Quanyu Chen

I am a Ph.D. student in Biomedical Sciences at the Center for Evolutionary & Organismal Biology, Zhejiang University, advised by Prof. Guojie Zhang. I received my B.S. in Life Sciences from Zhejiang University in 2025.

My research combines pangenomics with multi-omics to link the evolutionary history of complex genomic variation to its phenotypic consequences, with the goal of informing precision medicine across populations.

Pangenomics and Complex Genomic Variation

I use high-quality haplotype-resolved assemblies within a pangenome framework to resolve complex variation that remains difficult to characterize with short-read (NGS) sequencing and conventional reference-based approaches. Functional evidence from multiple omics layers helps explain the molecular consequences of this sequence-resolved variation.

Evolutionary Genomics and Medicine

Tracing the origins of complex structural variation through comparisons among primate genomes, particularly those of great apes, and examining the contribution of archaic introgression in modern humans. Ancient DNA analyses reconstruct the spread and selection history of these variants, exemplified by the gene-culture coevolution (e.g., dietary adaptation). These evolutionary histories help explain why disease-associated variants arose and persisted, and how past adaptation relates to present-day disease susceptibility.

Genomics for Precision Medicine

Pangenome references derived from high-quality haplotype-resolved assemblies support studies of how complex genomic variation contributes to disease susceptibility. Cohort-scale genotyping enables GWAS/PheWAS to identify disease-associated structural haplotypes. I integrate their shared and population-specific association effects with molecular evidence to identify disease-relevant pathways and explain population differences in susceptibility.