The major theme of the research being conducted in our laboratory is to study the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes in humans. The phenotypes we are working with encompass several common diseases such as hypertension, ankylosing spondylitis, Scleroderma, Hodgkin's Diseases, and several types of cancers. We also study several non-disease complex traits such as skin pigmentation and blood pressure levels. The goals of our laboratory are being accomplished through using holistic approaches by employing and developing genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, and molecular biology tools.

The genetic background of human populations is largely molded by the interplay of the demographic history and various evolutionary factors. Delineating the genetic components underlying complex diseases and quantitative traits requires a good understanding of the genetic composition and demographic history (origin, migration, and admixture) of extant world populations, which affect the genetic structure of the populations extensively. Studies on genetic factors such as mutation, recombination, gene conversion, and evolutionary factors such as selection, bottleneck, and genetic drift are also important in the same context. Our research in those areas provides an integrated view of the genetic structure of human populations with many fine details considered.

In addition, we are very interested in characterizing the functional consequences of naturally occurring genetic variation, which will be essential to reveal the etiology of the diseases. We are currently exploring robust and high-throughput approaches for functional assays along with assays for studying epigenetic factors including LOH and methylation. The integration of results from genotyping, expression profiling, epigenetic studies, functional assays, and bioinformatics analyses provides a powerful approach to unraveling the etiology of the diseases.

We are a very young team who believe that creativity is essential in achieving our goals. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of our research, we have very mixed expertise encompassing genetics and genomics, zoology, medicine, epidemiology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, statistics, computer sciences, mathematics, anthropology, linguistics, physics, chemistry, and engineering. This is the place where science becomes fun.