Samuel Smith, PhD, Brown University
Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Arbel Harpak Lab – University of Texas at Austin
ASHG: Can you describe the type of research that has your primary focus?
Samuel Smith: My research focuses on developing novel statistical frameworks and pipelines for analysis of human genomic data to better inform precision medicine. Broadly, I am interested in developing statistical methods that can be used to detect genotype-to-phenotype associations for common disease and clinical biomarkers.
ASHG: Throughout your life, what have been some of the biggest career goals that you have wanted to accomplish?
Samuel: My ultimate goal is to start my own group at a research institution where I can continue to pursue open questions in human genetics. More importantly, I want to become the best teacher and scientist that I can by pursuing opportunities for teaching and collaboration.
ASHG: What are some of the reasons you chose to study genetics instead of anything else?
Samuel: I chose genetics as a field of study due to its established importance to understanding human health and the innumerable opportunities that have emerged with the availability of genomic data. The question I set out to answer, what new insights gene-level association and network enrichment analyses offer to detect genotype-to-phenotype associations in multiple populations, was born of mutual interest between myself and my incredible advisor, Dr. Sohini Ramachandran.