T. J. Pemberton

Biography

Trevor received his undergraduate training in molecular genetics at the University of Sussex. He also earned his D.Phil. in biochemistry from the University of Sussex in 2005, where, under the mentorship of Dr. John Kay, he identified and characterized the repertoire of cyclophilin genes, the targets of the immunosuppressant drugs Cyclosporin A and Sanglifehrin A, in the then partially annotated genome of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In his postdoctoral training under the mentorship of Drs. Pragna Patel (University of Southern California), Frank Haluska (Tufts-New England Medical Center), and Noah Rosenberg (Stanford University), Trevor focused on various aspects of human genetics that included understanding the genetic etiology of Mendelian and complex traits, how population history and cultural factors influence patterns of human genetic variation — particularly in the population of India — and the ways in which these patterns can be harnessed to advance the discovery of genes that underlie disease. In February 2013, Trevor joined the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba.

Research Interest

Research in the lab is focused on understanding the genetic etiology of Mendelian and complex traits, how human population history and cultural practices influence patterns of genetic variation, and the ways in which these patterns can be harnessed to advance the discovery of genes that underlie human disease. In our investigations, we employ high-throughput genotyping and next-generation sequencing to interrogate genomes in combination with utilizing and developing novel bioinformatics and statistical genetics tools. We are more broadly interested in understanding how the geographic distribution of human genetic variation relates to the susceptibility of different populations to disease, and ultimately how this variation in disease susceptibility reflects the evolutionary history of human populations. Our efforts will provide a foundation for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies that will help reduce the disease-burden of diverse populations.