Dr. Thornton is Associate Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Washington (UW) and an Affiliate Investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Thornton's research involves the development and application of statistical methods for the analysis of large-scale genomic data for the identification of genetic variants that influence complex diseases and quantitative traits. Currently, Dr. Thornton's collaborative research is largely focused on using statistical methods to identify novel genetic variants for complex traits in ancestrally diverse populations, including underrepresented minority populations in the U.S., including African Americans, Latinos, and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations. Dr. Thornton currently serves as a lead statistician and co-investigator for Hispanic Community Health Study (HCHS)/Study of Latinos (SOL), and this cohort was recently included in the multi-cohort Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) II study.
Recent Publications
- Sun, KY, Bai, X, Chen, S, Bao, S, Kapoor, M, Backman, J, Joseph, T, Maxwell, E, Mitra, G, Gorovits, A et al.. A deep catalog of protein-coding variation in 985,830 individuals. bioRxiv 2023; : . PubMed PMID:37214792 PubMed Central PMC10197621.
- Wong, WJ, Emdin, C, Bick, AG, Zekavat, SM, Niroula, A, Pirruccello, JP, Dichtel, L, Griffin, G, Uddin, MM, Gibson, CJ et al.. Clonal haematopoiesis and risk of chronic liver disease. Nature 2023; 616 (7958): 747-754. PubMed PMID:37046084 .
- Weinstock, JS, Gopakumar, J, Burugula, BB, Uddin, MM, Jahn, N, Belk, JA, Bouzid, H, Daniel, B, Miao, Z, Ly, N et al.. Aberrant activation of TCL1A promotes stem cell expansion in clonal haematopoiesis. Nature 2023; 616 (7958): 755-763. PubMed PMID:37046083 .
- Zhang, Y, Liu, X, Wiggins, KL, Kurniansyah, N, Guo, X, Rodrigue, AL, Zhao, W, Yanek, LR, Ratliff, SM, Pitsillides, A et al.. Association of Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number With Brain MRI Markers and Cognitive Function: A Meta-analysis of Community-Based Cohorts. Neurology 2023; 100 (18): e1930-e1943. PubMed PMID:36927883 PubMed Central PMC10159770.
- Le Guen, Y, Raulin, AC, Logue, MW, Sherva, R, Belloy, ME, Eger, SJ, Chen, A, Kennedy, G, Kuchenbecker, L, O'Leary, JP et al.. Association of African Ancestry-Specific APOE Missense Variant R145C With Risk of Alzheimer Disease. JAMA 2023; 329 (7): 551-560. PubMed PMID:36809323 PubMed Central PMC9945061.
- Leal, TP, French-Kwawu, JN, Gouveia, MH, Borda, V, Inca-Martinez, M, Mason, EA, Horimoto, AR, Loesch, DP, Sarihan, EI, Cornejo-Olivas, MR et al.. X-Chromosome Association Study in Latin American Cohorts Identifies New Loci in Parkinson Disease. medRxiv 2023; : . PubMed PMID:36778409 PubMed Central PMC9915833.
- Li, X, Quick, C, Zhou, H, Gaynor, SM, Liu, Y, Chen, H, Selvaraj, MS, Sun, R, Dey, R, Arnett, DK et al.. Powerful, scalable and resource-efficient meta-analysis of rare variant associations in large whole genome sequencing studies. Nat Genet 2023; 55 (1): 154-164. PubMed PMID:36564505 PubMed Central PMC10084891.
- Li, Z, Li, X, Zhou, H, Gaynor, SM, Selvaraj, MS, Arapoglou, T, Quick, C, Liu, Y, Chen, H, Sun, R et al.. A framework for detecting noncoding rare-variant associations of large-scale whole-genome sequencing studies. Nat Methods 2022; 19 (12): 1599-1611. PubMed PMID:36303018 PubMed Central PMC10008172.
- Selvaraj, MS, Li, X, Li, Z, Pampana, A, Zhang, DY, Park, J, Aslibekyan, S, Bis, JC, Brody, JA, Cade, BE et al.. Whole genome sequence analysis of blood lipid levels in >66,000 individuals. Nat Commun 2022; 13 (1): 5995. PubMed PMID:36220816 PubMed Central PMC9553944.
- Tahir, UA, Katz, DH, Avila-Pachecho, J, Bick, AG, Pampana, A, Robbins, JM, Yu, Z, Chen, ZZ, Benson, MD, Cruz, DE et al.. Whole Genome Association Study of the Plasma Metabolome Identifies Metabolites Linked to Cardiometabolic Disease in Black Individuals. Nat Commun 2022; 13 (1): 4923. PubMed PMID:35995766 PubMed Central PMC9395431.
