Christa Caggiano, Computational Geneticist

Hi! I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Genomic Health at Mount Sinai, working with Eimear Kenny. Previously, I completed my PhD in bioinformatics at UCLA, advised by Noah Zaitlen. I have my bachelor’s degree in biological physics and art history from Brandeis University, where I worked in the Rosbash Lab on the transcriptional accessibility of circadian genes.

I build statistical and computational methods for human genetics, with a focus on implementing genomic medicine and making it work for diverse populations. My work spans population and medical genomics, epigenetics, and the ethics of how we describe and study human diversity. I care about health justice and the equitable application of biomedical discoveries to all people, and I try to bring that commitment to both the methods I develop and the questions I choose to ask.

Currently, my research focuses on studying founder populations in biobanks and how they can better help us understand genetic disease risk broadly. I am also interested in how to responsibly translate what we learn in biobanks into clinical care. My previous work focused on ancestrally diverse groups in Los Angeles and understanding genetic and non-genetic risk for disease. My PhD work also focused on developing cell-free DNA and methylation methods to find non-invasive biomarkers of disease, including CelFiE. If you think we might have shared interests feel free to send me an email!

Outside of science, I like art and design. My favorite museums include the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Leeum Museum in Seoul, and the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.