Marvin H. Caruthers Assistant Professor
Kavli Fellow
Packard Fellow
Sloan Research Fellow
Boettcher Investigator
BioFrontiers Institute
Department of Molecular, Cellular, Developmental biology
Ed grew up in sunny Southern California, and studied Bioinformatics at the University of California, San Diego from 2003-2007. There, he worked with Dr. Hopi Hoekstra exploring the evolution of genes involved in maternal-fetal genetic conflict. He next pursued a PhD at the Stanford University from 2007-2013, in the lab of Dr. Julie Baker. There, he discovered that ancient retroviruses were a major source of regulatory elements in the placenta, potentially facilitating the evolution of pregnancy in mammals. Caught by the transposon bug, he did a postdoc at the University of Utah, co-advised by Dr. Nels Elde and Dr. Cédric Feschotte. His work revealed that endogenous retroviruses have been co-opted to act as regulatory elements in primate immune responses. In 2018, he joined the BioFrontiers Institute to start a research group focusing on the evolution of gene regulatory networks in human health and disease. In his free time, Ed enjoys cooking, hiking, skiing, and canyoneering.