Steven Munger, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Conducting research to elucidate and compare the transcriptional network structure and dynamics driving organogenesis.
It has become clear that genetic background, including both common and rare variants, significantly influences disease susceptibility, severity, prognosis and even treatment effectiveness. Most genetic variants assert subtle effects in isolation, but certain combinations can disrupt normal homeostasis and sensitize an individual to disorder. Thus, many complex diseases have resisted classification by single-gene experimental and/or statistical modeling approaches. A comprehensive characterization of the genetic etiology of complex disorders and disease must account for the effects of all inputs (e.g. genetic variation) on all outputs (e.g. transcription, measures of structure/function) in the context of the affected system.
My overarching research goals are to 1) characterize the transcriptional network architecture underlying normal organ development and homeostasis, 2) predict the genes, gene-gene interactions, and coregulated gene cohorts with major roles in this process, and 3) identify and validate genetic mutations with individual small effects that together disrupt the buffering capacity of the transcriptional network and cause a disordered/disease state. To that end, I take a systems genetics approach that integrates advanced computational methods and experimental validation techniques to next-generation genetic mapping populations, including the mouse Collaborative Cross and Diversity Outcross, to elucidate and compare the transcriptional network structure and dynamics driving organogenesis (the embryonic gonad at the critical time point of primary sex determination) and adult tissue homeostasis (liver).
Grants, honors and accomplishments
2015-2017 term - Elected to Secretariat of the International Mammalian Genome Society
2013-2015 - Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, Individual postdoctoral fellowship
2013 - Chicago Prize for Outstanding Oral Presentation, 12th Annual Meeting of the Complex Trait Community
2012 - Best Oral Presentation by a Post-Doctoral Fellow, 11th Annual Meeting of the Complex Trait Community
2011 - Verne Chapman Memorial Young Scientist Award, International Mammalian Genome Society
2008 - Best Oral Presentation by a Graduate Student, 7th Annual Meeting of the Complex Trait Consortium
2004-2006 - NIH Predoctoral Training Grant, Institution-awarded fellowship
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Featured ArticleMarch 14, 20242024 Paigen Fellowship recognizes postdoctoral talent
The Paigen Fellowship supports postdoctoral associate Abdulfatai Tijjani's humanistic approach to research. -
Search MagazineJune 16, 2016Discovery and closure
Assistant Professor Steve Munger’s long road to embracing research has led to a life of open-ended questions. -
Blog PostFebruary 03, 2016The Golden Girls of lab mice
Mice that are part of an aging study at JAX appear to have won the genetic lottery. They are thought to be the oldest mice currently living in the world. -
Blog PostJanuary 20, 2016Cancer Moonshot 2020 technologies explained
Last week, leaders from multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, major academic cancer centers, health insurance companies, and other key players, announced the launch of Cancer Moonshot 2020. The program’s sole purpose: accelerating the potential of combination immunotherapies as the next generation standard of care in patients with cancer.
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Research HighlightMay 09, 2023Variability in the earliest stages of development
The processes enabling pluripotency at the very beginning of life are more different between mouse strains than you might expect. -
Press ReleaseJune 15, 2016Defining the consequences of genetic variation on a proteome-wide scale
Multiplexed mass spectrometry paired with genetically varied mouse population yields broad insights. -
Blog PostJanuary 28, 2016Imposter in the ivory tower
JAX Assistant Professor Steve Munger calls himself a geneticist, statistician and programmer with "a passion for 'big data.'" Now we can add blogger to the list. -
Press ReleaseJune 23, 2015Steven Munger, Ph.D., named Assistant Professor
The Jackson Laboratory has appointed Steven Munger, Ph.D., to its research faculty as an assistant professor, after three years as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of JAX Professor Gary Churchill, Ph.D.