Education

• Ph.D., Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University (2020)
• MS, Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University (2018)
• BSI, Bioinformatics, Baylor University, (2015)

Contact Info

Email: marylauren_benton@baylor.edu

Phone: (254) 710-4976

Dr. Mary Lauren Benton joined the Baylor Engineering and Computer Science faculty as an assistant professor of bioinformatics. Prior to Baylor, she completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University in the lab of Dr. Tony Capra.

In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Benton enjoys reading mysteries and science fiction, exploring new cities, and swing dancing.

Research Interests

• Computational biology
• Gene regulation

Research Focus

Dr. Benton’s research focuses on the application of computer science methodologies to interpret how DNA sequences alter genome function and impact human disease risk. Her current interests include the development of new approaches that integrate diverse datasets and advance our understanding of gene regulation.

Selected Publications

• Benton, M.L., Abraham, A., LaBella, A.L. et al. The influence of evolutionary history on human health and disease. Nat Rev Genet (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-020-00305-9
• Han, L., Zhao, X., Benton, M.L. et al. Functional annotation of rare structural variation in the human brain. Nat Commun 11, 2990 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16736-1
• Benton, M.L., Talipineni, S.C., Kostka, D. et al. Genome-wide enhancer annotations differ significantly in genomic distribution, evolution, and function. BMC Genomics 20, 511 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-019-5779-x