Our Lab’s First Preprint Is Now Live on bioRxiv
We are excited to share a major milestone for our lab: our first preprint is now available on bioRxiv.
The manuscript, “Local SNP-explained methylation variation reveals genetically anchored and exposure-associated methylation architecture in the human brain,” represents an important step forward for our research program and for the kind of scientific community we are working to build: one that is rigorous, collaborative, trainee-centered, and committed to expanding representation in genomic and neuroepigenomic research.
This project was led by Alexis Bennett, with important contributions from three outstanding undergraduate researchers: Elisa Kain Johnson, Nia N. Terry, and Jalil Hemphill. As corresponding author, Dr. Kynon J. M. Benjamin is incredibly proud of the care, creativity, and persistence this team brought to the work.
Understanding Genetic and Exposure-Associated Patterns in the Brain Methylome
Human brain DNA methylation is shaped by both inherited genetic variation and environmental experience. However, understanding how these influences are organized across the brain methylome remains a major challenge, especially in postmortem brain cohorts with modest sample sizes and limited ancestral diversity.
In this study, our team examined how local genetic variation helps explain patterns of DNA methylation in the human brain. Using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing and genotype data, we investigated variably methylated regions and developed a framework to distinguish methylation patterns that appear more genetically anchored from those more associated with exposure-related variation.
This work helps clarify how inherited genetic variation and non-genetic influences may structure the brain methylome in different ways. Genetically anchored methylation patterns were found to be concentrated in repressive, repeat-rich chromatin regions, while methylation variation less explained by nearby genetic variants appeared more gene-proximal and enriched near active regulatory elements.
Together, these findings provide new insight into how the brain methylome is organized and may help inform future studies of epigenomic mechanisms relevant to neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disease.
A Trainee-Centered Scientific Milestone
While we are proud of the scientific contribution, this preprint is also meaningful because of the team behind it.
For Alexis Bennett, this work reflects exceptional leadership, scientific growth, and dedication. For Elisa Kain Johnson, Nia N. Terry, and Jalil Hemphill, it highlights the power of undergraduate researchers contributing meaningfully to complex computational and genomic science.
For our lab, this preprint marks the beginning of many more stories we hope to tell through thoughtful, inclusive, and impactful neuroscience research.
Supporting Inclusive Genomic Research
A central goal of this work is to help address gaps in genomic and epigenomic reference resources by studying an underrepresented population in neuroepigenomics research. Expanding representation in these datasets is essential for improving the generalizability of scientific findings and for building a more complete understanding of human brain biology.
This research was supported by the NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities through award R00MD016964.
We are grateful to everyone who supported this project and excited to share what comes next.
Read the preprint on bioRxiv: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.05.730443v1