Integrative Analysis Core (IAC)

The Integrated Analysis Core (IAC) supports and promotes integrated analyses across the 5 Longevity Consortium (LC) projects using both available and novel resources and data analysis methods. The specific aims of the LC IAC are: Aim 1. Develop connections, collaborations, and infrastructure to access data from different sources to address the aims of the 5 projects. Also, develop strategies to integrate external data from public databases and repositories, as well as pursue validation studies on findings emerging from the external studies; Aim 2. Develop and apply methods for harmonizing data when needed, accommodating heterogeneous data sets when harmonization is impossible, and dealing with the analysis of complexities associated with large, diverse data sets; Aim 3. Develop and apply systems biology and result triangulation methods, including analyzing multiple analytes simultaneously, orthology assessment of, e.g., genes found in non-human studies, and network, pathway enrichment and multivariate analyses; Aim 4. Develop strategies for leveraging genetics and genomics data for, e.g., identifying individuals as less risk for disease, testing specific hypotheses about causal relationships among phenotypes via, e.g., Mendelian Randomization (MR) studies, enabling cross population comparisons via individual ancestry assignments, orthology determination for cross species inferences, and haplotyping and phasing to accommodate deeper molecular genetic characterization of genetic associations; and Aim 5. Coordinate and support a broad translational workflow leading from the identification of longevity-associated factors to drug targets and clinically meaningful biomarkers to aid in the identification and characterization of potential health-promoting products.

Thomas Girke, Ph.D.

UC Riverside

Thomas Girke is a Professor of Bioinformatics at the Institute for Integrative Genome Biology at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). He holds positions as Director of the High-Performance Computing Center (HPCC) and Director of the Graduate Program in Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics (GGB). His research interests are in the areas of cheminformatics and bioinformatics, with a focus on both discovery and methodology development.

[email protected]

Stefano Monti, Ph.D.

Boston University

Stefano Monti, PhD is a Professor of Medicine, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics at Boston University. His research integrates systems biology, machine learning, and bioinformatics to investigate the molecular drivers of human disease through the generation and analysis of high-throughput multi-omics data, with the goals of advancing prevention and care. Areas of research include the study of the biological factors contributing to healthy aging and extreme longevity, and the study of age-associated mechanisms of tumor initiation and progression.

[email protected]

Noa Rappaport, Ph.D.

Institute for Systems Biology

Noa Rappaport, PhD is a Research Associate Professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Chief Data Officer at Phenome Health, and Principal Scientist at the Institute for Systems Biology. She leads research in computational biology and multi-omic analysis, using and developing methods to study complex biological systems exploring aging biology, Alzheimer’s disease, and metabolic health through multi-omic data integration.

[email protected]

Nicholas J. Schork, Ph.D.

TGen

Dr. Nicholas J. Schork is a Distinguished Professor at The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), a part of the City of Hope (COH) National Medical Center, and co-director of the Clinical Genomics and Therapeutics division. He also holds appointments at COH, UCSD, Scripps Research, and SJHC. His interests are in quantitative aspects of human biomedical research, including systems biology and the design and analysis of precision-medicine era clinical trials.

[email protected]

Paola Sebastiani, Ph.D.

Tufts Medicine

Paola Sebastiani, PhD, is director of the Center on Quantitative Methods and Data Science and co-director of the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies. She is also director of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design Center, Tufts CTSI, and Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Sebastiani is a multidisciplinary biostatistician, with a track record of innovations in Bayesian statistics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. In addition to leading the centenarian project, she is multiple PI of the Integrative longevity Omics and of the Long Life Family Study.

Other Key Personnel

Oliver Fiehn, Ph.D.

Jodi A. Lapidus, Ph.D.