Chris Cotsapas PhD

Assistant Professor of Neurology and of Genetics

Research Interests

We use genetics, computational biology and cell-based approaches to discover and understand the mechanisms that give rise to disease. We are particularly interested in disorders of the immune system and brain.

Research Summary

We look for genetic factors that predispose to disease and try to understand the biology they perturb. We ask what genes are perturbed, what processes they participate in and whether these perturbations are sufficient to induce differences at the molecular and cellular levels.This gives us novel targets for biomarkers, diagnosis and treatment.

Our approach encompasses statistical and computational tools, genetics and molecular biology. We are a hybrid lab with strong quantitative and experimental skills and we cycle between hypotheses generated by rigorous analysis and confirmation and discovery in experimental systems.