School of Medicine

Chindo Hicks, Ph.D., Professor, Director

Research Focus:
Bioinformatics and computational genomics
Multiplatform and multiscale (Big) data analysis and integration
Genomics and epigenomics of common human diseases
Pathway prediction and modeling gene regulatory networks
Data Science and Big Data
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
Technology development and deployment

Phone: 504-568-2657
e-mail: chick3@lsuhsc.edu

Duaa Mohammad Alawad, Ph.D.
Sr. Bioinformatics Analyst, Department of Genetics

Research Focus:
Bioinformatics and computational genomics
Bioinformatics algorithms
Data analysis and visualization
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

Phone: 504-568-2274
e-mail: dalaw2@lsuhsc.edu

Aditi Sharma Kuchi, M.S.
Bioinformatics Analyst, Department of Genetics

Research Focus:
Bioinformatics and computational genomics
Developing pipelines for NGS projects
Data analysis and visualization
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

e-mail: akuchi@lsuhsc.edu

David Otohinoyi, PhD Student
Bioinformatics Analyst, Department of Genetics

Research Focus:
Bioinformatics and computational genomics
Deciphering the Genomic and Epigenomic Basis of Triple Negative
Breast Cancer by Integrating Bulk and Single-cell Omics Dat

e-mail: mailto:dotohi@lsuhsc.edu

Mia K. Hyde, MBA, Assistant Manager,
Department of Genetics

Responsibilities:
Management of BIG program budget
Management of business operations
Grant Administration (Pre and Post Award)

Phone: 504-568-7793
e-mail: mhyde1@lsuhsc.edu

Kirsten E. Bruno, BS, Coordinator,
Department of Genetics

Responsibilities:
Communication-Business operation
Program Coordinator

Phone: 504-568-6150
e-mail: kbrun5@lsuhsc.edu

Lucio Miele, MD, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Genetics
Assistant Dean-Translational Sciences

Research Focus:
Biomedical informatics strategies for integrating omics with electronic health records.
Molecular basis of health disparities in triple-negative breast cancer.
Functional characterization of the genetic circuitry mediating the Notch signaling pathway in human tumors.
Clinical trials using genomic biomarkers as correlative endpoints.
Phone: 504-568-8088
E-mail: lmiele@lsuhsc.edu

Diptasri Mandal, Ph.D.
Professor of Genetics, Department of Genetics

Research Focus:
Dr. Mandal's research focus includes the investigation of the role of genetic loci in susceptibility to complex diseases, in particular, familial prostate cancer and lung cancer. She has expertise in genetic and molecular epidemiology and implements the strategies of linkage analysis, sequencing, and copy number variation analysis in identifying the genetic variants responsible for increased susceptibility to complex diseases.
Phone: 504-568-6156
E-mail: dmanda@lsuhsc.edu

Andrew D. Hollenbach, Ph.D.
Professor of Genetics, Department of Genetics

Research Focus:
Understanding the role of an oncogenic fusion protein, PAX3-FOXO1 in the development of the childhood solid muscle tumor Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma.
Large-scale comparative genomics analyses to determine how the oncogene globally alters mRNA and miRNA expression to promote known tumor phenotypes of aneuploidy, chromosomal structure, proliferation and invasion.
Genomic analysis, biomarkers and target discovery for Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma
Phone: 504-568-2431
E-mail: aholle@lsuhsc.edu

Hui-Yi Lin, Ph.D.
Professor of Biostatistics, School of Public Health

Research Focus:
Modeling gene-gene and gene-environmental interactions.
Development of Methods for genome-wide association studies.
Statistical Genetics and Computational Genomics for analysis of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), gene expression and methylation data.
Modeling SNP-SNP interactions.
Phone: 504-568-6083
Email: hlin1@lsuhsc.edu

Fern Tsien, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Genetics, Department of Genetics
Assistant Dean, Students Research, School of Medicine

Research Focus:
Clinical genetics: Chromatin instability in disorders that affect the Louisiana Acadian population and genomics of auditory/communication disorders
Health science education and introduction of research careers to underrepresented minorities in the sciences. Phone: 504-568-2080
Email: fmille@lsuhsc.edu

Donald E. Mercante, PhD
Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
School of Public Health

Research Focus:
Development of biostatistics methods for clinical Trials
Development of biostatistics methods for analysis of epidemiological data
Linear Models, Permutation Tests
Providing statistical expertise and leadership to large multi-disciplinary research studies.

Christopher M. Taylor, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Parasitology

Research Focus:
Computational biology and analysis of genomic sequencing data.
Characterizing the composition of bacterial, viral and fungal communities and modeling their interaction with the host to understand their influence on behavior and disease states.
Gut Microbiome analysis and functional characterization
Phone: 504-568-406
E-mail: ctay15@lsuhsc.edu

Tarun Mamidi, M.S.
Bioinformatics Analyst, Department of Genetics

Research
Bioinformatics and computational genomics
Developing pipelines for NGS projects
Data analysis and visualization

Gene Blanchard, B.S.
IT Analyst (Taylor Lab)
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology

Research
Current research focuses on the interactions of microbial communities and the development of new software for analysis and profiling of community structure.

Phone: 504-568-2215 
E-mail: eblan2@lsuhsc.edu