Chris Wallace's research programme has three complementary aims. First, to develop the statistical tools needed to identify genetic associations with disease, then robustly and empirically link each genetic association with a gene, cell type, stimulatory condition and ultimately a biological pathway. Specifically, this requires methods for:
horizontal integration of different layers of omics data
mapping the variants which regulate gene expression
"fine mapping" causal genetic variants from amongst associated variants in genetic association data, typically using sparse variable selection
"fine mapping" regulatory contacts in 3D maps of folded DNA from technologies such as promoter capture Hi-C