Chris Benner

About

Christopher Benner is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego. He holds a PhD in Bioinformatics and a BS in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Benner is a bioinformatics and genomics scientist whose research focuses on understanding how cells decode regulatory DNA to orchestrate transcriptional responses. His laboratory develops computational and experimental technologies to study transcription regulation, analyzing the influence of regulatory DNA, epigenetics, and 3D genome structure on gene expression. His work involves profiling transcription initiation using methods such as csRNA-seq and TSS-MPRA, which provide high-resolution measurements of regulatory element activity. These approaches are used to model transcriptional network responses to inflammatory stimuli and pathological conditions, as well as to investigate the impact of non-coding genetic variation. Dr. Benner's lab collaborates on studies related to viral host-pathogen interactions, cellular development, chronic inflammatory diseases, and substance abuse. Additionally, he contributes to the development of genomics software tools like HOMER and Metascape, which aid the scientific community in interpreting genomics data.

Research topics

• Biology
• Internal medicine
• Virology
• Medicine
• Cell biology
• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Computational biology
• Political Science
• Immunology

Selected publications

• Discovery of SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drugs through large-scale compound repurposing

  Nature · 2020 · 855 citations

  and the cysteine protease inhibitors MDL-28170, Z LVG CHN2, VBY-825 and ONO 5334. Notably, MDL-28170, ONO 5334 and apilimod were found to antagonize viral replication in human pneumocyte-like cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, and apilimod also demonstrated antiviral efficacy in a primary human lung explant model. Since most of the molecules identified in this study have already advanced into the clinic, their known pharmacological and human safety profiles will enable accelerate…

  DOI

• Functional landscape of SARS-CoV-2 cellular restriction

  Molecular Cell · 2021 · 227 citations

  DOI

• Identification of Lineage-Specific Transcription Factors That Prevent Activation of Hepatic Stellate Cells and Promote Fibrosis Resolution

  Gastroenterology · 2020 · 192 citations

  DOI

• TOP1 inhibition therapy protects against SARS-CoV-2-induced lethal inflammation

  Cell · 2021 · 121 citations

  DOI

• Influenza virus repurposes the antiviral protein IFIT2 to promote translation of viral mRNAs

  Nature Microbiology · 2020 · 87 citations

  DOI

Recent grants

• Decoding regulatory functions of genetic variants associated with substance use disorders

  NIH · $435k · 2022–2024

• Uncovering how transcription and chromatin 3D structure impact one another during cellular activation

  NIH · $1.7M · 2019–2024

• NIH Grant U19AI106754

  NIH · $42.3M · 2018

Frequent coauthors

• Christopher K. Glass

  University of California, San Diego

  52 shared

• Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte

  Altos Labs

  49 shared

• Amanda Schoonover

  Center for Children

  47 shared

• Sven Heinz

  University of California, San Diego

  47 shared

• Tomoaki Hishida

  Wakayama Medical University

  43 shared

• Max W. Chang

  38 shared

• Ignacio Sancho‐Martinez

  37 shared

• Concepción Rodrı́guez Esteban

  Altos Labs

  35 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Environmental Science

  University of California, San Diego

  2002

• M.S., Environmental Science

  University of California, San Diego

  1998

• B.A., Environmental Studies

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  1995

Similar researchers at University of California, San Diego

• Michael (Geoff) Rosenfeldh-224
• Joseph Witztumh-181
• Alan Saltielh-112