Courtney Thaxton

Courtney Thaxton, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. She directs the ClinGen-affiliated UNC Biocuration and Coordination Core, overseeing clinical domain working groups and expert panels within the ClinGen initiative. Her research focuses on developing computational methods for biocuration, refining gene-disease validity frameworks, and establishing standardized nomenclature for monogenic diseases. Dr. Thaxton holds a PhD in Biomolecular Sciences from the University of Central Florida and completed postdoctoral training at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Education:

• PhD in Biomolecular Sciences, University of Central Florida (2007)
• BS in Molecular Biology and Microbiology, University of Central Florida (2002)

Research Interests:

• Biocuration methodologies for genomic data
• Clinical validity assessment of gene-disease relationships
• Computational tools for variant annotation and evidence extraction
• Standardization of genetic terminology for precision medicine

Advising & Grants:

• Supervises curation teams and expert panels within ClinGen
• Develops frameworks for collaborative genomic data interpretation

Labs & Teams:

• Director of the UNC Biocuration and Coordination Core
• Collaborates with international research groups on genetic disease curation