Congrats to Ryan Moreno for winning a JXTX scholarship to Genome Informatics! Ryan is a PhD student in Biomed Data Science at UW-Madison, advised by Dr Sushmita Roy. He leverages evolutionary info to enhance computational analyses of gene regulation and expression. His current project integrates RNA-seq data across species to identify conserved and differential gene programs—revealing fundamental principles of gene regulation and evolution. Ryan enjoys playing soccer, hockey, and piano. ⚽🏒🎹

Congrats to Megan Le for winning a JXTX scholarship to Genome Informatics! Megan is a PhD student in Computer Science at MIT, advised by Drs. Heng Li and Bonnie Berger. She develops algorithms for genome analysis, tackling problems in genome assembly, variant calling, and read alignment. These core areas are essential for extracting meaningful insights from sequencing data. She's also worked analyzing ancient DNA. For fun, Megan enjoys reading, playing bridge and performing on piano and oboe. 🎹🎶

Congrats to Zoe Rudnick for winning a JXTX scholarship to Genome Informatics! Zoe is a 2nd-year PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins, developing algorithms to analyze RNA-seq data—incl long-read and single-cell datasets—to improve isoform quantification. Her work tackles challenges in understanding gene expression at the transcript level, with major implications for precision medicine. When not in the lab, you'll find Zoe rock climbing, reading, or hanging out with her cat. 🧬🐱

Congratulations to William DeGroat (Undergrad, Rutgers, Kreimer lab) focuses on the development of computational methods to understand cell type-specific networks of cis-regulatory interactions and their perturbations. [7/7]

Congratulations to Amy Longtin (PhD student, Vanderbilt U, Lea lab) focuses on genotype by environment interactions and epigenetics in human and non-human primate species through the lens of evolutionary medicine. [6/7]

Congratulations to Elysia Chou (PhD student, UMichigan, Sartor lab) studies pinpointing cell type-specific gene regulatory mechanisms in psoriasis by building computational tools to link disease-associated variants or cis-regulatory elements to their target genes [5/7]

Congratulations to Betselot Zerihun Ayano (Bioinformatician, Ethiopian Public Health Institute) specializes in pathogen genomics. He focuses on integrating bacterial genomics by linking genomic and epidemiological data to enhance antimicrobial resistance surveillance. [4/7]