On Oct. 3, 2019, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Georgia Institute of Technology researcher Joe Lachance a $1.88 million grant to analyze ancient and modern genomes, perform mathematical modeling, and develop new bioinformatics tools.

Lachance, whose research bridges the gap between evolutionary genetics and genetic epidemiology, is motivated by several questions: How have hereditary disease risks evolved in the recent past? What sorts of genetic architectures are more likely to result in health inequities? How can genomic medicine be extended to people with different ancestries?

“We’ve taken an evolutionary perspective toward genetic medicine and global health,” says Lachance, assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences, whose research is directly related to the NIH’s All of Us initiative.

The R35 MIRA program was designed to increase the stability of funding for NIGMS-supported investigators like Lachance, improving their ability to take on ambitious projects and take more creative approaches to biomedical problems.

“This grant, I think, demonstrates great confidence in our approach to the research,” Lachance said. “It enables us to devote more our time and energy on doing the actual science and developing the next generation of researchers.”