College of Medicine
Giusti-Rodriguez Lab
Led by Paola Giusti Rodriguez · Psychiatry
What we study
The lab studies genetic causes of psychiatric disorders like autism and schizophrenia using mice and human studies. They use tools from neuroscience and functional genomics to explore how genes affect brain development.
What working here is like
- Wet lab
- Computational
- Mice
- Human participants
- Coding required
- Projects
- 2
- Papers
- 6
Current projects
Assessing the 3D-genome landscape of mouse models of human psychiatric copy number variants
Studying how genetic changes affect brain development in mice to understand psychiatric disorders.
Machine Learning Methods to Analyze Single-Cell 3D Genome Data from Mouse Models of Psychiatric Copy Number Variants
The lab will use a new single‑cell technique to map how DNA folds in brain cells of five mouse models carrying psychiatric genetic deletions, then apply computer tools to compare folding patterns across cell types and models.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 587
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- MarkerMatch: a proximity-based probe-matching algorithm for joint analysis of copy-number variants from different genotyping arrays
2026 · Bioinformatics
Develops a tool to improve genetic analysis across different lab tests.
- OCD with and without tics: Differences in symptoms, suicidality, co-occurring mental health conditions, and treatment perceptions
2026 · Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
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- Functional Genomics Studies of Psychiatric Disorders in Individuals of Latin American Populations: A Scoping Review
2026 · UNC Libraries
Reviews genetic studies of psychiatric disorders in Latin American populations using functional genomics.
- Persistent tic disorders are associated with 17q12 duplications
2026 · UNC Libraries
- T67. GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION META-ANALYSIS OF DEPRESSION IN LATIN AMERICAN POPULATIONS FROM THE LATIN AMERICAN GENOMICS CONSORTIUM MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER WORKING GROUP (LAGC-MDD)
2026 · European Neuropsychopharmacology
- Predictors of quality of life in OCD: Machine-derived features beyond expert consensus
2026 · Comprehensive Psychiatry
Tests whether expert-informed models or data-driven models predict quality of life in OCD better.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
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