Biography
Ben Laufer is a researcher with a focus on gene expression and neuroscience. He is a Principal Scientist in the Neuroinformatics Group in the Department of OMNI Bioinformatics at Genentech. He is also the editor for EpiGenie. Outside of the science world he enjoys hiking, swimming, and photography.
Interests
- Bioinformatics
- Gene Regulation
- Neuroscience
Education
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Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2021
University of California Davis, USA
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PhD in Cellular & Molecular Biology, 2016
Western University, Canada
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BSc (Hons) in Genetics, 2010
Western University, Canada
Research
Click on each project to learn more.
Cell-free fetal DNA and placenta contain a subset of differentially methylated regions that reflect brain DNA methylation profiles.
Over-expression of DNMT3L and RUNX1 contributes to regional DNA hypermethylation and DNA hypomethylation in Down syndrome brain and blood, respectively.
DNA hypermethylation of the clustered protocadherins is a conserved signature in adult brains from a mouse model of prenatal alcohol exposure and in buccal swabs from human children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).
Recent Publications
(2023).
TMEM106B reduction does not rescue GRN deficiency in iPSC-derived human microglia and mouse models.
iScience.
(2023).
Lipid nanoparticle delivery limits antisense oligonucleotide activity and cellular distribution in the brain after intracerebroventricular injection.
Molecular Therapy — Nucleic Acids.
(2023).
Cross-species transcriptomic atlas of dorsal root ganglia reveals species-specific programs for sensory function.
Nature Communications.
(2022).
Multi-omic brain and behavioral correlates of cell-free fetal DNA methylation in macaque maternal obesity models.
Nature Communications.
(2022).
Disease-associated oligodendrocyte responses across neurodegenerative diseases.
Cell Reports.
Programs
4way plots enable a comparison of the logFC values from two contrasts of differential gene expression. The gg4way R/Bioconductor package creates 4way plots using the ggplot2 framework and supports popular Bioconductor objects. The package also provides information about the correlation between contrasts and significant genes of interest.
DMRichR is an R package and executable for the preprocessing, statistical analysis, and visualization of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and global methylation levels from CpG count matrices (Bismark cytosine reports).
CpG_Me is a whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) pipeline for the alignment and QC of DNA methylation that goes from from raw reads (FastQ) to a CpG count matrix (Bismark cytosine reports).
Science Communication
EpiGenie was founded in 2007 as the first dedicated Epigenetics news source. I joined in 2013. Initially, my role was that of a technical writer. My role then matured to be editorial, where I select and edit headlines.
Videos
What is Epigenetics?
OHSU and Swift Low-pass WGBS Webinar
Media Coverage
- “Link between placenta and fetal brain may predict neurodevelopment disorders.” May 10, 2022. NIEHS Papers of the Month.
- “Placenta may hold clues for early autism diagnosis and intervention.” February 18, 2022. Medical Xpress.
- “Cord blood DNA can hold clues for early autism diagnosis and intervention.” October 22, 2020. Medical Xpress.
- “Different forms of autism may share pattern of chemical tags on DNA.” July 22, 2019. Spectrum.
- “FASD, methylation and miRNA: changing the “volume” on gene expression.” October 6, 2016. Western Science.
- “FASD and epigenetics.” November 30, 2015. Focus on Adoption Magazine.
- “Study confirms dangers of fetal alcohol exposure.” November 20, 2014. Western News.
- “In fetal alcohol study, IPA finds the signal in the noise.” May 22, 2014. Qiagen.
- “Epigenetic Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure.” March 18, 2014. Germline Exposures.
- “Meet the next generation of social-media-savvy graduate students.” February 6, 2014. University Affairs.
- “Epigenetic patterns observed in schizophrenia therapy may open up venues for personalized medicine.” January 7, 2014. Technology.org.
- “A single drink can have a lifetime of consequences.” August 30, 2013. BMC On Biology.
- “Study explores fetal alcohol impact at molecular level.” Medical Xpress. July 19, 2013.