Melanie O’Leary

'Somebody to find an answer, so I can sleep at night': Diverse Perspectives on Genomic Research for Rare Disease

This study explores equitable strategies for participant engagement in rare disease genomic research through interviews with underrepresented individuals and clinicians.

Systematic evaluation of incomplete penetrance in 4,325 rare disease families reveals divergent transcriptional networks in CHD8 pathology

The paper evaluates incomplete penetrance in 4,325 rare disease families, finding 1.6% of diagnosed cases involve inherited variants from unaffected parents and showing divergent transcriptional effects in CHD8-related cases.

Genomic Research as a Critical Pathway to Diagnosis for Individuals with Rare Disease

The Rare Genomes Project provides remote genomic sequencing to rare disease families, achieving a 23.3% diagnostic solve rate and highlighting the role of research in overcoming clinical diagnostic barriers.

Analysis of spliceosome-related coding and noncoding genes and pseudogenes reveals novel candidates

The paper identifies novel spliceosome-related genes and pseudogenes associated with rare diseases using variant analysis and prioritization methods.

Structural variant discovery and diagnostic impact in rare diseases from short-read and long-read sequencing

This study evaluates the diagnostic yield of short-read and long-read sequencing in rare diseases, finding limited added value from long-read sequencing despite increased variant discovery.

Biallelic variants in the non-coding RNA gene RNU4-2 cause a recessive neurodevelopmental syndrome with distinct white matter changes

The paper identifies biallelic variants in RNU4-2 causing a recessive neurodevelopmental syndrome with distinct white matter changes, expanding the known genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of RNU4-2-related disorders.

Mitochondrial DNA variant detection in over 6,500 rare disease families by the systematic analysis of exome and genome sequencing data resolves undiagnosed cases

The paper identifies mitochondrial DNA variants in undiagnosed rare disease families using exome and genome sequencing data, leading to diagnoses in 0.4% of cases.

Advancing long-read nanopore genome assembly and accurate variant calling for rare disease detection

This study evaluates the diagnostic yield of long-read nanopore sequencing in rare disease detection, finding it covers more genes and detects additional variants compared to short-read sequencing.

Diagnosing missed cases of spinal muscular atrophy in genome, exome, and panel sequencing datasets

The paper develops and validates SMA Finder, a tool to diagnose spinal muscular atrophy in genome, exome, and panel sequencing data, identifying known and novel cases with high accuracy.

De novo variants in the non-coding spliceosomal snRNA gene RNU4-2 are a frequent cause of syndromic neurodevelopmental disorders

Mostly de novo variants in an 18 bp constrained region of U4 snRNA gene RNU4-2 cause a syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder, estimated to explain 0.41% of cases.

Critical assessment of variant prioritization methods for rare disease diagnosis within the Rare Genomes Project

The paper evaluates variant prioritization methods for rare disease diagnosis using data from the Rare Genomes Project, finding that top models identify causal variants in most solved families and uncover potential candidates in unsolved ones.

A novel neurodevelopmental syndrome caused by loss-of-function of the Zinc Finger Homeobox 3 (ZFHX3) gene

This paper identifies loss-of-function variants in ZFHX3 as a cause of syndromic intellectual disability and describes its role in chromatin remodeling and DNA methylation.

Novel syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by de novo deletion of CHASERR, a long noncoding RNA

The paper identifies a novel neurodevelopmental disorder caused by de novo deletion of the lncRNA CHASERR, showing its role in regulating CHD2 expression and causing developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.

Rare ACTN2 Frameshift Variants Resulting in Protein Extension Cause Distal Myopathy and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy through Protein Aggregation

The paper investigates ACTN2 variants causing distal myopathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, finding that frameshift variants leading to protein extension cause aggregation, while missense variants do not.

Unique Capabilities of Genome Sequencing for Rare Disease Diagnosis

This study evaluates genome sequencing's diagnostic yield in a cohort of undiagnosed rare disease patients, finding it solves 29.3% of cases with specific variant types not detectable by exome sequencing.

Advancing Understanding of Inequities in Rare Disease Genomics

This paper describes the Rare Genomes Project's efforts to address inequities in rare disease genomics by diversifying enrollment and understanding barriers to access.

seqr: a web-based analysis and collaboration tool for rare disease genomics

seqr is a web-based tool for analyzing rare disease genomic data, enabling variant filtering, annotation, and collaboration, with over 10,000 families analyzed and 300 novel disease genes discovered.