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Areas
Diseases
Technologies

About

Our lab uses statistical methodology to describe and model genetic data, by identifying and making use of structure within the data. This pinpoints genomic regions that may harbor disease-causing mutations, as well as provide insight into disease pathogenesis. We implement these models through software development and bespoke data analyses, primarily in the R programming language.

We work on many disease identification projects concurrently, some of which can be readily solved with existing methods and analytic pipelines. Others may prove more challenging, potentially taking years of development and analysis before a breakthrough is achieved. We seek to identify when and where new technologies can be implemented to achieve breakthroughs in studies that have remained unsolved thus far.

Publications

Selected publications from Prof Melanie Bahlo AM

Gambardella A, Liu Y, Bennett MF, Green TE, Damiano JA, Fortunato F, Coleman MJ, Cherfils J, Barnier J, Gecz J, Bahlo M, Berkovic SF, Hildebrand MS. PAK3 pathogenic variant associated with sleep‐related hypermotor epilepsy in a family with parental mosaicism. Epilepsia Open. 2025;:10.1002/epi4.13124

Davies KC, Fearnley LG, Snell P, Bourke D, Mossman S, Kyne K, McKeown C, Delatycki MB, Bahlo M, Lockhart PJ. A multi-exon RFC1 deletion in a case of CANVAS: expanding the genetic mechanism of disease. Journal of Neurology. 2024;271(12):10.1007/s00415-024-12675-9

Chaar WA, Eranki AN, Stevens HA, Watson SL, Wong DY, Avila VS, Delfeld M, Gary AJ, Tawde S, Triebold M, Cherchi M, Xie T, Lockhart PJ, Bahlo M, Pellerin D, Dicaire M, Danzi M, Zuchner S, Brais BC, Perlman S, Burmeister M, Paulson H, Srinivasan S, Schut L, Bower M, Bushara K, Liao C, Shakkottai VG, Collins J, Clark HB, Das S, Fogel BL, Gomez CM. Clinical, Radiological and Pathological Features of a Large American Cohort of Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA27B). Annals of Neurology. 2024;96(6):10.1002/ana.27060

Wang L, Han J, Fearnley LG, Milton M, Rafehi H, Reid J, Gerring ZF, Masaldan S, Lang T, Speed TP, Bahlo M. Peripheral immune cell abundance differences link blood mitochondrial DNA copy number and Parkinson’s disease. npj Parkinson’s Disease. 2024;10(1):10.1038/s41531-024-00831-x

Oliver KL, Scheffer IE, Ellis CA, Grinton BE, Consortium E, Afawi Z, Amrom D, Andermann E, Bautista JF, Bellows ST, Bluvstein J, Cascino GD, Chung S-K, Cossette P, Curtis SW, Delanty N, Devinsky O, Dlugos D, Epstein MP, Freyer C, Gravel M, Harris RV, Heinzen EL, Henry OJ, Kirsch HE, Knowlton RC, Kossoff EH, Loeb R, Lowenstein DH, Marson AG, Mefford HC, Motika PV, O’Brien TJ, Ottman R, Paolicchi JM, Petrovski S, Pickrell WO, Rees MI, Sadleir LG, Shih JJ, Singh RK, Smith MC, Smith PEM, Thomas RH, Weisenberg J, Widdess-Walsh P, Winawer MR, Berkovic SF, Bahlo M. Investigating the effect of polygenic background on epilepsy phenotype in ‘monogenic’ families. EBioMedicine. 2024;109:10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105404

Horton S, Jackson V, Boyce J, Franken M-C, Siemers S, John MS, Hearps S, van Reyk O, Braden R, Parker R, Vogel AP, Eising E, Amor DJ, Irvine J, Fisher SE, Martin NG, Reilly S, Bahlo M, Scheffer I, Morgan A. Self-Reported Stuttering Severity Is Accurate: Informing Methods for Large-Scale Data Collection in Stuttering.Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research. 2024;67(10S):10.1044/2023_jslhr-23-00081

Cortese A, Beecroft SJ, Facchini S, Curro R, Cabrera-Serrano M, Stevanovski I, Chintalaphani SR, Gamaarachchi H, Weisburd B, Folland C, Monahan G, Scriba CK, Dofash L, Johari M, Grosz BR, Ellis M, Fearnley LG, Tankard R, Read J, Merve A, Dominik N, Vegezzi E, Schnekenberg RP, Fernandez-Eulate G, Masingue M, Giovannini D, Delatycki MB, Storey E, Gardner M, Amor DJ, Nicholson G, Vucic S, Henderson RD, Robertson T, Dyke J, Fabian V, Mastaglia F, Davis MR, Kennerson M, Quinlivan R, Hammans S, Tucci A, Bahlo M, McLean CA, Laing NG, Stojkovic T, Houlden H, Hanna MG, Deveson IW, Lockhart PJ, Lamont PJ, Fahey MC, Bugiardini E, Ravenscroft G. Author Correction: A CCG expansion in ABCD3 causes oculopharyngodistal myopathy in individuals of European ancestry. Nature Communications. 2024;15(1):10.1038/s41467-024-53151-2

Hildebrand MS, Braden RO, Lauretta ML, Kaspi A, Leventer RJ, Anderson M, Goel H, Bahlo M, Scheffer IE, Amor DJ, Janowski R, Niessing D, Morgan AT. Inherited PURA Pathogenic Variant Associated With a Mild Neurodevelopmental Disorder. Neurology Genetics. 2024;10(5):10.1212/nxg.0000000000200181

Chen S, Abou-Khalil BW, Afawi Z, Ali QZ, Amadori E, Anderson A, Anderson J, Andrade DM, Annesi G, Arslan M, Auce P, Bahlo M, Baker MD, Balagura G, Balestrini S, Banks E, Barba C, Barboza K, Bartolomei F, Bass N, Baum LW, Baumgartner TH, Baykan B, Bebek N, Becker F, Bennett CA, Beydoun A, Bianchini C, Bisulli F, Blackwood D, Blatt I, Borggräfe I, Bosselmann C, Braatz V, Brand H, Brockmann K, Buono RJ, Busch RM, Caglayan SH, Canafoglia L, Canavati C, Castellotti B, Cavalleri GL, Cerrato F, Chassoux F, Cherian C, Cherny SS, Cheung C-L, Chou I-J, Chung S-K, Churchhouse C, Ciullo V, Clark PO, Cole AJ, Cosico M, Cossette P, Cotsapas C, Cusick C, Daly MJ, Davis LK, Jonghe PD, Delanty N, Dennig D, Depondt C, Derambure P, Devinsky O, Di Vito L, Dickerson F, Dlugos DJ, Doccini V, Doherty CP, El-Naggar H, Ellis CA, Epstein L, Evans M, Faucon A, Feng Y-CA, Ferguson L, Ferraro TN, Da Silva IF, Ferri L, Feucht M, Fields MC, Fitzgerald M, Fonferko-Shadrach B, Fortunato F, Franceschetti S, French JA, Freri E, Fu JM, Gabriel S, Gagliardi M, Gambardella A, Gauthier L, Giangregorio T, Gili T, Glauser TA, Goldberg E, Goldman A, Goldstein DB, Granata T, Grant R, Greenberg DA, Guerrini R, Gundogdu-Eken A, Gupta N, Haas K, Hakonarson H, Haryanyan G, Häusler M, Hegde M, Heinzen EL, Helbig I, Hengsbach C, Heyne H, Hirose S, Hirsch E, Ho C-J, Hoeper O, Howrigan DP, Hucks D, Hung P-C, Iacomino M, Inoue Y, Inuzuka LM, Ishii A, Jehi L, Johnson MR, Johnstone M, Kälviäinen R, Kanaan M, Kara B, Kariuki SM, Kegele J, Kesim Y, Khoueiry-Zgheib N, Khoury J, King C, Klein KM, Kluger G, Knake S, Kok F, Korczyn AD, Korinthenberg R, Koupparis A, Kousiappa I, Krause R, Krenn M, Krestel H, Krey I, Kunz WS, Kurlemann G, Kuzniecky RI, Kwan P, La Vega-Talbott M, Labate A, Lacey A, Lal D, Laššuthová P, Lauxmann S, Lawthom C, Leech SL, Lehesjoki A-E, Lemke JR, Lerche H, Lesca G, Leu C, Lewin N, Lewis-Smith D, Li GH-Y, Liao C, Licchetta L, Lin C-H, Lin K-L, Linnankivi T, Lo W, Lowenstein DH, Lowther C, Lubbers L, Lui CHT, Macedo-Souza LI, Madeleyn R, Madia F, Magri S, Maillard L, Marcuse L, Marques P, Marson AG, Matthews AG, May P, Mayer T, McArdle W, McCarroll SM, McGoldrick P, McGraw CM, McIntosh A, McQuillan A, Meador KJ, Mei D, Michel V, Millichap JJ, Minardi R, Montomoli M, Mostacci B, Muccioli L, Muhle H, Müller-Schlüter K, Najm IM, Nasreddine W, Neaves S, Neubauer BA, Newton CRJC, Noebels JL, Northstone K, Novod S, O’Brien TJ, Owusu-Agyei S, Özkara Ç, Palotie A, Papacostas SS, Parrini E, Pato C, Pato M, Pendziwiat M, Pennell PB, Petrovski S, Pickrell WO, Pinsky R, Pinto D, Pippucci T, Piras F, Piras F, Poduri A, Pondrelli F, Posthuma D, Powell RHW, Privitera M, Rademacher A, Ragona F, Ramirez-Hamouz B, Rau S, Raynes HR, Rees MI, Regan BM, Reif A, Reinthaler E, Rheims S, Ring SM, Riva A, Rojas E, Rosenow F, Ryvlin P, Saarela A, Sadleir LG, Salman B, Salmon A, Salpietro V, Sammarra I, Scala M, Schachter S, Schaller A, Schankin CJ, Scheffer IE, Schneider N, Schubert-Bast S, Schulze-Bonhage A, Scudieri P, Sedláčková L, Shain C, Sham PC, Shiedley BR, Siena SA, Sills GJ, Sisodiya SM, Smoller JW, Solomonson M, Spalletta G, Sparks KR, Sperling MR, Stamberger H, Steinhoff BJ, Stephani U, Štěrbová K, Stewart WC, Stipa C, Striano P, Strzelczyk A, Surges R, Suzuki T, Talarico M, Talkowski ME, Taneja RS, Tanteles GA, Timonen O, Timpson NJ, Tinuper P, Todaro M, Topaloglu P, Tsai M-H, Tumiene B, Turkdogan D, Uğur-İşeri S, Utkus A, Vaidiswaran P, Valton L, van Baalen A, Vari MS, Vetro A, Vlčková M, von Brauchitsch S, von Spiczak S, Wagner RG, Watts N, Weber YG, Weckhuysen S, Widdess-Walsh P, Wiebe S, Wolf SM, Wolff M, Wolking S, Wong I, von Wrede R, Wu D, Yamakawa K, Yapıcı Z, Yis U, Yolken R, Yücesan E, Zagaglia S, Zahnert F, Zara F, Zimprich F, Zizovic M, Zsurka G, Neale BM, Berkovic SF. Exome sequencing of 20,979 individuals with epilepsy reveals shared and distinct ultra-rare genetic risk across disorder subtypes. 2024;4(03-02):10.1101/2023.02.22.23286310

Ellis CA, Oliver KL, Harris RV, Ottman R, Scheffer IE, Mefford HC, Epstein MP, Berkovic SF, Bahlo M. Inflation of polygenic risk scores caused by sample overlap and relatedness: Examples of a major risk of bias. American Journal of Human Genetics. 2024;111(9):10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.07.014

Lab research projects

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