Dr. Blanca Himes is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Himes is also affiliated with the Graduate Group in Genomics and Computational Biology. As a computational scientist, Dr. Himes’ research interests focus on using biomedical informatics approaches to better understand complex respiratory diseases such as asthma. Among the on-going projects in the Himes lab include understanding the function of disease-associated genes by altering cell-specific transcriptomes, integrating diverse genomic datasets to model cellular transcriptome changes involved in disease, and using geospatial demographic and environmental data to better understand factors that contribute to asthma prevalence and exacerbation. In addition to research, Dr. Himes is active in mentoring students, and she blogs occasionally to address topics posed by young students such as career advice, personal motivation for doing research, and parenthood. Dr. Himes’ research potential and leadership skills have been recognized with the UCSD Sang-keng Ma Memorial Award (2001) and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology Student Leadership Award (2007).
Recent Publications
- Park, HR, Azzara, D, Cohen, ED, Boomhower, SR, Diwadkar, AR, Himes, BE, O'Reilly, MA, Lu, Q. Identification of novel NRF2-dependent genes as regulators of lead and arsenic toxicity in neural progenitor cells. J Hazard Mater 2024; 463 : 132906. PubMed PMID:37939567 .
- Gleeson, PK, Morales, KH, Buckey, TM, Fadugba, OO, Apter, AJ, Christie, JD, Himes, BE. Factors associated with aeroallergen testing among adults with asthma in a large health system. J Allergy Clin Immunol Glob 2023; 2 (4): 100167. PubMed PMID:37841071 PubMed Central PMC10570953.
- Mennella, JA, Kan, M, Lowenthal, ED, Saraiva, LR, Mainland, JD, Himes, BE, Pepino, MY. Genetic Variation and Sensory Perception of a Pediatric Formulation of Ibuprofen: Can a Medicine Taste Too Good for Some? Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24 (17): . PubMed PMID:37685855 PubMed Central PMC10487938.
- Gregg, JT, Himes, BE, Asselbergs, FW, Moore, JH. Improving Genetic Association Studies with a Novel Methodology that Unveils the Hidden Complexity of All-Cause Heart Failure. medRxiv 2023; : . PubMed PMID:37577697 PubMed Central PMC10418568.
- Moore, BB, Ballinger, MN, Bauer, NN, Blackwell, TS, Borok, Z, Budinger, GRS, Camoretti-Mercado, B, Erzurum, SC, Himes, BE, Keshamouni, VG et al.. Building Career Paths for Ph.D., Basic and Translational Scientists in Clinical Departments in the United States: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2023; 20 (8): 1077-1087. PubMed PMID:37526479 PubMed Central PMC10405615.
- Schreibman, A, Xie, S, Hubbard, RA, Himes, BE. Linking Ambient NO2 Pollution Measures with Electronic Health Record Data to Study Asthma Exacerbations. AMIA Jt Summits Transl Sci Proc 2023; 2023 : 467-476. PubMed PMID:37350870 PubMed Central PMC10283087.
- Gleeson, PK, Morales, KH, Hvisdas, C, LaCava, AF, Harhay, MO, Rank, MA, Apter, AJ, Himes, BE. Factors Associated With Asthma Biologic Prescribing and Primary Adherence Among Adults in a Large Health System. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2023; 11 (6): 1834-1842.e4. PubMed PMID:36907354 PubMed Central PMC10330036.
- Panganiban, RAM, Yang, Z, Sun, M, Park, CY, Kasahara, DI, Schaible, N, Krishnan, R, Kho, AT, Israel, E, Hershenson, MB et al.. Antagonizing cholecystokinin A receptor in the lung attenuates obesity-induced airway hyperresponsiveness. Nat Commun 2023; 14 (1): 47. PubMed PMID:36599824 PubMed Central PMC9813361.
- Johnson, C, Schiffenbauer, AI, Miller, FW, Perin, J, Danoff, SK, Diwadkar, AR, Joo, J, Himes, BE, Meyer, NJ, Myositis-ILD Study Group et al.. Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles Associated with Interstitial Lung Disease in North Americans with Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2023; 207 (5): 619-622. PubMed PMID:36269757 .
- Kan, M, Sun, M, Jiang, X, Diwadkar, AR, Parikh, V, Cao, G, Gebski, E, Jester, W, Lan, B, Panettieri, RA Jr et al.. CEBPD modulates the airway smooth muscle transcriptomic response to glucocorticoids. Respir Res 2022; 23 (1): 193. PubMed PMID:35902923 PubMed Central PMC9331514.
