Elucidating causal pathways bridging genotype and phenotype is one of the fundamental challenges for genetic and genomic research. Gene variants that control phenotypes are typically discovered by combined linkage analysis and molecular validation. However, these genotype-phenotype associations do not expose the underlying causal pathways through which gene variants operate on phenotypes. We are exploring genomic and computational approaches to uncover the causal pathways through which genetic loci influence phenotypes and predict the effects of genetic and transcriptional variations/interventions on gene expression and physiological/behavioral phenotypes of individuals with different genetic backgrounds. We believe research towards this direction will ultimately lead to the development of the computational methods that enable personalized predictive genetics and medicine.

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