Alumni
Former Reilly Lab members move on to impactful roles in science and technology.
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Currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Marie Skłodowska-Curie.
Email | Bluesky | ORCID | Google Scholar | Linkedin | Github
Stephen is a computational genomicist passionate about understanding how regulatory sequences impact the regulation of gene expression. His research in the FGC group focuses on using capture Hi-C datasets to map the complex regulatory interactions between enhancers and promoters to understand complex human disease and mammalian evolution. Before joining the FGC group, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Reilly lab at Yale University, where he analyzed massively parallel reporter assays and deep learning variant effect predictions to identify functional variants in human adaptive evolution and mammalian evolutionary conservation. He completed his BA at Washington University in St. Louis in mathematics and anthropology on modeling the evolution of eusociality, and his PhD at Brown University on the RNA splicing effects of genetic variants in archaic introgression. Outside of the lab, he enjoys cooking, movies, and exploring new restaurants, museums, and nature.
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Currently a Genomics Ph.D. Student at Duke University.
Bluesky | Google Scholar | ORCID | Website
After leaving Wellesley, I moved to Dr. Pardis Sabeti’s lab at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT under the mentorship of Dr. Steve Reilly, working on human functional genomic characterization with the ENCODE Consortium. I then became the lab manager for the newly minted Reilly lab as it opened its doors at Yale in the fall of 2021. My work at Yale focused on the functional characterization of positively selected human variants, especially those within genetic regulatory elements, as well as consciously building the framework for an inclusive lab environment as the Reilly lab’s first member.
My current Ph.D. work seeks to understand how epigenomic and structural factors interact to affect population genetics of hybridizing species in the diverse clade of Heliconius butterflies, in collaboration with teams at George Washington University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
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She is currently Director of Strategic Operations at Haven's Harvest.
Email | Linkedin | ORCID
As our lab manager, Catherine helped the lab run smoothly and loved supporting everyone's research. She also developed the lab's prime-editing toolkit for future prime-editing experiments. She now works for a local non-profit, Haven's Harvest, whose mission is to build community and reduce food waste, one food rescue at a time.
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Currently obtaining her MD at Harvard Medical School.
Bahar is a second-year Master of Public Health student in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology. Originally from Olympia, Washington, she also attended Yale for undergrad, where she studied Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Under the supervision of Thanh Thanh Nguyen, Bahar is co-mentored by Drs. Kristen Brennand and Steve Reilly, and she studies non-coding genetic variants associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Her current project involves exploring the role that somatic mosaicism plays in Autism Spectrum Disorder using hiPSC-derived models. Outside of the lab, Bahar enjoys volunteering at the Yale New Haven Hospital and HAVEN Free Clinic. She spends her free time rock climbing, baking, and sleeping.
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Currently an intern at the Binder Lab at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry. After her internship she will finish her masters degree in cell signaling and neuroscience at Paris Saclay University.
Capucine De Bernardi is a visiting assistant of research in the Reilly and Brennand labs. During her stay at Yale, she is working under the supervision of Thanh Thanh Nguyen on somatic mosaicism and its impact on gene regulation and neuronal physiology. Her research aims to understand how somatic mutations may influence the development of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Originally from France, Capucine is a master’s student at the University of Paris-Saclay, where she is specializing in Neuroscience, and previously completed a Master's in Genetics at the University of Paris-Cité (Magistère Européen de Génétique). Before joining Yale, she completed research internships in molecular biology, genomics, and epigenetics, including work on the epigenetics of treatment response in bipolar disorder. She is particularly interested in the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as in integrating experimental and computational approaches to study complex brain diseases. She values collaborative work and is committed to contributing to an inclusive and supportive research environment, as well as to the destigmatization of mental health conditions. Outside of the lab, Capucine enjoys creating art, practicing Tae Kwon Do and CrossFit—and she deeply misses her cat.
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Ovaun is a Ph.D. student in the Genetics Department who joined the lab in March 2023. He is co-mentored with Kristen Brennand. He is interested in understanding the genetic architecture of neurodegenerative diseases.
Ovaun completed a bachelor's in sociology from Stony Brook University, and then a master’s in biology from NYU in 2020. At NYU, he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Hernando-Monge, where he developed a novel piggyBac genome editing system to introduce point mutations in melanoma in vitro models. He then worked as a Research Associate in the laboratories of Panos Roussos and Kristen Brennand at Mount Sinai, where he utilized pooled CRISPR screens and hiPSC-derived stem cells to study gene regulation in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Outside of the lab, he enjoys board games and prides himself on being able to play any sport that has a ball.
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Currently a MIT Postdoc with Gene-Wei Li and Jonathan Weissman.
Steve was my postdoc mentor during my time in the Sabeti lab. We worked together on exploring the functional consequences of 3' UTR variants and human-specific deletions. Currently I am transferring my talents to explore the world of functional genomics in bacteria.
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Currently a Computational Biologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Rohit was a Postgraduate Associate in the Reilly Lab who joined in August 2023. He is interested in developing computational tools to better our understanding of the human genome and its role in disease and evolution. Originally from Sunnyvale, CA, Rohit started his career in research by working in the clinical chemistry and toxicology laboratories at San Francisco General Hospital/UCSF under Dr. Alan Wu in high school. He then attended UCLA and graduated with degrees in Computational and Systems Biology and Computer Science. While at UCLA, he studied muscle development in C. elegans under Dr. Pavak Shah and created a data pipeline to genotype cancer cells in the lab of Dr. Paul Boutros. Outside of research, Rohit enjoys hiking and baking, and will hopefully one day work up the motivation to actually go to the gym instead of just talking about it.
During his time in the Reilly Lab, he worked on analyzing data for the MPAC paper and did preliminary data analysis for single-cell MPRA work with Mackenzie.
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Currently obtaining a master's in Genetic Counseling at the University of Michigan.
Elise graduated from Williams College in 2023 with a degree in biology and math. She was a postgraduate associate in the Reilly lab from 2023-2025 working with Thanh Thanh Nguyen on the somatic brain MPRA, Maggie Prentice and the Sumida and Hafler labs on autoimmune MPRAs, and Erin Gilbertson, Aviv Pinker, and the Massalani lab on an evolutionary 3'UTR MPRA. She is now in the University of Michigan genetic counseling Master's program.
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Currently a Ph.D. student in Microbiology at Darthmouth.
Maggie was a Research Associate in the Reilly lab, having completed a bachelor’s in Biological Sciences at Smith College. During her time at Smith, her work under Dr. Chris White-Ziegler focused on phenotypic effects of sRNA regulation in E.coli. In academic and industrial settings, Maggie has also studied the impacts of novel decontamination technologies on bacteria and fungi. Outside of the lab, Maggie enjoys running, nordic skiing, collaging, and searching for the perfect cup of coffee.
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Currently a Biology PhD at Peking University, China
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Aviv is currently an English teach in Madrid, Spain.
EmailAviv graduated from Yale in the Class of 2025 with a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. During his time in the Reilly Lab, Aviv worked with his mentor Elise Root and others in the lab to produce his senior thesis project titled "The Evolutionary Impact of DNA Variants in 3’ UTRs of Hominids". This research employed a Massively Parallel Reporter Assay to scan 3' UTR variants across Humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans for post-transcriptional effects that may have led to evolutionarily significant phenotypic changes. Aviv is currently living abroad in Spain, working as an English teacher in Madrid, but he plans to continue studying biology in the near future. Outside of work, Aviv enjoys adventurous activities such as hiking, skiing, fishing, and sailing.
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Currently an undergraduate at Yale University, class of 2026.
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I'm an undergraduate student at Yale (Class of 2026) who worked in the Reilly Lab after my first year. In the lab, I worked under Stephen on a project examining how haplotype background influences the functional effects of causal alleles at the LCT locus, using Enformer, a deep-learning model for predicting gene expression. I’m now finishing my bachelor's degree in computer science and plan to work as a software engineer in NYC after graduation.
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Currently a Premedical Fellow at DermCare Experts and Beacon Clinical Research
Email | Linkedin
Manuel completed his 5-year BS/MPH at Yale, earning degrees in Neuroscience and Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, respectively. He was an undergraduate researcher in the Reilly Lab from January 2022 to May 2024. During his time in the lab, he constructed CRISPR-Cas9 prime-editing plasmids under the guidance of Ava Mackay-Smith and Catherine McGuiness to edit alleles in TRIM14 — a gene associated with the innate viral immune response. For his senior thesis, he optimized DNA transfection methods in C2C12s and HSkMCs to improve the gene-delivery efficiency of high-throughput assays that identify novel therapeutics for neuromuscular disorders. Manuel is currently completing a two-year Combined Dermatology and Clinical Research Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Fellowship at DermCare Experts and Beacon Clinical Research in Boston, MA. Clinically, he works as a certified medical assistant and aids two board-certified dermatologists at a busy, private dermatology practice. In research, he works as a certified clinical research coordinator responsible for participant recruitment, data collection, and protocol adherence; he concurrently manages two phase III studies and one phase IV study. He plans to ultimately attend medical school to fulfill his dream of being a physician involved in research.
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Currently Pursuing a PhD at University of Chicago.
Madeline is a senior undergraduate researcher at the Reilly Lab from Biloxi, Mississippi. At Yale, she is completing a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry with a Spanish Certificate. She is currently applying to genetics and pursuing a career in biomedical research. In the lab, Madeline is working to identify and characterize putatively-adaptive enhancer variants that have undergone selective sweeps in Ancient European populations and appear to be involved with various pathogen response and autoimmune traits.. Outside of the lab, Madeline spends time going on runs around New Haven with the Club Running Team, volunteering at the Yale Community Kitchen, mentoring with Women and Gender Minorities in Science at Yale, and tutoring for Introduction to Genetics. She also enjoys reading, marathoning movies with friends, collecting vinyl, and spending way too much time making Spotify playlists.