Cellular and Animal Models in Human Genomics Research

Katherina Walz, Ph.D., Director for the Division for Models of Human Disease at the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, is a biologist interested in the molecular basis of human genetic conditions, with special emphasis in those that are related to brain function and altered behavioral outcomes. Her research is focused in the validation of the genetic cause, the definition of the phenotypic outcomes, and the elucidation of the molecular and physiological pathways related to human diseases. Dr. Walz is also an Research Associate Professor in the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, at the University of Miami Health System, University of Miami, Florida. Juan Young, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics and Co-Director of the Center for Molecular Genetics at the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Health System, University of Miami, Florida. Young is a neurobiologist interested in identifying epigenetic signatures of human genetic diseases and in establishing animal models of neurological diseases. He has a longstanding interest in neurodevelopmental disorders in general and in understanding the pathogenesis of Rett Syndrome. His work includes the identification of RNA-related functions of MeCP2, mutated in Rett Syndrome and the characterization of cellular and mouse models for this disease.