Avatar

Tanner Koomar, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Scholar

The University of Iowa

About Me

I study the genetic intersection of language development and the cognitive functions underlying neuropsychiatric conditions. I apply computational and statistical tools like machine learning and cloud infrastructure to data derived from NGS and other high-throughput omics modalities. I am also passionate about communicating science and the duty of scientists to thoughtfully share their research with society at large.

Interests

  • Computational Genetics
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Science Communication

Education

  • PhD in Genetics, 2021

    The University of Iowa

  • BS in Biology, 2015

    The University of Iowa

  • BA in Theatre, 2012

    The University of Iowa

Projects

Web-based Language Screener

A web-based and battery of language assessments deployed via AWS.

Genetics of Language Ability

Whole genome sequencing of a cohort enriched for language impairment

Recent Publications

Estimating the Prevalence and Genetic Risk Mechanisms of ARFID in a Large Autism Cohort

This study is the first genetically-informed investigation of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), an eating disorder …
PDF DOI PubMed

VCFdbR: A method for expressing biobank-scale Variant Call Format data in a SQLite database using R

As exome and whole-genome sequencing cohorts grow in size, the data they produce strains the limits of current tools and data …
Code DOI bioXRiv

Genetic Intersections of Language and Neuropsychiatric Conditions

This review examines the genetic and phenotypic overlaps of language impairments and neuropsychatric conditions.
PDF DOI PubMed

Ensemble Modeling of Neurocognitive Performance Using MRI-Derived Brain Structure Volumes

Placed 2nd in an machine learning competition to predict fluid intellegence from structural brain MRI, sponsored by the Medical Image …
DOI Link to Learderboard Results

Whole-genome sequencing in a family with twin boys with autism and intellectual disability suggests multimodal polygenic risk

In this family-bsed case study, we discovered elevated elevatd levels of common and rare variant polygenic risk via whole genome …
PDF DOI
See all publications

Tidy Tuesday

View All

Popular Topics

ABCD adhd ARFID autism bipolar disorder cloud cowplot data visualization gene expression genetics ggtext gif gridExtra heatmap holiday language genetics lm map R whole genome sequencing