Lisa F. Barcellos, PhD, MPH
- Director, Center for Computational Biology
- Director, Undergraduate Public Health Major Program
Biography
Lisa F. Barcellos is a Professor of Epidemiology, the Director of the Center for Computational Biology and the Director of Undergraduate Public Health Major Program. Lisa Barcellos received her PhD in Immunology (emphasis Immunogenetics)and MPH in Epidemiology from UC Berkeley. She trained as a postdoctoral fellow in genetic epidemiology at UC San Francisco. She is a genetic epidemiologist specializing in diseases of the immune system and is working to identify genetic factors that predispose people to autoimmune diseases and that modulate disease expression and clinical progression.
Most of her research to date has centered on multiple sclerosis (MS). She is collaborating with other scientists at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Southern California and UC San Francisco Department of Neurology. She and colleagues at UC San Francisco Department of Medicine are also leading studies focused on systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions.
In addition to genetics, genomics, and epigenetic studies, Barcellos is also investigating environmental exposures, such as smoking and obesity and maternal-child immunogenetic relationships for involvement in disease risk. “ I ’d say in the last ten years, it ’s become even more apparent that environment is playing a huge role in autoimmune diseases, as well as other common, complex disorders like diabetes, heart disease and mental illness,” she says. “Studies in genetic epidemiology need to incorporate that information.”
Research Interests
- Genetic epidemiology of complex diseases
- Identification of genetic and environmental risk factors for multiple sclerosis
- Genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and autoimmune disease
- Maternal-child histocompatibility and risk of autoimmune disease
- Epigenetic contributions to autoimmune disease risk
- Application of causal inference methods to autoimmune disease studies
Education
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PhD – Immunology
University of California, Berkeley -
MPH – Epidemiology
University of California, Berkeley
Publications
Courses Taught
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- Spring | PB HLTH 150A
- Introduction to Epidemiology and Human Disease
- Spring | PB HLTH 256
- Human Genome, Environment and Public Health
- Fall | PB HLTH 196
- Capstone Research Seminar for Undergraduates