics at the DMPI and Director of the Duke Center of Autoimmunity and MS in the Department of Neurology.