Doctoral students Richard Doty, Mia Hamilton, Susan Liu, and Maria ter Weele work collaboratively across disciplines, collectively representing three different PhD programs within School of Medicine and Pratt School of Engineering. Interdisciplinary research provides unique opportunities which support breakthroughs within science and research for these four students. While each of these students conduct different research projects, they ultimately work collaboratively to improve health with a focus on the complex topic of combinatorial genomics or the study of how combinations of genetic variants impact human disease.
Mia Hamilton is a student in University Program in Genetics and Genomics. She works directly in a wet lab. Under the supervision of Principal Investigators (PI) of the Center of Combinatorial Gene Regulation (CCGR), Charles Gersbach, PhD and Greg Crawford, PhD. Hamilton’s research involves using gene editing technology known as CRISPR to better understand genetic diseases.
Similarly, Maria ter Weele also works in Charles Gersbach’s lab, however, she is a student in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Duke. Their research generates new types of data and requires advanced statistical innovation using CRISPR to map regulatory elements involved in human disease, which is why Richard Doty and Susan Liu’s roles are imperative.
Students Doty and Liu develop new computational approaches in a dry lab. Both students study aspects of genetics and genomics under the guidance of Andrew Allen, PhD (CCGR PI) and Bill Majoros, PhD (CCGR Co-I). Liu, a Computational Biology & Bioinformatics student, specifically builds statistical models and writes algorithms for interpreting experiments that use CRISPR. While Doty, a graduate student in Biostatistics, works on simulating and analyzing data sets from experiments being developed in labs including the Gersbach lab.
Each student emphasized the importance of working collaboratively across disciplines because of the opportunities for professional growth and to learn from different perspectives. Liu said they “speak different languages”, but consulting with experts helps everyone understand. “Although it is challenging,” Liu said, “that’s the best part of it, and you do get to learn a ton while you’re here.” Hamilton described her experience as a group effort, which has allowed her to be surrounded by people who will build on her work in a different way. Not only does this team approach support better outcomes in science, it uniquely prepares these students for ongoing collaborations that will be necessary in future careers.