Thrilled to share our new publication in Genome Research! Congratulations, Darius, on this well-deserved achievement! Thanks to the Scoliosis Research Society for funding this work. https://genome.cshlp.org/content/early/2026/08/14/gr281888126 Using massively parallel reporter assays (MPRAs) we identified regulatory risk variants underlying adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). This is the first time in scoliosis research that over 1,600 genetic variants were tested simultan

Fahim Rejanur Tasin Funding Agency/Mechanism: American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship Title: Identifying Genetic Risk Factors for Vascular Calcification PI: Fahim Rejanur Tasin (PhD Student)/Nadja Makki (Mentor) Total/Directs: $70,676 Dates: 7/1/2026-6/30/2028 Summary: This proposal aims to define how non-coding genetic variants contribute to vascular calcification, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The overall hypothesis is that disease-associated var

https://ufhealth.org/news/2026/uf-scientists-unmask-gene-activity-in-scoliosis

I am excited to share our new publication in collaborations with Drs. Ihnow and McQuerry in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at UF and Anat Kreimer at Rutgers.

Fahim presents a poster at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Biology of Genomes meeting.

Carlos’ and Paola’s graduate celebration

We received the SRS research grant for our work on “ Characterizing regulatory variants associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis ”.

We received the Center for Integrative Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Pilot Award for our work on “How genomic variation...

Nadja was acknowledged by Associate Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs, Chris Hass, for excellent GatorEval scores.