Kaushik Renganaath

I joined the IMCM in October 2025 as a Senior Statistical Geneticist. I hold a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology, and Genetics from the University of Minnesota. Previously, I completed my undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at BITS Pilani (India) and conducted my thesis research at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg. Before joining the IMCM, I completed a one-year postdoc at the University of Chicago, where I worked on statistically integrating RNA-seq and whole-exome sequencing datasets to uncover causal disease pathways in Alzheimer’s disease.

At the IMCM, my work centers on integrating diverse omics datasets across ALS, Alzheimer's and Parkinsons disease to identify key mediators—both disease-specific and shared—that link genetic variation to downstream cellular mechanisms. I am always open to collaborations, especially those that merge new data modalities or conceptual perspectives to generate deeper insights into neurodegenerative disease biology.

My research reflects my broader interest in how variation in the genome shapes molecular and organismal phenotypes. This includes my PhD work integrating transcriptome, genome, and phenome data in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to dissect how regulatory variants influence complex traits via their effects on gene expression. I enjoy working across heterogeneous datasets and applying computational, statistical, and population-genetic approaches to investigate the genetic basis of complex traits across systems. I have ~10 years of experience analyzing multi-omics datasets and frequently work in R, Python, and Unix, with experience building Snakemake workflows in HPC environments.

At heart, I am a biologist—you’ll usually find me thinking in terms of genes and proteins rather than sigmas and alphas. I love collaborative science, lively discussion, and intellectually combative (but good-humored) debate. Outside of research, I am a budding educator, always looking for ways to innovate in biology teaching. I enjoy feeding people, and I’m a firm believer in applying a scientific mindset to spiritual well-being—ask me about it sometime for a thought-provoking coffee-table conversation.