Stephan Sanders

Stephan Sanders, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. He directs the Psychiatry Bioinformatics Core (PsychCore) and is affiliated with the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. His research integrates genomics, bioinformatics, and neurobiology to investigate the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Education:

• PhD in Genetics, Yale University (2014)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Yale Child Study Center (2011)
• MRCPCH (Pediatrics), Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, UK (2007)
• BMBS (Medicine), Nottingham Medical School, UK (2003)

Research Focus: Dr. Sanders' work centers on de novo genetic variations, high-throughput sequencing, and functional genomics. He co-leads the Autism Sequencing Consortium's whole-genome sequencing group and has identified key ASD risk genes (e.g., SCN2A). His lab studies how sodium channel mutations alter neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity, with implications for therapeutic development.

Publication Trends: His recent articles emphasize CRISPR-based screening, noncoding variant analysis, and cross-disorder genetics. Themes include cell-type-specific regulatory elements, neurodevelopmental syndrome genetics, and AI applications in genomics and pathology.

Awards:

• Theodore Reich Young Investigator Award (2019)
• NARSAD Young Investigator Grant (2015)
• UCSF Weill Neurosciences Innovation Award (2016)
• HHMI International Research Fellowship (2013)

Leadership & Grants: Dr. Sanders is PI on multiple NIH R01 grants focusing on brain eQTLs, ASD genomics, and single-nuclei transcriptomics. He serves on scientific advisory boards (SPARK, Autism Science Foundation) and is a Section Editor for the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Teams & Labs: He directs the PsychCore bioinformatics facility and collaborates with the WGSPD consortium to aggregate whole-genome data across psychiatric disorders. His lab partners with clinical groups to translate genetic findings into mechanistic insights.