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Monkol Lek, PhD

Associate Professor Term of Genetics
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Titles

Associate Professor Term of Genetics

Biography

Monkol received an undergraduate degree in Engineering (Computer Engineering) in 2000 at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and then worked for IBM for 3.5 years. He returned to UNSW and completed undergraduate degrees in Science (Physiology) and Engineering (Bioinformatics) and received the University Medal in 2007. He completed his PhD (Medicine) at the University of Sydney in 2012 with the thesis topic: Functional differences between alpha-actinin-2 and alpha-actinin-3. Monkol did his post-doctoral training in Daniel MacArthur’s lab based at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute.

He was the lead author/analyst for the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC) project that was published in Nature 2016. He went on to lead the NIH funded Broad Center for Mendelian Genomics (CMG) analysis team. As lead analyst, he oversaw the analysis strategy for all major CMG collaborations and organized monthly meetings to foster sharing of new methods and analysis amongst the rare disease community. He also coordinated the data processing and preliminary analysis of NIH Gabriella Miller Kids First (GMKF) cohorts sequenced or reprocessed at the Broad Institute.

Monkol has a strong passion for rare muscle disease research as a patient with Limb Girdle Muscular dystrophy (LGMD2G). During his time in the Broad Institute, he lead the exome/genome analysis of MYOSEQ (European cohort of >1000 LGMD patients) and SeqNMD (an international consortium of undiagnosed rare muscle diseases) which has resulted in novel disease gene discovery.

Last Updated on May 07, 2025.

Appointments

  • Genetics

    Associate Professor on Term
    Primary
    Genetics

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

PhD
University of Sydney, Medicine (2012)
BSc
University of New South Wales, Physiology (2007)
BE
University of New South Wales, Bioinformatics (2007)
BE
University of New South Wales, Computer Engineering (2001)

Research

Overview

Medical Research Interests

Genetics; Genetics, Medical; Genomics; Neuromuscular Diseases

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Monkol Lek's published research.

Publications

2026

  • DNASE1L3 Deficiency With Novel Missense Variant: Enzymatic and Plasma Fragmentomic Evidence of Pathogenicity and Partial Response to JAK Blockade
    Leon Tenorio A, Sugio T, Cheng J, Bonner D, Esfahani M, Kasinathan S, Hsu J, Moyer A, Pimentel Vera L, Carter J, Reuter C, Marwaha S, Balboni I, Wheeler M, Bernstein J, Alizadeh A, Gomez‐Ospina N, Tran A, Tarakad A, Balasubramanyam A, Lee B, Bacino C, Scott D, Seto E, Clark G, Dai H, Chao H, Chinn I, Orengo J, Rosenfeld J, Worley K, Burrage L, Emrick L, Potocki L, Hubshman M, Lewis R, Marom R, Lalani S, Ketkar S, Vogel T, Craigen W, Sninsky J, Blieden L, Nagamani S, Bellen H, Wangler M, Kanca O, Yamamoto S, Eng C, Ward P, Liu P, Vanderver A, Skraban C, Behrens E, Kilich G, Sullivan K, Hassey K, Rajagopalan R, Ganetzky R, Cuddapah V, Raper A, Rader D, Sirugo G, Slavotinek A, Mayhew C, Mendonca E, Guo Z, McConkie‐Rosell A, Schoch K, Mikati M, Walley N, Spillmann R, Shashi V, Beggs A, Sweetser D, Chiang D, Rao D, High F, Mochida G, Berry G, Holm I, Pallais J, Loscalzo J, Rodan L, Briere L, Walker M, Truong T, Chung W, Esteves C, Glanton E, Kohane I, LeBlanc K, Sunyaev S, Kobren S, Graham B, Conboy E, Vetrini F, Treat K, Liaqat K, Mantcheva L, Ware S, Page K, Auwaerter P, Manabe Y, Pardo‐Villamizar C, Hoover‐Fong J, Witmer P, Timp W, Robinson M, Berger Z, Wohler E, Sobreira N, Nouraee A, Prada C, Davis E, Yap K, Regan‐Fendt K, Silva M, McMullen P, Mitchell B, Lanpher B, Oglesbee D, Klee E, Pinto F, Lanza I, Darr K, Mulvihill L, Schimmenti L, Tan Q, Dasari S, Elkadri A, Bordini B, Basel D, Verbsky J, McCarrier J, Muriello M, Zimmermann M, Rebelo A, Smith C, Barbouth D, Bademci G, Gonzalez J, Latchman K, Peart L, Tekin M, Borja N, Zuchner S, Bivona S, Thorson W, Taylor H, Quarells R, Iverson A, Gelb B, Cunningham‐Rundles C, Gayle E, Jen J, Bier L, Barbosa M, Balwani M, Shadrina M, Evard R, Shuman S, Shin S, Jobanputra V, Gropman A, Pusey Swerdzewski B, Toro C, Wahl C, Novacic D, Macnamara E, Mulvihill J, Acosta M, D'Souza P, Maduro V, Afzali B, Solomon B, Tifft C, Adams D, Burke E, Rossignol F, Wood H, Fu J, Davis J, Petcharet L, Wolfe L, Delgado M, Morimoto M, Sabaii M, Malicdan M, Hanchard N, Jean‐Marie O, Introne W, Gahl W, Huang Y, Stergachis A, Miller D, Rosenthal E, Blue E, Balton E, Shelkowitz E, Allenspach E, Hisama F, Jarvik G, Mirzaa G, Glass I, Leppig K, Dipple K, Wener M, Horike‐Pyne M, Bamshad M, Byers P, Perlman S, Chanprasert S, Sybert V, Raskind W, Dargie N, Chan C, Velasquez D, Ward I, Schend J, Morgan J, Bell M, Leitheiser M, Saifeddine M, Berger P, Li R, Beagle T, Miller A, Anguiano B, Martin B, Tucker B, Reuter C, Bonner D, Kravets E, Mendez H, Tabor H, Sampson J, Hom J, Kohler J, Schymick J, Gorzynski J, Bernstein J, Smith K, Keehan L, Wiel L, Wheeler M, Halley M, Levanto M, Goddard P, Fisher P, Ungar R, Alvarez R, Emami S, Marwaha S, Montgomery S, Bachir S, Jensen T, Maurer T, Coakley T, Ashley E, Hurst A, Wilk B, Korf B, Worthey E, Callaway K, Rodriguez M, Lertwilaiwittaya P, Blackburn R, Skelton T, Mamidi T, Washington T, Crouse A, Whitlock J, Nakano‐Okuno M, Might M, Byrd W, La Spada A, Xiao C, Chao E, Vilain E, Abdenur J, Blanco K, Steenari M, Barrick R, Chang R, Attaripour S, Sandmeyer S, Mozaffar T, Huang A, Vargas A, Russell B, Fogel B, Dell'Angelica E, Carvalho G, Martínez‐Agosto J, Abi Farraj L, Butte M, Martin M, Dorrani N, Parker N, Corona R, Nelson S, Karasozen Y, Sayer D, Tousseau J, Quinlan A, Ward A, Andrews A, Welt C, Viskochil D, Baldwin E, Carey J, Alvey J, Botto L, Longo N, Moretti P, Overbury R, Butterfield R, Boyden S, Nicholas T, Velinder M, Marth G, Bayrak‐Toydemir P, Mao R, Westerfield M, Phillips J, Ezell K, Rives L, Hamid R, Krokosky A, McMinn A, Shyr C, Gamazon E, Cogan J, Perera L, Bastarache L, Koziura M, Cassini T, Paul A, Kiley D, Wegner D, McRoy E, Wambach J, Sisco K, Dickson P, Cole F, Baldridge D, Shin J, Solnica‐Krezel L, Pak S, Schedl T, Bale A, Oladele C, Hendry C, Wang E, Xu H, Zhang H, Jeffries L, Romero M, Gerstein M, Spencer‐Manzon M, Lek M, Derar N, Kaufman O, Mane S, Serrano T, Vasiliou V, Halstead W, Jiang Y. DNASE1L3 Deficiency With Novel Missense Variant: Enzymatic and Plasma Fragmentomic Evidence of Pathogenicity and Partial Response to JAK Blockade. ACR Open Rheumatology 2026, 8 PMCID: PMC12928082, DOI: 10.1002/acr2.70184.
    Peer-Reviewed Original Research
  • Mitochondrial heteroplasmy is a risk factor for the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia
    Pasca S, Hong Y, Shi W, Puiu D, Lake N, Lek M, Guallar E, Arking D, Gondek L. Mitochondrial heteroplasmy is a risk factor for the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Nature Communications 2026, 17: 2898. PMID: 41708630, PMCID: PMC13031533, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-69861-8.
    Peer-Reviewed Original Research
  • Biallelic LAMP3 variants in 5 families with interstitial lung disease: Evidence of a disease-gene association
    Keehan L, Ono-Minagi H, Hadhud M, Rips J, Hinds D, Fischer A, Bartlett J, McCray P, Qawasmi N, Nathan N, Louvrier C, Desroziers T, Damme M, Griese M, Wegner D, Cole F, Wambach J, Wheeler M, Burbelo P, Bonner D, Network U, Tran A, Tarakad A, Balasubramanyam A, Lee B, Bacino C, Scott D, Seto E, Clark G, Dai H, Chao H, Chinn I, Orengo J, Posey J, Rosenfeld J, Worley K, Burrage L, Emrick L, Potocki L, Hubshman M, Lewis R, Marom R, Lalani S, Ketkar S, Vogel T, Craigen W, Sninsky J, Blieden L, Nagamani S, Bellen H, Wangler M, Kanca O, Yamamoto S, Eng C, Ward P, Liu P, Vanderver A, Skraban C, Behrens E, Kilich G, Sullivan K, Hassey K, Rajagopalan R, Ganetzky R, Cuddapah V, Raper A, Rader D, Sirugo G, Jobanputra V, McConkie-Rosell A, Schoch K, Mikati M, Walley N, Spillmann R, Shashi V, Beggs A, MacRae C, Sweetser D, Rao D, Silverman E, Fieg E, High F, Berry G, Holm I, Pallais J, Stoler J, Loscalzo J, Rodan L, Cobban L, Briere L, Coggins M, Walker M, Maas R, Korrick S, Douglas J, Esteves C, Glanton E, Kohane I, LeBlanc K, Mahoney R, Sunyaev S, Kobren S, Graham B, Conboy E, Vetrini F, Treat K, Liaqat K, Mantcheva L, Ware S, Mitchell B, Lanpher B, Oglesbee D, Klee E, Pinto e Vairo F, Lanza I, Darr K, Mulvihill L, Schimmenti L, Tan Q, Dasari S, Elkadri A, Bordini B, Basel D, Verbsky J, McCarrier J, Muriello M, Zimmermann M, Rebelo A, Smith C, Barbouth D, Bademci G, Gonzalez J, Latchman K, Peart L, Tekin M, Borja N, Zuchner S, Bivona S, Thorson W, Taylor H, Quarells R, Iverson A, Gelb B, Cunningham-Rundles C, Gayle E, Jen J, Bier L, Barbosa M, Balwani M, Shadrina M, Evard R, Shuman S, Shin S, Gropman A, Swerdzewski B, Toro C, Wahl C, Novacic D, Macnamara E, Mulvihill J, Acosta M, D'Souza P, Maduro V, Afzali B, Solomon B, Tifft C, Adams D, Burke E, Rossignol F, Wood H, Fu J, Davis J, Petcharet L, Wolfe L, Delgado M, Morimoto M, Sabaii M, Malicdan M, Hanchard N, Jean-Marie O, Introne W, Gahl W, Huang Y, Stergachis A, Miller D, Rosenthal E, Blue E, Balton E, Shelkowitz E, Allenspach E, Hisama F, Jarvik G, Mirzaa G, Glass I, Leppig K, Dipple K, Wener M, Horike-Pyne M, Bamshad M, Byers P, Kumar R, Perlman S, Chanprasert S, Sybert V, Raskind W, Dargie N, Chan C, Velasq F, Ward I, Schend J, Morgan J, Bell M, Leitheiser M, Saifeddine M, Berger P, Li R, Beagle T, Miller A, Anguiano B, Martin B, Tucker B, Reuter C, Bonner D, Kravets E, Mendez H, Tabor H, Sampson J, Hom J, Kohler J, Schymick J, Gorzynski J, Bernstein J, Smith K, Keehan L, Wiel L, Wheeler M, Halley M, Levanto M, Goddard P, Fisher P, Ungar R, Alvarez R, Emami S, Marwaha S, Montgomery S, Bachir S, Jensen T, Maurer T, Coakley T, Ashley E, Al-Beshri A, Hurst A, Wilk B, Korf B, Worthey E, Callaway K, Rodriguez M, Skelton T, Mamidi T, Crouse A, Whitlock J, Nakano-Okuno M, Might M, Byrd W, La Spada A, Xiao C, Chao E, Vilain E, Abdenur J, Blanco K, Steenari M, Barrick R, Chang R, Attaripour S, Sandmeyer S, Mozaffar T, Huang A, Vargas A, Russell B, Fogel B, Dell'Angelica E, Carvalho G, Martínez-Agosto J, Farraj L, Butte M, Martin M, Dorrani N, Parker N, Corona R, Nelson S, Karasozen Y, Quinlan A, Ward A, Andrews A, Welt C, Viskochil D, Baldwin E, Carey J, Alvey J, Pace L, Botto L, Longo N, Moretti P, Overbury R, Butterfield R, Boyden S, Nicholas T, Velinder M, Marth G, Bayrak-Toydemir P, Mao R, Westerfield M, Corner B, Phillips J, Ezell K, Rives L, Hamid R, Neumann S, McMinn A, Cogan J, Cassini T, Paul A, Kiley D, Wegner D, McRoy E, Wambach J, Sisco K, Dickson P, Cole F, Baldridge D, Shin J, Solnica-Krezel L, Pak S, Schedl T, Bale A, Oladele C, Hendry C, Wang E, Xu H, Zhang H, Jeffries L, Romero M, Gerstein M, Spencer-Manzon M, Lek M, Derar N, Kaufman O, Mane S, Serrano T, Vasiliou V, Halstead W, Jiang Y, Bernstein J, Chiorini J, Breuer O, Milla C. Biallelic LAMP3 variants in 5 families with interstitial lung disease: Evidence of a disease-gene association. Genetics In Medicine 2026, 28: 102531. PMID: 41653023, PMCID: PMC13078123, DOI: 10.1016/j.gim.2026.102531.
    Peer-Reviewed Original Research

2025

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Clinical Trials

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Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

Honors

  • honor

    Development Grant

    01/01/2016National AwardMuscular Dystrophy Association
  • honor

    CJ Martin Fellowship

    06/01/2013International AwardAustralian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
  • honor

    Sir Keith Murdoch Fellowship

    08/01/2012International AwardAustralian American Association
  • honor

    Australian Post-graduate Award

    03/01/2009International AwardUniversity of Sydney
  • honor

    University Medal

    03/01/2008International AwardUniversity of New South Wales

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Contacts

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Locations

  • S341C

    Academic Office

    The Anlyan Center

    300 Cedar Street

    New Haven, CT 06519

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  • S320

    Lab

    The Anlyan Center

    300 Cedar Street

    New Haven, CT 06519

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