Janine LaSalle, PhD

Dr. LaSalle is a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, Davis, with memberships in the Genome Center, and the MIND Institute.  Dr. LaSalle serves as the Deputy Director of Environmental Health Sciences Center and Co-Director of the Perinatal Origins of Dispaaritis Center.    Dr. LaSalle also serves on the editorial board of the journals Human Molecular Genetics, Molecular Autism, and Environmental Epigenetics and is on the Scientific Advisory boards of the International Rett Syndrome Foundation and the Dup15q Alliance.  The research focus in Dr. LaSalle’s laboratory is on epigenetics of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, Rett, Prader-Willi, Angelman, and Dup15q syndromes. Dr. LaSalle’s laboratory uses genomic and epigenomic technologies to investigate the role of DNA methylation and MeCP2 in the pathogenesis of Rett syndrome and autism spectrum disorders. Dr. LaSalle’s lab also takes integrative genetic and epigenomic approaches to investigate to role of persistent organic pollutants such as flame retardant PBDEs and long-lived PCBs on the developing brain methylome.