Research Team

Simon Coetzee began his career performing bioinformatics analysis of genome-wide association studies data as part of the U19 GAME-ON consortium at University of Southern California. Since then, he has focused on the functional consequences of non-protein-coding risk regions within the context of many complex diseases. To this end, the Hazelett Laboratory has developed a software program called FunciSNP, which is an R/Bioconductor tool integrating functional noncoding datasets with genetic association studies to identify candidate regulatory SNPs (Coetzee et al., 2012). Coetzee has worked on analyzing and interpreting large genomic datasets, including next-generation sequencing from internal collaborations and downloading from public datasets such as 1,000 genomes, The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE), National Institutes of Health Epigenomics Roadmap and The Cancer Genome Atlas. At Cedars-Sinai, he is working with Benjamin Berman, PhD, and Dennis Hazelett, PhD, to develop automation tools for analysis and functional annotation of genetic variants from large genome and epigenome sequencing projects. Coetzee is also continuing development of novel algorithms for the analysis of gene regulatory sequences.

Brian Davis joined the Gayther Laboratory after working at the Molecular Genomics Core (MGC) at the University of Southern California (USC). At USC MGC, Brian oversaw library preparations to be run on Illumina’s Next-Generation Sequencing Systems, the NextSeq500 and MiSeq platforms. Along with sequencing, Brian is adept at single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping and gene and miRNA expression. He has experience with sample extractions and movement, using various liquid-handling Tecan robotics. Davis extracts and prepares all samples for the Gayther Lab’s ongoing transcriptome projects. He also oversees our epigenetic profiling (ChIPseq) projects, with the goal of establishing tissue ChIPseq for ovarian and breast cancer tumor analyses.

Nicole Gull earned her bachelor of science in biological sciences and psychology from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her previous research in the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute focused on the use of stem cells to gain insights into the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. Currently, as a graduate student in the Berman Laboratory, Gull is using next-generation sequencing methods to investigate epigenomic and genomic changes that can lead to dysregulation of cancer pathways.

Jasmine Plummer, PhD, completed her HonBSc in biology and chemistry at the University of Toronto, Canada, where she worked with J.J.B. Smith, PhD, on sensory circuitry. Plummer joined the Department of Physiology and BioPhysics at Dalhousie University (Halifax, Canada) in the laboratory of Roger Croll, PhD. She completed her master of science in neuroscience, specializing in comparative neurobiology and neurodevelopment. In her doctoral work, under the supervision of Joseph Culotti, PhD, at Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Plummer took a genetic approach to identifying new genes that regulate the development of the nervous system. She moved to the laboratory of Pat Levitt, PhD, at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for her postdoctoral work. Plummer’s postdoctoral fellowship focused on systems biology approaches to understanding genetic risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. As an Autism Speaks postdoctoral fellow, her research focused primarily on the discovery and function of gene regulatory networks involving autism risk genes. Her research also broadened to include and interrogate other neuropsychiatric disorder loci, including schizophrenia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. In 2016, Plummer joined the Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics to lead the Functional Genomics and GWAS team together with Simon Gayther, PhD.

Rosie Ramirez received her master’s degree in chemistry from California State University, Los Angeles, and has experience with molecular biology in both in vitro and in vivo systems. She joined the laboratory of Megan Hitchins, PhD, in January 2018.

Lissa Solares received her bachelor of science in psychology and obtained a master’s degree in management from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California. She had the opportunity to grow her skills in administration when she joined Smile Pediatrics in 2011 as an administrative assistant, ultimately becoming the assistant clinical director. Solares joined the Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics in summer 2017.