TEAM COOKE BAILEY LAB
About Dr. Jessica Cooke Bailey
Our research takes a comprehensive approach to integrate trans-ancestral genomic and health data to dissect the genetic and non-genetic mediators of POAG. I hope to characterize and quantify clinical, lifestyle, environmental, and genetic differences across diverse groups, determine how genetic ancestry mediates genomic risk, and build models to effectively translate risk information to clinical, individual, and community stakeholders.
Research Interests
Moving beyond the knowledge we have gained from extensive genome-wide association studies and mega meta-analyses primarily in populations of European descent, the research of Team Cooke Bailey will integrate trans-ethnic genomic and health data to dissect the genomic and environmental aspects of glaucoma.
Our overall research goal is to better understand the complexity of POAG risk by assessing differences across ethnic groups to illuminate undetected genetic and non-genetic mediators. In addition, we aim to:
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Characterize and quantify clinical, lifestyle, environmental, and genetic differences in POAG patients within and across ethnic groups to illuminate potential mediators of POAG risk.
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Understand how African ancestry mediates genomic risk for POAG.
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Characterize POAG in the Amish and study genetic factors related to this disease to elucidate novel variations potentially contributing to POAG and other POAG-relevant endophenotypes.
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Assimilate data across multiple entities to disentangle the genetics and genomic interactions that contribute to POAG, aiming to translate the knowledge gained into clinically relevant information.
Education
2012
Wake Forest University
PhD, Molecular Medicine and Translational Science
2018
Case Western Reserve University
2008
Winthrop University
Master of Arts, Bioethics
Bachelors of Science, Biology
Fellowships
2013
Postdoctoral Fellow, Case Western Reserve University
Postdoctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt University
2012
Professional Memberships
American Society for Human Genetics
Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology
National Association of Professional Women
Contributions to Science
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Applied meta-analysis and targeted, hypothesis-driven approaches, identifying nine primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) risk loci.
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Explored intraocular pressure, corneal thickness and optic disc morphology to elucidate genetic contributors to POAG-related quantitative traits and endophenotypes to better understand POAG genetic risk.
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Applied pathway-based analyses to GWA data, identifying several biological pathways and/or gene sets influencing POAG, highlighting novel mechanisms affecting disease susceptibility.
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Evaluated genome-wide data from the largest primary open-angle glaucoma case-control analysis to data at that time, identifying three primary open-angle glaucoma genetic risk loci.
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Evaluated exome data in one of the largest AMD studies to date, identifying rare and common variation, to better understand genetic contributors to AMD.
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Applied genetic risk scores to understand common, complex diseases including glaucoma and type 2 diabetes.