Postdoctoral Fellow
Email: loftus@clemson.edu
Biosketch
Mark Loftus holds a bachelor’s degree in Digital Media and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Central Florida. His doctoral research focused on investigating the composition and functionality of the gut microbiome in healthy individuals and its alteration in late-stage colorectal cancer patients. As a postdoctoral fellow at Clemson University under the mentorship of Dr. Miriam K. Konkel, Mark has shifted his research focus to human and non-human primate genetics. His current work centers on analyzing repetitive elements in the genome, including multi-copy and copy number variable genes, transposable elements, and processed pseudogenes. In addition to his research endeavors, Mark is actively involved in various working groups within the Human Genome Structural Variation Consortium, including those dedicated to the Y-chromosome, Functional genomics, Transposable Elements, and the Major Histocompatibility Complex.
Research
My research here at Clemson will be centered around improving the annotation and resolution of the human mobilome as well as identifying putative source elements that can lead to new genomic insertions.
Publications
Hassouneh SA, Loftus M, Yooseph S. Linking Inflammatory Bowel Disease Symptoms to Changes in the Gut Microbiome Structure and Function. Front Microbiol. 2021 Jul 19;12:673632. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.673632. PMID: 34349736; PMCID: PMC8326577.
Loftus M, Hassouneh SA, Yooseph S. Bacterial community structure alterations within the colorectal cancer gut microbiome. BMC Microbiol. 2021 Mar 31;21(1):98. doi: 10.1186/s12866-021-02153-x. PMID: 33789570; PMCID: PMC8011136.
Loftus M, Hassouneh SA, Yooseph S. Bacterial associations in the healthy human gut microbiome across populations. Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 2;11(1):2828. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-82449-0. PMID: 33531651; PMCID: PMC7854710.