Dileep LaboratoryBaylor College of Medicine

We study the genomic and epigenomic drivers of brain aging and neurodegeneration

Brain aging & neurodegeneration

DNA damage

3D genome

01
Neuronal DNA damage
DNA damage is an early hallmark of aging and neurodegeneration. We map where breaks accumulate in long-lived brain cells and how faulty repair rewrites the genome.
02
3D genome
The genome folds in three dimensions to control which genes neurons and glia can use. We ask how that architecture is remodelled by learning, aging and disease.
03
Brain aging & neurodegeneration
Neurons can live as long as we do. We study how genomic and epigenomic integrity erodes over a lifetime and how that drives age-related neurological disease.
04
Single-cell genomics
Every brain cell carries its own mosaic of changes. Single-cell genomic methods let us resolve them cell type by cell type.

Featured publication · Cell 2023

DNA breaks can reshape the neuronal genome

Neuronal DNA double-strand breaks lead to genome structural variations and 3D genome disruption in neurodegeneration.

Dileep V †*, Boix CA*, Mathys H, Marco A, Welch GM, Meharena HS, Loon A, Jeloka R, Peng Z, Bennett DA, Kellis M†, Tsai LH†.

Increased somatic mosaic gene fusions in excitatory neurons in Alzheimer’s disease
DNA double-strand breaks lead to mosaic gene fusions and genome structural variations

Current projects

How does DNA damage alter neuronal genomes?
We map DNA damage and repair errors in individual brain cells to understand how genome integrity changes in Alzheimer's disease.
Read more
How does genome folding shape brain-cell function?
We investigate how the genome's three-dimensional organization changes with learning, aging, and disease in neurons and glia.
Read more
Why can cancer treatments affect cognition?
We study how chemotherapy and radiation affect the genome and epigenome of long-lived brain cells, and how these changes may contribute to chemobrain.
Read more