BCM Department of Molecular and Human Genetics

Congratulations to Dr. Megan Mair of the Botas lab on your successful dissertation! Megan’s dissertation was “Mining Centenarian Genes for Neuroprotection Against Alzheimer's Disease.” 🥳 #genetics #genomics #PhD

Excellent Prenatal Genetic Counselor: Sandra Darilek; Excellent Metabolic Dietician: Brandy Rawls-Castillo; Baylor Genetics Service Award: Xiaonan Zhao. Clinical Resident Awards: Amber Nakar Weinstein & Aaron Williams; Laboratory Fellow Award: Haowei Du; Congrats to all!

Excellent Metabolic Genetics Attending: Sanmati Rao Cuddapah; Excellent Reproductive Genetics Attending: April Adams; Excellent Genetics Educator: Lindsay Burrage; Excellent Adult Genetic Counselor: Darwin F. Arguenta; Excellent Pediatric Genetic Counselor: Emily Magness Bland;

Integrative spatial omics reveals distinct tumor-promoting multicellular niches and immunosuppressive mechanisms in Black American and White American patients with TNBC - PubMed Racial disparities in the clinical outcomes of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have been well-documented, but the underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. To investigate these disparities, we employed a multi-omic approach integrating imaging mass cytometry and spatial transcr …

Best Papers for Calendar Year 2025
Qian Zhu (Open) “Integrative spatial omics reveals distinct tumor-promoting multicellular niches and immunosuppressive mechanisms in Black American and White American patients with TNBC” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40675986/

MeCP2 interacts with the super elongation complex to regulate transcription - PubMed Loss-of-function mutations in methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (<i>MECP2</i>) cause Rett syndrome. While we know that MeCP2 binds to methylated cytosines on DNA, the full breadth of the molecular mechanisms by which MeCP2 regulates gene expression remains incompletely understood. Here, using a genetic m …

Best Papers for Calendar Year 2025
Jun Young Sonn (Postdoc fellow) “MeCP2 interacts with the super elongation complex to regulate transcription”
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41296873/

Adeno-associated Virus-mediated Silencing of Sox4 Leads to Long-Term Amelioration of Liver Phenotypes in Mouse Models of Alagille Syndrome - PubMed Preclinical studies provide proof of principle for postnatal AAV-mediated Sox4 knockdown in thyroxine-binding globulin⁺ cells as a therapeutic approach for ALGS liver disease.

Best Papers for Calendar Year 2025
Duncan Fox (Graduate Student) “Adeno-associated Virus-mediated Silencing of Sox4 Leads to Long-Term Amelioration of Liver Phenotypes in Mouse Models of Alagille Syndrome”
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40446945/

Best Talks
3rd: Emily Busse “A novel mouse model of osteogenesis imperfecta type V”

More 2026 Department Retreat Awards
Best Talks
1st: Gwynna Fuller “How did mechanosensory hair cells evolve?” 2nd: Andrea Rauschmayer “The decision to fission: regulation of asexual reproduction in Schmidtea mediterranea”...

Dr. S. Yamamoto recognized with International Honor for Groundbreaking #RareDisease Discovery. @bcmhouston.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social #TexasChildrens #NISTEP texaschildrens.org/content/news...

Partners in crime – genes ATP13A2 and GBA1 interact to drive neurodegeneration The findings reveal promising biological pathways that could be explored in future therapies.

Why some people with #geneticRisk factors develop #ParkinsonsDisease while others never do? M Gu, H Bellen et al have found an explanation. @bcmhouston.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social #TexasChildrens @molneurodegen.bsky.social #BCMPostDoc blogs.bcm.edu/2026/02/12/f...

Join us Wed Feb. 18 @ 12 p.m. CST for the next Genetics Education Webinar: Updates in Angelman Syndrome: From Testing to Treatment w/ Dr. Carlos Bacino of @bcmgenetics.bsky.social & Laura Buckner, M.Ed., LPC, Program Manager, Texas Center for Disability Studies at UT Austin Register: bit.ly/4rk4bH2

Congratulations to our 2025 @bcmgenetics.bsky.social Clinical Faculty Award Winner for Excellent Research Mentor, Dr. Fernando Scaglia!

Genetic Duo: ATP13A2 and GBA1 Interactions Fuel Neurodegeneration Parkinson’s disease (PD) ranks as the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder following Alzheimer’s disease, impacting more than 10 million individuals globally. The condition manifests thr

Genetic Duo: #ATP13A2 and #GBA1 Interactions Fuel #Neurodegeneration. M. Gu and H Bellen explain their findings. @bcmhouston.bsky.social #TexasChildrens
@molneurodegen.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social #BCMPostDoc bioengineer.org/genetic-duo-...

Dr. Bo Yuan, @bcmhouston.bsky.social @bcmhgsc.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social, received the 2026 Dr. Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award from the ACMG Foundation for the discovery and characterization of multiple novel genetic disorders. tinyurl.com/yh7fyefs

‘Sticky coat’ boosts triple negative #breastCancer’s ability to metastasize www.eurekalert.org/news-release... #CChengLab, G Bobkov, K Patel et al @natcomms.nature.com @bcmhouston.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social #BCMCancerCenter #BCMpostdoc #Cellclusters

Researchers #LabShulman et al uncovered how #SPTSSB gene variant triggers a process that can lead to #ParkinsonsDisease. #lipids @bcmhouston.bsky.social #TexasChildrens #BrainJournal @oxunipress.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social @bcmneurosci.bsky.social medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02...

O’Donnell Awardee in Medicine, Dr. Pengfei Liu with family, Dr. Arthur Beaudet (right) & Dr. Brendan Lee (left) at the 20th Anniversary Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards Dinner & Ceremony, held on Feb. 3, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas during the @TAMESTX 2026 Annual Conference.

It takes two: Genes ATP13A2 and GBA1 interact to drive neurodegeneration Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease, affecting more than 10 million people worldwide. People with this condition may experience tremo...

How do two altered genes, #ATP13A2 and #GBA1, in two different cell types lead to neurodegeneration? M. Gu and H Bellen explain their findings. @bcmhouston.bsky.social #TexasChildrens @molneurodegen.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social #BCMPostDoc medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02...

It takes two: #genes ATP13A2 and GBA1 interact to drive #neurodegeneration eurekalert.org/news-release... Mingxue Gu, Jinghan Zhao, Mingxi Deng,
J. Shulman, H. Bellen et al @bcmhouston.bsky.social @#TexasChildrens #Parkinsons @molneurodegen.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social #BCMPostdoc

New cell markers to track the most aggressive breast cancer in blood Tumor cells that were frequently undetectable using standard markers became clearly visible when the team applied the new marker combination.

C. Cheng et al have found a way to track the most aggressive #BreastCancer in blood. #TNBC @theaacr.bsky.social @bcmhouston.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social #BCMCancerCenter blogs.bcm.edu/2026/01/29/f...

Congratulations to two of our 2025 @bcmgenetics.bsky.social
Clinical Faculty Award Winners! Chaya Murali (Excellent Pediatric Genetics Attending) and Mir Reza Bekheirnia (Excellent Adult Genetics Attending). Chaya and Reza were selected to receive awards by our clinical residents.

Three Texas Children’s Faculty Earn National Leadership Honors | Texas Children's

Congratulations to Lauren Desrosiers-Battu, M,S., C.G.C. who has been named Co-Chair of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) Pediatric Cancer Subcommittee! She will be serving a two-year term starting January 2026.
www.texaschildrens.org/content/heal...

Congratulations, Dr. P. Liu, one of TAMEST Texas’ rising stars being honored with the 2026 O'Donnell Awards! @bcmhouston.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social Learn more here: tamest.org/odonnell-awa...

Congratulations, Dr. Susan Rosenberg, recipient of the #TAMESTX 2026 High-risk, High Impact Hill Prize in Biological Sciences! @bcmhouston.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social blogs.bcm.edu/2026/01/20/f...

Check out the new paper from Dr. B Arenkiel's lab revealing that certain neurons transform sensory input into motivational stimuli. @bcmhouston.bsky.social #TCHResearchNews @bcmgenetics.bsky.social @bcmneurosci.bsky.social @natcomms.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Fruit fly pigmentation helps researchers discover genes that control brain dopamine and sleep The findings offer new possibilities to restore in people disruptions in dopamine that have been associated with disorders such as addiction, depression, sleep disorders and schizophrenia.

#FruitFly pigmentation helps researchers discover genes that control brain #dopamine and #sleep. Dr. S. Yamamoto explains the findings. @bcmhouston.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social #BCMNeuroscience #DuncanNRI @cp-iscience.bsky.social blogs.bcm.edu/2026/01/22/f...

Congratulations to Dr. Hongjie Li who was named one of the Hevolution Foundation / American Federation for Aging Research New Investigator Awardees in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research!
www.afar.org/news/announc...

Congratulations to Dr. Susan Rosenberg who has been named the recipient of the 2026 Hill Prize in Biological Sciences from The Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology! tamest.org/news/2026-hi...

Join us Wed Jan. 21 @ 12 p.m. CST for the next Genetics Education Webinar: Fragile X & Autism‑Associated Genetic Conditions with Dr. Holly Harris and Laura Buckner, M.Ed., LPC
Register: bit.ly/3Y7JRft

Finding new cell markers to track the most aggressive breast cancer in blood Of all the types of breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive and lacks specific therapies. TNBC also is more likely to...

Finding new cell markers to #track the most #aggressive #BreastCancer in blood #CChengLab et al #CRC_AACR @bcmhouston.bsky.social @bcmgenetics.bsky.social #BCMCancerCenter www.bcm.edu/news/finding...