Chad L. Myers

About

Chad L. Myers is a Professor, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, and Associate Department Head at the University of Minnesota's Department of Computer Science & Engineering. He joined the department in 2008 and was promoted to full professor in 2019. His educational background includes a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Princeton University and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Southern Methodist University. Myers' research focuses on machine learning approaches for integrating diverse genomic data to make inferences about biological networks, with the main goal of furthering understanding of gene function and how genes or proteins interact to carry out cellular processes. He serves as Co-Director of Graduate Studies for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and has received several awards, including the 2024 Award for Outstanding Contributions to Postbaccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional Education, the 2024 Distinguished McKnight Professorship, the George W. Taylor Career Development Award, the McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, and the NSF CAREER Award. His research involves analyzing genetic interactions, gene function, and cellular processes, leveraging advanced computational methods such as CRISPR technology and AI to improve disease prediction and understand biological resilience. Myers has contributed significantly to the field through his research, teaching, and leadership within the university.

Research topics

• Biology
• Computational biology
• Genetics
• Cell biology
• Biochemistry
• Evolutionary biology

Selected publications

• The Parkinson’s disease protein alpha-synuclein is a modulator of processing bodies and mRNA stability

  Cell · 2022 · 162 citations

  DOI

• Genetic interaction mapping and exon-resolution functional genomics with a hybrid Cas9–Cas12a platform

  Nature Biotechnology · 2020 · 149 citations

  DOI

• Exploring whole-genome duplicate gene retention with complex genetic interaction analysis

  Science · 2020 · 124 citations

  Whole-genome duplication has played a central role in the genome evolution of many organisms, including the human genome. Most duplicated genes are eliminated, and factors that influence the retention of persisting duplicates remain poorly understood. We describe a systematic complex genetic interaction analysis with yeast paralogs derived from the whole-genome duplication event. Mapping of digenic interactions for a deletion mutant of each paralog, and of trigenic interactions for the double mu…

  DOI

• EXO1 resection at G-quadruplex structures facilitates resolution and replication

  Nucleic Acids Research · 2020 · 37 citations

  G-quadruplexes represent unique roadblocks to DNA replication, which tends to stall at these secondary structures. Although G-quadruplexes can be found throughout the genome, telomeres, due to their G-richness, are particularly predisposed to forming these structures and thus represent difficult-to-replicate regions. Here, we demonstrate that exonuclease 1 (EXO1) plays a key role in the resolution of, and replication through, telomeric G-quadruplexes. When replication forks encounter G-quadruple…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The TSC22D, WNK, and NRBP gene families exhibit functional buffering and evolved with Metazoa for cell volume regulation

  Cell Reports · 2024-07-01 · 17 citations

  articleOpen access

  The ability to sense and respond to osmotic fluctuations is critical for the maintenance of cellular integrity. We used gene co-essentiality analysis to identify an unappreciated relationship between TSC22D2, WNK1, and NRBP1 in regulating cell volume homeostasis. All of these genes have paralogs and are functionally buffered for osmo-sensing and cell volume control. Within seconds of hyperosmotic stress, TSC22D, WNK, and NRBP family members physically associate into biomolecular condensates, a p…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Mapping dynamic functional networks across environments and backgrounds

  NIH · $7.6M · 2010–2026

• Large-scale mapping of genetic interactions across diverse cell types

  NSF · $850k · 2018–2023

• Computational Methods for Mapping Genetic Interactions in Human Cells

  NIH · $274k · 2010–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Charles Boone

  University of Toronto

  194 shared

• Raamesh Deshpande

  130 shared

• Jeff S. Piotrowski

  Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center

  125 shared

• Michael Costanzo

  University of Toronto

  116 shared

• Brenda Andrews

  Donnelly College

  87 shared

• Maximilian Billmann

  University of Bonn

  83 shared

• Minoru Yoshida

  64 shared

• Justin Nelson

  53 shared

Labs

• Myers LabPI

Education

• PhD

  Princeton University

  2007

Awards & honors

• Award for Outstanding Contributions to Postbaccalaureate, Gr…
• Distinguished McKnight Professorship (2024)
• George W. Taylor Career Development Award (2013)
• McKnight Land-Grant Professorship (2011)
• National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development…

Similar researchers at University of Minnesota

• Dan Knightsh-97
• Yousef Saadh-81
• Joseph Konstanh-74