29 April 2011
Posted in
DNA Day
Dr. Emily Hodges earned a B.A. in Biology from Rhodes College in 1998 and a Ph.D. from the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden) in 2006 with a concentration in Functional Genomics. As a postdoctoral fellow in the research group led by Dr. Gregory Hannon at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Dr. Hodgesdeveloped applications for next generation, high- throughput sequencing, including techniques to isolate, or “capture,” specific regions of the human genome and sequence just these regions. These techniques have made it possible to accurately sequence the complete genome of Neandertals and use it to answer questions about human evolution.
The applications that Dr. Hodges helped develop are also being used for genetic profiling of human disease. Currently a research investigator, herresearch focuses on DNA methylation, a chemical modification of DNA that prevents genes from being switched on. She is studying how this so-called epigenetic modification of DNA, which can be inherited, influences an organism’s development, particularly the maintenance of stem cells and how they change as tissues grow.
When she’s not in the laboratory, you can find Dr. Hodges performing as the lead singer of the Long Island band Jellyfish Explosion & Friends.
