Background
Dr. Wheelan's medical training, and her graduate training in bioinformatics at NCBI, coupled with her longstanding interest and experience in both biology and mathematics, has equipped her to address modern biological questions from an analytical perspective. Whether through the use of publicly available software or custom-coded programs, she enjoys tackling the intricate puzzles that modern biology has uncovered.
Her recent work has focused on DNA sequence-structure-function relationships. The 3D structure of chromatin in the nucleus is nonrandom, regulatory, and fascinatingly complex. There are a number of ways to query this both experimentally and computationally, including but not limited to sequencing approaches.
She is deeply committed to teaching; as director of the Center for Computational Genomics, she helps organize an annual workshop (Practical Genomics) as well as a symposium, seminar series, and short courses. She teaches courses on computational biology algorithms and methods in both the medical school and the school of public health.
As co-director of the Experimental and Computational Genomics Core in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (and director for bioinformatics), she helps design, execute, and analyze a variety of sequencing experiments.