Robel Alemu

As a researcher with a blend of expertise in computational and biological sciences, I have developed a strong passion for exploring the gene-environment nexus and its impact on polygenic traits. My academic journey encompasses a M.Sc. in Biotechnology and a Ph.D. in Computational Methods (Econometrics). My doctoral dissertation investigated the gene-environment interplay in smoking behavior among older adults in the United States, demonstrating the varied impacts of cigarette taxes experienced during adolescence and older age based on an individual’s genetic predisposition to smoking. These findings suggested that diminishing price responsiveness to cigarette taxes in the U.S. population at large may be temporary as newer generations of high-risk smokers are exposed to progressively higher taxation rates in their youth. 

Currently, I am a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) co-advised by Drs. Patrick Turley (University of Southern California) and Daniel J. Benjamin (UCLA). I also hold concurrent visiting research fellowships in the Medical and Population Genetics Program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (Dr. Benjamin Neale’s Lab), as well as Adelaide University’s School of Medicine (Dr. Azmeraw Amare's Lab). My research focuses on advancing computational tools that improve the predictive power of polygenic risk scores (PRS) for a range of complex behavioral traits in various ancestral populations. Moreover, I’m passionate about understanding the effects of and interplay between modifiable (lifestyle and environmental) and epi(genetics) risk factors on human behavior and health conditions. One of my postdoctoral project investigate the extent and reasons behind the limited portability of polygenic scores (PGSs) across genetically inferred ancestral populations.