Ellen Leffler

Ellen Leffler, PhD, BA, MPhil

Languages spoken: French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Human Genetics

Lab

Education History

Doctoral Training University of Chicago
 PhD (Hons)
University of Cambridge
 MPhil
Undergraduate Amherst College
 BA

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Haffener PE, Hopson HD, Leffler EM (2024). Phylogenetics and genomic variation of two genetically distinct Hepatocystis clades isolated from shotgun sequencing of wild primate hosts. bioRxiv.
  2. Haffener PE, Al-Riyami AZ, Al-Zadjali S, Al-Rawahi M, Al Hosni S, Al Marhoobi A, Al Sheriyani A, Leffler EM (2024). Characterization of Blood Group Variants in an Omani Population by Comparison of Whole Genome Sequencing and Serology. bioRxiv. (Read full article)
  3. Leffler EM, Band G, Jeffreys AE, Rowlands K, Hubbart C, Bojang KA, Conway DJ, Jallow M, Sisay-Joof F, DAlessandro U, Ndila CM, Macharia AW, Marsh K, Williams TN, Kachala D, Molyneux M, Nyirongo V, Taylor TE, Rockett KA, and DP Kwiatkowski (2024). Large-scale genotyping and meta-analysis of PIEZO1 short tandem repeat alleles suggest a modest association with malaria susceptibility. bioRxiv.
  4. Haffener PE, Al-Riyami AZ, Al-Zadjali S, Busby GBJ, Al Madhuri S, Al-Rawahi M, Al Hosni S, Al Marhoobi A, Al Sheriyani A, Leffler EM (2024). Adaptive admixture at ACKR1 (the Duffy locus) may have shaped Plasmodium vivax prevalence in Oman. bioRxiv.
  5. Hilbert ZA, Haffener PE, Young HJ, Schwiesow MJW, Leffler EM, Elde NC (2023). Rapid Evolution of Glycan Recognition Receptors Reveals an Axis of Host-Microbe Arms Races beyond Canonical Protein-Protein Interfaces. Genome Biol Evol, 15(7). (Read full article)
  6. Band G, Leffler EM, Jallow M, Sisay-Joof F, Ndila CM, Macharia AW, Hubbart C, Jeffreys AE, Rowlands K, Nguyen T, Gonalves S, Ariani CV, Stalker J, Pearson RD, Amato R, Drury E, Sirugo G, dAlessandro U, Bojang KA, Marsh K, Peshu N, Saelens JW, Diakit M, Taylor SM, Conway DJ, Williams TN, Rockett KA, Kwiatkowski DP (2021). Malaria protection due to sickle haemoglobin depends on parasite genotype. Nature, 602(7895), 106-111. (Read full article)
  7. Amuzu DS, Rockett KA, Leffler EM, Ansah F, Amoako N, Moranga CM, Hubbart C, Rowlands K, Jeffreys AE, Amenga-Etego LN, Kwiatkowski DP, Awandare GA (2020). High-throughput genotyping assays for identification of glycophorin B deletion variants in population studies. Exp Biol Med (Maywood), 246(8), 916-928. (Read full article)
  8. Leffler EM, Band G, Busby GBJ, Kivinen K, Le QS, Clarke GM, Bojang KA, Conway DJ, Jallow M, Sisay-Joof F, Bougouma EC, Mangano VD, Modiano D, Sirima SB, Achidi E, Apinjoh TO, Marsh K, Ndila CM, Peshu N, Williams TN, Drakeley C, Manjurano A, Reyburn H, Riley E, Kachala D, Molyneux M, Nyirongo V, Taylor T, Thornton N, Tilley L, Grimsley S, Drury E, Stalker J, Cornelius V, Hubbart C, Jeffreys AE, Rowlands K, Rockett KA, Spencer CCA, Kwiatkowski DP, Malaria Genomic Epidemiology Network (2017). Resistance to malaria through structural variation of red blood cell invasion receptors. Science, 356(6343). (Read full article)
  9. Singhal S, Leffler EM, Sannareddy K, Turner I, Venn O, Hooper DM, Strand AI, Li Q, Raney B, Balakrishnan CN, Griffith SC, McVean G, Przeworski M (2015). Stable recombination hotspots in birds. Science, 350(6263), 928-32. (Read full article)
  10. Leffler EM, Gao Z, Pfeifer S, Sgurel L, Auton A, Venn O, Bowden R, Bontrop R, Wall JD, Sella G, Donnelly P, McVean G, Przeworski M (2013). Multiple instances of ancient balancing selection shared between humans and chimpanzees. Science, 339(6127), 1578-82. (Read full article)
  11. Auton A, Fledel-Alon A, Pfeifer S, Venn O, Sgurel L, Street T, Leffler EM, Bowden R, Aneas I, Broxholme J, Humburg P, Iqbal Z, Lunter G, Maller J, Hernandez RD, Melton C, Venkat A, Nobrega MA, Bontrop R, Myers S, Donnelly P, Przeworski M, McVean G (2012). A fine-scale chimpanzee genetic map from population sequencing. Science, 336(6078), 193-8. (Read full article)
  12. Leffler EM, Bullaughey K, Matute DR, Meyer WK, Sgurel L, Venkat A, Andolfatto P, Przeworski M (2012). Revisiting an old riddle: what determines genetic diversity levels within species? PLoS Biol, 10(9), e1001388. (Read full article)
  13. Fledel-Alon A, Leffler EM, Guan Y, Stephens M, Coop G, Przeworski M (2011). Variation in human recombination rates and its genetic determinants. PLoS One, 6(6), e20321. (Read full article)

Review

  1. Sgurel L, Leffler EM, Przeworski M (2011). The case of the fickle fingers: how the PRDM9 zinc finger protein specifies meiotic recombination hotspots in humans. [Review]. PLoS Biol, 9(12), e1001211. (Read full article)

Commentary

  1. Band G, Leffler EM (In Press). Malaria endemicity linked to shorter telomeres in leukocytes. Trends Parasitol.
  2. Leffler EM (2017). Evolutionary insights from wild vervet genomes. Nat Genet, 49(12), 1671-1672. (Read full article)