Some recent projects in the Atwal lab include:

• Recent natural selection in humans. We are combining Bayesian inference and information-theoretic techniques to determine population structure and evidence of recent natural selection in the human genome.

• Statistical physics of population genetics. We seek to use the language of statistical physics to provide a reduced description of the essential features of stochastic allelic evolution.

• Cancer and human infertility. A collaborative effort has shown that some of the genes in the p53 tumor suppressor network play a role in the regulation of fertility in mice and humans.

• Genetic variation and cancer risk. We have identified genetic differences at the single nucleotide level, in various populations stemming from different ancestries, that are associated with increased risk of developing tumors.