Elizabeth Brooks

Biography

My interest in computational biology and bioinformatics began just a few months after my first computer science course in the summer of 2013. Initially, the focus of my research was the development of an extendable software architecture for exploring the effects of nonlinear developmental interactions on the evolutionary trajectories of phenotypic, or physical traits. Currently, I design and share bioinformatic tools to analyze complex biological data sets. My work has included the development of the freeCount R Shiny applications for differential expression (DE) analysis, network analysis, functional analysis, and set operations. The freeCount applications are publicly available and have been used in undergraduate CURE courses at Notre Dame. I’ve also examined RNA-sequencing data from populations of Daphnia to identify locally-adapted, UVR responsive genes and pathways. Additionally, I’ve explored the population dynamics of ribozymes during in vitro selection to better understand how ribozymes emerge from RNA populations under changing selection pressures.

To view Elizabeth's publications, visit ORCID.