Team
Steve Reilly
Principal Investigator
Steve is a genomicist specializing in human genetics, evolution, and gene-regulation. He is specifically interested in furthering our understanding of non-coding variation, the main cache of human genetic diversity. He develops novel computational + experimental approaches to identify and functionally characterize human variation at scale. These tools include DeepSweep: a machine learning method to identify variants under positive selection, HCR-FlowFISH: a method to directly characterize the functional targets of regulatory elements, and application of the Massively Parallel Reporter Assay (MPRA) to understand the regulatory impact of genomic variation.
Steve completed his B.S. at Carnegie Mellon University, studying recursive splicing in the laboratory of Javier Lopez. He wouldn’t be a scientist today without the generous early mentorship and support he received from Beth Jones, the Beckman Scholars Program, and the HHMI summer researchers program. Steve completed his PhD from Yale University in the Department of Genetics. He studied the evolution of regulatory elements in the developing human cortex in the lab of James Noonan. He completed his postdoctoral work in the Sabeti lab at Harvard University and The Broad Institute. His awards include an NHGRI NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99), an NHGRI Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA), the Carolyn Slayman Thesis Prize, and was a Beckman Scholar awardee. Steve is passionate about making science more inclusive and improving training for students in the genomic age. Outside the lab, you can find him biking, taking an overly scientific approach to his garden, making beer, and glass blowing.
Julio Pineda
Postdoctoral ResearcherLinkedIn | ORCID | email | Google Scholar | Github
Julio Molina Pineda is a postdoctoral researcher in the Reilly Lab starting October 2025 interested on how genetic variation and evolution shape susceptibility to degenerative diseases. Born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Julio was awarded a Walton International Scholarship to pursue his undergraduate degree in the US. At University of the Ozarks, he double-majored in Molecular Biology and Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics. He next completed his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology as a Doctoral Academy Fellow at University of Arkansas under Dr. Jeffrey Lewis. For his dissertation, Julio leveraged natural variation in wild yeast, genome engineering, transcriptomics, and genomics to model the genetic architecture of Parkinson's Disease susceptibility and identify novel causative variants. Alongside his research, he has a keen interest in science policy and advocates for increased awareness on the bioethical implications of modern genetic research. Outside of science, Julio enjoys playing and watching soccer, videogames of all kinds, riding his mountain bike/hiking, spending time with his pets, and pursuing the next hobby in the list.
Erin Gilbertson
Postdoctoral ResearcherORCID | Google Scholar | email
Erin is a postdoctoral researcher in the Reilly Lab starting in September 2024. She is interested in applying deep learning methods to understand the evolution of human gene regulation.
Erin completed her PhD in Biological and Medical Informatics at the University of California, San Francisco with Dr. Tony Capra, where she used machine learning to predict 3D genome contact patterns and study their variation across diverse human populations. Prior to her time at UCSF Erin worked with Dr. Suzanne McGaugh and Dr. Yaniv Brandvain during her undergraduate at the University of Minnesota where she received a B.S. in Genetics, Cell Biology and Development with a minor in Computer Science.
Outside of the lab she enjoys playing guitar, cooking and spending time outdoors (especially on the water).
Thanh-Thanh Nguyen
Postdoctoral ResearcherTwitter | Google Scholar | ORCID | email
Thanh Thanh Nguyen is a postdoctoral fellow in the Reilly and Brennand labs. She is interested in applying functional genomics to understand genetic risks underlying neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, and the various contexts under which such risks can manifest. Thanh Thanh completed her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic, where she utilized a wide range of "-omic" techniques to dissect the interface between non-coding genetics and epigenetics in determining individual responses to drugs and the chemical environment. Born in Moscow, Russia and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam, she left to the U.S. to pursue further educational opportunities and intellectual freedom. Fortunate enough to have come across wise and dedicated mentors along her journey, she deeply values mentorship in academia and understands how impactful it can be.
Outside of the lab she loves cooking, baking, and spending time in nature and with family and friends. To her, every ordinary moment can turn extraordinary.
Tian Xia
Postdoctoral ResearcherTian is a postdoctoral researcher in the Reilly Lab, starting July 2024. He has a diverse educational background. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in finance, he spent several years in the real estate and infrastructure investment business. Following completion of his MBA degree with a focus on real options, he returned to academia to pursue science. Tian completed his PhD in evolutionary anthropology at the University of Tokyo, where he applied population genetics methods and conducted selection scans to investigate genetic diversity related to complex diseases such as myopia and dyslipidemia, as well as their evolutionary origins among human populations. Currently, Tian is working with the team to train new machine learning tools for identifying and detecting positive selection. Outside the lab, he enjoys playing badminton, piano, and exploring nature.
Jared Akers
Graduate StudentJared is a PhD student who joined the Reilly Lab in August, 2022. His thesis work is on understanding how recent (0-50 KYA) selection in humans contributes to population-level variance in human molecular phenotypes across diverse global populations. Another ongoing project of his is in the realm of ancient DNA from Western Eurasia within the last 15k years. In both projects he applies MPRA and CRISPR-Cas systems to functionally characterize adaptive variation residing within non-coding elements. Jared received his B.S. in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2018; while a student he performed research in Dr. Qiang Chang’s Lab, and investigated the gene regulatory mechanisms underpinning folding of the developing human neocortex. Prior to transferring to UW-Madison he studied at Nicolet Area Technical College, a small community college close to his former home in Northern Wisconsin. After college graduation, Jared worked as a Laboratory Technician in Dr. Kamena Kostova’s Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Embryology, where he studied ribosome biogenesis. In his free time, Jared enjoys tango, salsa, and weight lifting.
Capucine Bernardi
Graduate StudentCapucine 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.
Ovaun Latouche
Graduate StudentOvaun 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.
Mackenzie Noon
Graduate StudentORCID | Google Scholar | email | LinkedIn
Mackenzie Noon grew up in Redlands, California. He split his undergraduate degree across two schools, University of California, Davis, and University of California, Berkeley, attending each for two years. At Davis, he characterized a replication-stress induced nucleophagy pathway in the lab of Professor Ken Kaplan. At Berkeley, he joined the lab of Professor Lin He, and investigated the prevalence and function of retrotransposon-derived protein isoforms in preimplantation mouse development. After receiving his degree from Berkeley, he did a post-baccalaureate fellowship with Prof. Andrew Xiao at Yale. Here, he investigated the function of Alkbh1 in mouse development and sex determination. Mackenzie hopes to contribute to the understanding of mammalian development. In the Reilly lab, he hopes to disentangle the contributions of cis-regulatory sequences to early mammalian development. Outside of the lab, Mackenzie enjoys cycling and board games.
Jack Matter
Post-graduate ResearcherJack is a postgraduate associate in the Reilly Lab from Seattle, Washington. He is joining the lab after graduating from Vassar College with a BA in Biology. At Vassar, he worked with Professor Hayley Affronti investigating a novel combination chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer cell lines. He also wrote his senior thesis with Professor Justin Touchon, which assessed the effect of early-life diet change on gut microbiome composition in amphibians by analyzing gut 16S rRNA content. He is eager to continue developing his wet lab skillset in the Reilly Lab, including more advanced molecular and cell culture techniques. Outside the lab, he enjoys being outdoors, trying new foods, and reading.
Grace Oualline
Post-graduate ResearcherORCID | Google Scholar | email | LinkedIn | Github
Grace is a postgraduate associate in the Reilly Lab from San Diego, California. She recently earned her B.S. in Biology and Computational Biology from Carnegie Mellon University. During her undergraduate studies, she worked in Dr. John Woolford’s lab on pre-ribosome biosynthesis and in Dr. Yun Yu’s lab developing a computational pipeline to identify novel mobile genetic elements without a reference database. She’s excited to continue building her computational toolkit in the Reilly Lab, utilizing code to pipeline biological discovery. Outside the lab, Grace enjoys cooking, traveling, rock climbing, and stealing her roommate’s cat.
Madeline Pitre
Undergraduate ResearcherMadeline 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.
Bahar Bouzarjomehri
Graduate ResearcherBahar 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.
You?
We’re always looking for inquisitive, creative, and passionate researchers (post-docs, graduate students, RAs, undergrads) to join our team. Diversity of backgrounds (scientific, academic, personal, etc), are always valued in our collaborative team.
Collaborators
Finucane Lab
Sabeti Lab
Tewhey Lab
Tucci Lab
Funding
NIH/NHGRI Pathway to Independence, K99/R00 (HG010669)
Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (HG009226)