Positions
- Associate Professor
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HGSC:Faculty-General/Basic
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US
- Associate Professor
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Molecular and Human Genetics
Baylor College of Medicine
- Core Scientist
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Wisconsin National Primate Research Center
Madison, United States
- Faculty Senator
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Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States
- Faculty Member
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Graduate Program in Genetics & Genomics
Baylor College of Medicine
- Faculty Member
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Graduate Program in Development, Disease Models & Therapeutics
Baylor College of Medicine
Education
- BA from Northwestern University
- 01/1978 - Evanston, Illinois United States
- PhD from Yale University
- 01/1989 - New Haven, CT United States
- Anthropology
Professional Interests
- Primate models of human disease, especially psychiatric disorders, comparative primate genomics and evolutionary genetics
Professional Statement
My research is focused on the genetics and genomics of nonhuman primates. These species are widely used as animal models of disease because they are so similar genetically and physiologically to humans. For studies of neurobiology and behavior, infectious diseases, metabolic diseases and other common health problems, nonhuman primates provide unique and valuable experimental models. As the analysis of genetic mechanisms has become central to so much of both biomedical and basic biological research, detailed information about the genomics of nonhuman primates has become more important and more useful.My laboratory is working on various aspects of primate genomics, including both basic comparative analyses and targeted research using primate models of human disease. I am one of the three co-leaders of the Primate Conservation and Sequencing Initiative. This is an international consortium of primatologists, evolutionary biologists, geneticists, and experts in genome analysis including computational biologists and bioinformaticians. Our team includes people from 17 countries and is growing. Together we are conducting the largest survey to date of genomic diversity across primates. In Phase One of this project (Kuderna et al. 2023; Gao et al. 2023) we published analyses of deep whole genome sequences from 809 individuals representing 233 primate species, most of which are threatened with extinction. We are now continuing with Phase Two, expanding our studies to more species. This work has documented an unexpectedly high level of genetic variation within primate species, higher than the levels found in human populations. We are also investigating various other aspects of primate genetics and evolutionary biology (Kuderna et al. 2023). The same comparative data have also been shown to provide new insights into the genetics of disease in humans. Gao et al. (2023) showed that information about the composition of genetic variation in nonhuman primates is remarkably valuable in predicting which mutations in the human genome will cause disease and which are benign. Our program also includes a broad survey of population genomics across six species of Papio baboons in which we identified several new locations of between-species hybridization and gene flow (Sorensen et al. 2023). These studies add to our understanding of primate speciation as well as providing a model of gene flow between humans and Neanderthals.
In a separate project, we are conducting an extensive survey of genomic variation in the most widely studied nonhuman primate in biomedical research, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). By sequencing the genomes or exomes of >2,000 rhesus macaques from various US research colonies we found hundreds of thousands of functionally significant genetic variants that can be used to examine the effects of specific genes on various disease-related phenotypes (Warren et al. 2020). Information regarding genetic variation, including changes in protein-coding sequences and putative regulatory sequences, in combination with other genomic data, makes all these primate species more useful for future biomedical research projects.
The third major line of research in my laboratory is the targeted analysis of specific nonhuman primate models of human genetic diseases. In collaboration with psychiatrists and neurobiologists, we have studied individual variation in behavior and neurophysiology among macaques and baboons (Rogers, 2018; Fox et al. 2021). The complex social behavior displayed by primates makes them outstanding subjects for neurobiological investigation (Oler et al., 2010; Rogers et al., 2013; Fawcett et al., 2014; Gunter et al., 2022), pointing to genetic mechanisms that may influence susceptibility to psychiatric disorders in people (Rogers et al., 2013; Fox et al. 2021). We are also analyzing primate models of inherited susceptibility to cancer (Ozirmak Lermi et al. 2022), retinal disorders and vision loss (Moshiri et al., 2019), endometriosis (Tapmeier et al. 2021) and other diseases. Our discovery and analyses of these primate models are generating novel information about potential treatments and therapies for use in human clinical practice.
Websites
Selected Publications
- Sørensen EF, Harris RA, Zhang L, Raveendran M, Kuderna LFK, (…), Munch K, Roos C, Rogers J "Genome-wide coancestry reveals details of ancient and recent male-driven reticulation in baboons.." Science. 2023;380:eabn8153. Pubmed PMID: 37262153
- Kuderna LFK, Gao H, Janiak MC, Kuhlwilm M, Orkin JD, (…), Rogers J, Farh KK, Marques Bonet T "A global catalog of whole- genome diversity from 233 primate species." Science. 2023;380:906-913. Pubmed PMID: 37262161
- Gao H, Hamp T, Ede J, Schraiber JG, McRae J, (…), Rogers J, Marques-Bonet T, Farh KK "The landscape of tolerated genetic variation in humans and primates.." Science. 2023;380:eabn8153. Pubmed PMID: 37262156
- Ozirmak Lermi N, Gray SB, Bowen CM, Reyes-Uribe L, Dray BK, Deng N, Harris RA, Raveendran M, Benavides F, Hodo CL, Taggart MW, Colbert Maresso K, Sinha KM, Rogers J, Vilar E "Comparative molecular genomic analyses of a spontaneous rhesus macaque model of mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer." PLoS Genet. 2022;18:e1010163. Pubmed PMID: 35446842
- Gunter C, Harris RA, Kovacs-Balint Z, Raveendran M, Michopoulos V, Bachevalier J, Raper J, Sanchez MM, Rogers J "Heritability of social behavioral phenotypes and preliminary associations with autism spectrum disorder risk genes in rhesus macaques: A whole exome sequencing study." Autism Res.. 2022;15:447-463. Pubmed PMID: 35092647
- Fox AS, Harris RA, Rosso LD, Raveendran M, Kamboj S, Kinnally EL, Capitanio JP, Rogers J "Infant inhibited temperament in primates predicts adult behavior, is heritable, and is associated with anxiety-relevant genetic variation.." Mol Psychiatry. 2021;26:6609-6618. Pubmed PMID: 34035480
- Tapmeier TT, Rahmioglu N, Lin J, De Leo B, Obendorf M, Raveendran M, (…), Rogers J, Zondervan KT "Neuropeptide S receptor 1 is a nonhormonal treatment target in endometriosis.." Sci Transl Med.. 2021;13:eabd6469. Pubmed PMID: 34433639
- Warren WC, Harris RA, Haukness M, Fiddes IT, Murali SC, (…), Rogers J, Eichler EE "Sequence diversity analyses of an improved rhesus macaque genome enhance its biomedical utility." Science. 2020;370:eabc6617.
- Rogers J, Raveendran M, Harris RA, Mailund T, Leppälä K, (…), Jolly CJ, Gibbs RA, Worley KC; Baboon Genome Analysis Consortium "The comparative genomics and complex population history of Papio baboons." Sci Adv.. 2019;5:eaau6947.
- Palesch D, Bosinger SE, Tharp GK, (…), Worley K, Rogers J, Silvestri G "Sooty mangabey genome sequence reveals new insights into mechanisms of AIDS resistance in natural SIV hosts.." Nature. 2018;553:77-81. Pubmed PMID: 29300007
- Dray BK, Raveendran M, Harris RA, Benavides F, Gray SB, (...), Rogers J "Mismatch repair gene mutations lead to Lynch Syndrome colorectal cancer in rhesus macaques.." Genes and Cancer. 2018;9:142-152.
- Rogers J, Gibbs RA "Comparative primate genomics: Emerging patterns of genome content and dynamics.." Nat Rev Genet. 2014;15:347-359. Pubmed PMID: 24709753
- Worley K, Warren W, Rogers J, The Marmoset Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium "The common marmoset genome provides insight into primate biology and evolution." Nat Genet.. 2014;46:850-857.
- Rogers J, Raveendran M, Fawcett GL, Fox AS, Shelton SE, Oler JA, Cheverud J, Muzny DM, Gibbs RA, Davidson RJ, Kalin NH "CRHR1 genotypes, neural circuits and the diathesis for anxiety and depression." Mol Psychiatry. 2013;18(6):700-7. Pubmed PMID: 23147386
- Locke DP, Hillier LW, Warren WC, Worley KC, Nazareth LV, Muzny DM, ...,Weinstock GM, Rogers J, Mardis ER, Gibbs RA, Wilson RK "Comparative and demographic analysis of orang-utan genomes." Nature. 2011;469(7331):529-33. Pubmed PMID: 21270892
- Fawcett GL, Raveendran M, Deiros DR, Chen D, Yu F, Harris RA, Ren Y, Muzny DM, Reid JG, Wheeler DA, Worley KC, Shelton SE, Kalin NH, Milosavljevic A, Gibbs R, Rogers J "Characterization of single-nucleotide variation in Indian-origin rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)." BMC Genomics. 2011;12:311. Pubmed PMID: 21668978
- Jolly CJ, Burrell AS, Phillips-Conroy JE, Rogers J "Kinda baboons (Papio kindae) and grayfoot chacma baboons (P. ursinus griseipes) hybridize in the Kafue River valley, Zambia." Amer J Primatology. 2011;73(3):291-303.
- Oler JA, Fox AS, Shelton SE, Rogers J, Dyer TD, Davidson RJ, Shelledy W, Oakes TR, Blangero J, Kalin NH "Amygdalar and hippocampal substrates of anxious temperament differ in their heritability." Nature. 2010;466(7308):864-8. Pubmed PMID: 20703306
- Rogers J, Kochunov P, Zilles K, Shelledy W, Lancaster J, Thompson P, Duggirala R, Blangero J, Fox PT, Glahn DC "On the genetic architecture of cortical folding and brain volume in primates." Neuroimage. 2010 Nov 15;53(3):1103-8. Pubmed PMID: 20176115
- Kochunov P, Glahn DC, Fox PT, Lancaster JL, Saleem K, Shelledy W, Zilles K, Thompson PM, Coulon O, Mangin JF, Blangero J, Rogers J "Genetics of primary cerebral gyrification: Heritability of length, depth and area of primary sulci in an extended pedigree of Papio baboons." Neuroimage. 2010;53(3):1126-34. Pubmed PMID: 20035879
- Rogers J, Shelton SE, Shelledy W, Garcia R, Kalin NH "Genetic influences on behavioral inhibition and anxiety in juvenile rhesus macaques." Genes Brain Behav. 2008;7(4):463-9. Pubmed PMID: 18045243
- Gibbs R, Rogers J, and the Rhesus Macaque Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium "Evolutionary and biomedical insights from the rhesus macaque genome." Science. 2007 Apr 13;316(5822):222-34. Pubmed PMID: 17431167
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