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Molecular and Human Genetics

Houston, Texas

Department of Molecular and Human Genetics
Department of Molecular and Human Genetics
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Penelope E. Bonnen, Ph.D.

Penelope E. Bonnen, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics

Other Positions

Assistant Professor, Human Genome Sequencing Center; Program in Structural & Computational Biology, and Molecular Biophysics

Education

B.S., Texas A&M University, 1993
Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 2002
Postdoc, Rockefeller University, 2008

Professional Organizations

Member, American Society of Human Genetics

Research Interests

The intersection of genomics, population genetics, and disease

Our research objective is to understand how events in human history shape our genomic landscape and contribute to phenotypic diversity. Ever increasing amounts of sequence and SNP data have facilitated better characterization of the architecture of the human genome. Demographic and population genetic events, such as admixture, population bottleneck, and natural selection have left distinct signatures on our present day genomes. Characterization of these features of the genomic landscape is in its infancy. I seek to gain a better understanding of these features and exploit them to map loci that confer susceptibility to and protection from disease, particularly infectious and metabolic disease.

Infectious disease genetics: Host susceptibility and the genetics of pathogenicity

Occurrence of infectious disease is determined by a variety of factors that are contributed by both the host and the pathogen. Human genetic susceptibility to infectious disease is well-documented for some viral pathogens, like HIV, and is suspected for bacterial pathogens. Likewise, genetics plays a role in determining the virulence and disease specificity of bacterial pathogens. Our research program explores three foundational elements that are central to understanding the occurrence and spread of infectious disease: genetic contribution to host susceptibility, the genetic determinants of bacterial pathogenicity, and the role of commensal microbiota.

Utilizing population genetics to identify genes contributing to Metabolic Syndrome

The “Thrifty gene hypothesis” asserts that the ability to store energy may have been a selective advantage for human populations living through cycles of nutritional privation. It follows that this evolutionary adaptation could also confer susceptibility to obesity for these populations when no longer subjected to periods of privation. Pacific islanders are one such population who existed historically as hunter-gatherers, but who now have a Western diet and live a more sedentary life-style resulting in high rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension (Metabolic Syndrome). I study a population of individuals from the Pacific Island of Kosrae who suffer from high rates of metabolic disease. Projects include mitochondrial genetic contribution to metabolic disease, testing the “thrifty gene hypothesis” by examining the autosomal genome for signs of selection, GWAS for iron-overload genes, and utilizing mitochondria and Y chromosome markers to decipher the peopling of Micronesia.

Selected Publications

  1. Bonnen PE, Lowe JK, Altshuler DM, Breslow JL, Stoffel M, Friedman JM, Pe'er I (2009). European admixture on the Micronesian island of Kosrae: lessons from complete genetic information. Eur. J. Hum. Genet. [Epub ahead of print]
  2. Daniel A, Bonnen PE, Fischetti VA (2007). First complete genome sequence of two Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteriophages. J. Bacteriol. 189(5): 2086-100. [Pub Med]
  3. Bonnen PE, Pe'er I, Plenge RM, Salit J, Lowe JK, Shapero MH, Lifton RP, Breslow JL, Daly MJ, Reich DE, Jones KW, Stoffel M, Altshuler D, Friedman JM (2006). Evaluating potential for whole-genome studies in Kosrae, an isolated population in Micronesia. Nat. Genet. 38(2): 214-7. [Pub Med]
  4. Bonnen PE, Nelson DL (2004). SNPs and Functional Polymorphisms in Cancer. In Brenner C, Duggan DJ (Eds.) Oncogenomics: Molecular Approaches to Cancer. (pp. 57-75). Wiley Inc.
  5. Bonnen PE, Wang PJ, Kimmel M, Chakraborty R, Nelson DL (2002). Haplotype and linkage disequilibrium architecture for human cancer-associated genes. Genome Res. 12(12): 1846-53. [Pub Med]
  6. Bonnen PE, Story MD, Ashorn CL, Buchholz TA, Weil MM, Nelson DL (2000). Haplotypes at ATM identify coding-sequence variation and indicate a region of extensive linkage disequilibrium. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 67(6): 1437-51. [Pub Med]

More Publications (PubMed)

Contact Information

Penelope E. Bonnen, Ph.D.
Department of Molecular and Human Genetics
Baylor College of Medicine
One Baylor Plaza, N1419
Mail Stop: BCM226
Houston, TX, 77030, U.S.A.

Phone: 713-798-4256
Fax: 713-798-6977
E-mail:

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