Diako Ebrahimi, Ph.D., promoted to Associate Professor

Congratulations to faculty member Diako Ebrahimi, Ph.D., on his promotion to Associate Professor this year. Dr. Ebrahimi joined Texas Biomed in 2019, bringing with him a unique research program investigating how genetic variations across human populations and primate models affect the immune response to viruses, cancer and other diseases.

Taking a cross-disciplinary quantitative biology approach, he and his lab often begin with large data sets and then after high-powered computational analysis, follow up with hands-on experiments to further validate the results and determine the mechanism and functional relevance of specific mutational signatures. For example, their new studies have revealed that mutations induced in viral and cancer genomes by a family of DNA editing enzymes called APOBEC3 are different across donors. This finding has direct implications for precision medicine treatment approaches.

“Many big challenges are multifaceted and can only be tackled through interdisciplinary research and collaboration,” said Dr. Ebrahimi, whose work spans population genetics, virology, cancer, data sciences and animal models. “I am grateful Texas Biomed’s leadership appreciates and supports this kind of mentality.”