Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

Education

Biomedical Engineering, BS

Johns Hopkins University, 2012-2016

Advisors: Brady Maher, PhD; Andrew Jaffe, PhD

Computational Biology

Carnegie Mellon University, 2019-2023 (expected)

Advisor: Andreas Pfenning, PhD

Medicine

University of Pittsburgh, 2017-2024 (expected)

Clinical interests: Anesthesia & Addiction

Research Experience

2014-2017 Lieber Institute for Brain Development (Ugrad)

At the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, I worked with scientists Brady Maher and Andrew Jaffe to apply bioinformatics and genomic data science to investigate transcriptomtic changes in a mouse model of developmental delay and intellectual disability, Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome (PTHS). I investigated PTHS and related syndromic and idiopathic autism spectrum disorder transcriptomics as an undergraduate and post-bac research assistant.

2019-2024 Carnegie Mellon University (Grad)

In the Neurogenomics lab and the Computational Biology PhD program at CMU, I worked with my thesis advisor Andreas Pfenning to investigate multiple levels of biology to understand the bases for addiction genetic risk. I applied integrative computational and experimental techniques using single cell transcriptomics and epigenomics of the reward neural circuit, comparative genomics in rodents, non-human primates, and postmortem human tissues. I used these data and models of gene regulatory mechanisms to inquire the cellular and epigenetic mechanisms for substance use disorders.

Talks

  1. Single cell multi-omics of the rhesus macaque striatum reveal regulatory mechanisms underlying the genetic basis of addiction”. NIDA Genetics and Epigenetics Cross-Cutting Research Conference, Virtual (5/11/2022).

  2. "What can bats, capybaras, and tree shrews tell us about the genetic basis of addiction?" NIDA Genetics and Epigenetics Cross-Cutting Research Conference, Virtual (5/11/2022). Presented by advisor, Andreas Pfenning

  3. "Addiction-associated genetic variants implicate cell type- and region-specific cis-regulatory elements in addiction neurobiology." NIDA Genetics and Epigenetics Cross-Cutting Research Conference, Virtual (1/11/2020). Presented by advisor, Andreas Pfenning

  4. Transcripts in GWAS gene-desert loci introduce new players into human health”. Three Rivers Evolution Event, Pittsburgh (9/22/18).

Poster Presentations

  1. J. He*, B.N. Phan*, M. Sedorovitz, O. Wirfel, W. Kerkhoff, S. Dauby, E. Ozturk, J. Chen, A.Z. Wang, A.C. Bostan, B.M. Hooks, L.C.T. Byrne, A.R. Pfenning, W.R. Stauffer. "Cell type-specific AAVs to target Reward and Cognition." Society for Neuroscience, San Diego (11/12/22-11/16/22)

  2. Phan BN, Lawler AJ*, Jing He*, Brown AR*, Kaplow IM, Kowalczyk A, Srinivasan C, Fox GA, Chen Z, Wirthlin ME, Zoonomia Consortium, Stauffer WR, Pfenning AR, “Fine-Mapping Candidate Neuropsychiatric Regulatory Variants Using Cell Type-Aware Comparative Genomics across Mammalian Genomes”. Neurobiology of Addiction Gordon Conference, Newry, ME (8/14/22-8/19/22).

  3. Tarfa RA, Morris JM, Anyaeche VI, Ekanem UO, Phan BN, Nance M, “Addressing the health disparities in Head and Neck Cancer among Black Americans: assessing perceptions and awareness of the disease”. AHNS 2022 Annual Meeting @ COSM, Austin, TX (4/27/22).

  4. Phan BN, Lawler AJ, He J, Kaplow IM, Schaffer D, Brown AR, Zoonomia Consortium, Stauffer WR, Pfenning AR, “Fine-Mapping Candidate Neuropsychiatric Regulatory Variants Using Cell Type-Aware Comparative Genomics across Mammalian Genomes”. Molecular Psychiatry Conference, Maui, HI (3/6/22).

  5. Phan BN, Lawler AJ, He J, Kaplow IM, Schaffer D, Brown AR, Zoonomia Consortium, Stauffer WR, Pfenning AR, “Fine-mapping candidate addiction-associated regulatory variants using cell type-aware comparative genomics across mammalian genomes”. Society for Neuroscience, Virtual (11/9/21).

  6. C Srinivasan*, Phan BN*, Lawler AJ, Ramamurthy E, Kleyman E, Brown AR, Kaplow IM, Wirthlin EM, Pfenning AR, “Addiction-associated genetic variants implicate brain cell type- and region-specific cis-regulatory elements in addiction neurobiology”. Society for Neuroscience, Virtual (11/9/21).

  7. Chen HY, Phan BN, Sripathy S, Hamersky GR, Bohlen J, Shim G, O’Donell T, Pfenning AR, Maher BJ, “The psychiatric risk gene Transcription Factor 4 (TCF4) regulates the density and connectivity of a specific subclass of inhibitory interneurons”. Society for Neuroscience, Virtual (11/10/21).

  8. Tarfa RA, Morris JM, Anyaeche VI, Ekanem UO, Phan BN, Nance M, “Head and Neck Cancer disparities among Black Americans in Pittsburgh: Understanding prevailing perceptions among the population”. AHNS Annual Meeting, Virtual (6/22/2021).

Awards & Honors

  • 2021-present F30 Pre-doctoral Fellowship, NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse (F30DA053020)

  • 2022 Student Service Award, CMU & Pitt Computational Biology PhD Program

  • 2022 Travel Award, Neurobiology of Addiction Gordon Conference

  • 2022 BGSA Travel Award, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

  • 2022 Young Investigator Travel Award, Molecular Psychiatry Annual Conference

  • 2021 Trainee Professional Development Award, Society for Neuroscience

  • 2021 Graduate Student Assembly/Provost Conference award, Carnegie Mellon University

  • 2021 One of best posters in Education/Care Delivery, American Head and Neck Society

  • 2020 BGSA Travel Award, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

  • 2018 Recognition of Excellence in Collaborative Learning, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

  • 2017 T32 Pre-doctoral Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (T32-GM8208)

  • 2016 David T. Yue Memorial Award “outstanding teaching or mentoring as an undergraduate teaching assistant”, JHU Department of Biomedical Engineering

  • 2016 Provost Undergraduate Research Award, Johns Hopkins University

  • 2015 Vredenburg Scholarship for study abroad at Oxford University, JHU School of Engineering

  • 2013 Technology Fellowship Grant for developing tutorial videos for undergraduate biomedical engineering students,
    JHU Center for Educational Resources

  • 2013 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for study abroad at the National University of Singapore, U.S. Department of State