Pardis Sabeti
Encyclopedia
Pardis C. Sabeti is an Iranian American computational biologist, medical geneticist
and evolutionary geneticist
, who developed a bioinformatic statistical method which identifies sections of the genome
that have been subject to natural selection and an algorithm which explains the effects of genetics on the evolution of disease.
Sabeti is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Systems Biology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and on the faculty of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard School of Public Health
at Harvard University
and is a Senior Associate Member of the Broad Institute
.
, Iran
. Sabeti studied biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1997 where she was a Teaching Assistant and the Class President, and was then a Rhodes Scholar in Biological Anthropology and Evolutionary Genetics at University of Oxford
and completed her Doctorate
in 2002, and graduated summa cum laude with a Doctor of Medicine
from Harvard Medical School
in 2006. She has received a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences.
Sabeti is also the lead singer and bass player of the rock band Thousand Days.
Her father is Parviz Sabeti a SAVAK official under the Shah's regime and currently living in Florida.
at the Broad Institute
, Sabeti modified a family of previously developed statistical tests for positive selection
that look for common genetic variants found on unusually long haplotypes. Her test, known as the cross population extended haplotype homozygosity test, or XP-EHH, was designed to detect advantageous mutations whose frequency in human populations has risen rapidly over the last 10,000 years.
The XP-EHH test, in combination with existing methods, recovered several known targets of recent natural selection, and suggested several novel targets. She also identified two variants in the genes LARGE and DMD, known to be involved in infection by Lassa fever, that show strong signals of natural selection in West Africans.
Medical genetics
Medical genetics is the specialty of medicine that involves the diagnosis and management of hereditary disorders. Medical genetics differs from Human genetics in that human genetics is a field of scientific research that may or may not apply to medicine, but medical genetics refers to the...
and evolutionary geneticist
Evolutionary genetics
Evolutionary genetics is the broad field of studies that attempts to account for evolution in terms of changes in gene and genotype frequencies within populations and the processes that convert the variation with populations into more or less permanent variation between species...
, who developed a bioinformatic statistical method which identifies sections of the genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
that have been subject to natural selection and an algorithm which explains the effects of genetics on the evolution of disease.
Sabeti is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Systems Biology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and on the faculty of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and is a Senior Associate Member of the Broad Institute
Broad Institute
The Broad Institute is a genomic medicine research center located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Although it is independently governed and supported as a 501 nonprofit research organization, the institute is formally affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard...
.
Biography
Sabeti was born in 1975 in TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Sabeti studied biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1997 where she was a Teaching Assistant and the Class President, and was then a Rhodes Scholar in Biological Anthropology and Evolutionary Genetics at University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and completed her Doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 2002, and graduated summa cum laude with a Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
in 2006. She has received a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences.
Sabeti is also the lead singer and bass player of the rock band Thousand Days.
Her father is Parviz Sabeti a SAVAK official under the Shah's regime and currently living in Florida.
Research
As a postdoctoral fellow with Eric LanderEric Lander
Eric Steven Lander is a Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , a member of the Whitehead Institute, and director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard who has devoted his career toward realizing the promise of the human genome for medicine. He is co-chair of U.S...
at the Broad Institute
Broad Institute
The Broad Institute is a genomic medicine research center located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Although it is independently governed and supported as a 501 nonprofit research organization, the institute is formally affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard...
, Sabeti modified a family of previously developed statistical tests for positive selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
that look for common genetic variants found on unusually long haplotypes. Her test, known as the cross population extended haplotype homozygosity test, or XP-EHH, was designed to detect advantageous mutations whose frequency in human populations has risen rapidly over the last 10,000 years.
The XP-EHH test, in combination with existing methods, recovered several known targets of recent natural selection, and suggested several novel targets. She also identified two variants in the genes LARGE and DMD, known to be involved in infection by Lassa fever, that show strong signals of natural selection in West Africans.
External links
- “Profile: Pardis Sabeti” on NOVA: Science Now, 2008 June
- Science meets MTV: Broad Institute geneticist and rock singer Pardis Sabeti merges lab culture with pop culture (Nature Network Boston, 2007 July 31)
- Thousand Days Photos (2007 May 10)
- Genetic Road Map Drawn for Tracing Route To Common Diseases
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/video/0302/w04-350.html
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund Annual Report Profile