Welcome to the Valdmanis Lab!

About the Lab

The Valdmanis lab's research focus is to identify pathogenic variants that cause or modify human disease, determine the mechanisms of action of these genes in disease pathogenesis and correct the variants through gene therapy approaches.

Our lab focuses on the following research goals:

1.  Identify novel genetic contributors to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, with a particular emphasis on tandem repeat expansions.

2. Reveal RNA differences in Alzheimer's disease including cryptic exon regulation, circular RNA and microRNA dynamics, and poly-A usage using synaptosome and long-read sequencing.

3. Determine dynamics of variable number tandem repeat expansions and population-specific repeat expansions using long-read sequencing technology.

4. Develop gene therapy methods for safe and effective gene knockdown using recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs) to target genes implicated in neurodegeneration.

5. Perform mechanistic characterization of the role of microRNAs including miR-122 and an imprinted cluster of microRNAs at the DLK1-DIO3 locus  in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.  

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The Valdmanis lab is committed to assembling and training a diverse and talented team of researchers. We strive to create an equitable and inclusive lab experience for scientists of all identities and backgrounds.

Bioinformatics resources

Source code for data analysis is available at the Valdmanis Lab GitHub page: https://github.com/ValdmanisLab

Datasets include:

1. Simple VNTR Extractor to extract VNTR alleles and simple motifs from genomes.

2. Isolate and neaten VNTRs (InVNTR): A command-line tool for VNTR analysis and visualization.

3. PheWAS analysis pipeline in the NIH All of Us Dataset.

Lab News

5/20/24: Sam Ph.D. thesis defense!

5/2/24: Jenna completes her time as an undergraduate researcher and research scientist and continues on to Medical School at Loyola Univeristy.

11/1/23: Sam is profiled by the Brotman Baty Institute for his excellent work as a Ph.D. candidate.

10/2/23: Marissa de Leon joins the lab as an undergradute researcher.

7/28/23: Evangelos Nizamis joins the lab as a Research Analyst

7/1/23: Paul is promoted to Associate Professor.

6/1/23: Julianna Brutman, a Postdoctoral Scholar joins the lab with a D-SPAN K00 from NINDS.

5/1/23: Chelsea joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher.

4/20/23: Paul gives the keynote at PacBio roadshow on long read sequencing and tandem repeat structure.

4/3/23: The lab is awarded an R21 from the National Institute on Aging to investigate mechanisms underlying circular RNA biogenesis in Alzheimer’s disease related genes.

3/20/23: Sam presents at Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinical & Scientific Conference.

1/3/23: Tina joins the lab as a research scientist.

11/22: Sam presents at Society for Neuroscience Conference; earns travel award from UW ADRC.

10/3/22: Carolina joins the lab as a data science graduate student.

10/3/22: Yidian joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher.

9/23/22: Sam presents at the UW ADRC REC Research Symposium. 

9/1/22: The lab is awarded a research grant from the Muscular Dystrophy Association to investigate the WDR7 tandem repeat's role in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

8/12/22: Noveda leaves the lab to join the Master's of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program at Johns Hopkins.

8/11/22: Our lab's paper on long-read isoform sequencing of PSEN1 and PSEN2 in Alzheimer's disease is published in Brain.

7/16/22: Sam receives a second place poster prize at the LiveLikeLou Emerging ALS Investigators Forum.

7/12/22: Dan Child joins the lab as a neuropathology fellow.

6/14/22: We have a position available for a postdoctoral fellow.

3/17/22: The lab is awarded an R01 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

2/22/22: The lab receives a research grant from the Alzheimer's Association.

1/31/22: Eli joins the lab as the Valdmanis lab manager.

1/15/22: Noveda joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher.

12/1/21: Jenna joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher.

7/9/21: Our lab's paper on variable number tandem repeats is published in Genome Research

6/2/21: Paul is recognized by the Seattle Mariners on the inaugural Lou Gehrig's day for  his contributions to ALS research.

5/31/21: Our lab's work is highlighted by PacBio as part of ALS Awareness Month.

5/21/21: Kristie Shirley presents her work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

3/29/21: Cassidy Danyko, a Molecular & Cell Biology PhD. candidate,  starts a rotation in the lab.

12/9/20: Paul and Meredith were invited to speak at PacBio Neuroscience Day.

10/27/20: Paul and Meredith gave talks at ASHG (American Society of Human Genetics), where Meredith was given a Trainee Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Research.

8/3/20: The lab's new paper on a large tandem repeat associated with ALS is published in the American Journal of Human Genetics!

7/23/20: Paul gives an interview on the latest research in the lab to Ann Arbor Active Against ALS.

7/20/20: Kristie Shirley joins the lab as a UW PREP student.

6/29/20: Paul receives a grant from the Royalty Research Fund!

3/02/20: Eleanore joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher.

2/28/20: Meredith receives a grant from the the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center!

1/10/20: Sam joins the lab as a graduate student.

12/19/19: Our research paper on shRNA-induced cardiotoxicity is published in Molecular Therapy-Nucleic Acids!

11/14/19: We are proud to have contributed to the Lieber lab's new paper, published in Cancer Research!

8/21/19: Our small RNA sequencing methods paper is published in JoVE! 

6/24/19: Wendy Teuchler joins the lab for the summer as an NIH Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) scholar.

5/5/19: The lab receives the Robert F. Schoeni Award for Research from Ann Arbor Active Against ALS (A2A3)!

5/1/19: Meredith gives a talk at ASGCT (American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy).

4/4/19: Alicia presents a poster at ACMG (American College of Medical Genetics).

4/1/19: Paul receives adjunct appointment in the Department of Pathology.

3/11/19: Congrats to the Jayadev lab on their new paper! We are proud to be part of that work. 

12/13/18: Meredith receives the UW Office of Postdoctoral Affairs Travel Award.

11/2/18: Meredith gives an invited talk at The Personal Genome symposium.

10/16/18: Meredith presents a poster at ASHG (American Society of Human Genetics).

10/1/18: Sam Smukowski, a Genome Sciences PhD candidate, starts a rotation in the lab.

9/30/18: Meredith presents a poster at OTS (Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society).

8/15/18: Paul becomes a member of the Molecular & Cellular Biology program at UW.

7/26/18: Paul has become an adjunct faculty member of UW Genome Sciences.

6/25/18: Alicia joins the lab for the summer as an MSRTP researcher.

5/1 6/18: Meredith presents a poster at ASGCT (American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy).

4/26/18: Meredith has a photo published in Nature's Science photos worth seeing.

3/26/18: Rev joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher.

3/16/18: Kosuke receives a Mary Gates Research Scholarship.

1/18/18: Paul receives a grant from the UW Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

12/12/17: Meredith receives a T32 training grant from the NIH/NIGMS.

11/8/17: Paul gives an invited talk for the Genome Sciences seminar series.

10/23/17: Meredith joins the lab as a postdoctoral fellow.

9/27/17: Bobby joins the lab as a student researcher.

9/18/17: Kosuke joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher.

8/1/17: The Valdmanis Lab officially opens!

6/1/17: Kathryn starts as a research scientist and lab manager, getting the lab ready to go.