Dennis Kostka

Dennis Kostka, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on computational methods applied to genetics and genomics data to understand organ and tissue development mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on human health implications. His lab develops tools for analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), spatial transcriptomics, and epigenetic regulation in systems such as zebrafish retinal development and congenital heart defects.

Dr. Kostka holds a PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics. His work integrates computational biology, machine learning, and experimental models to address fundamental questions in developmental biology. Key projects include studying retinal ganglion cell genesis, chromatin accessibility in disease, and genomic variants in congenital disorders.

His research output spans computational methods for variant prioritization, cis-regulatory module identification, and disease modeling. Articles highlight innovations in biophysical transcription factor binding predictions and tools like Vaeda for doublet detection in scRNA-seq data.

Dr. Kostka’s lab maintains an active research website at kostkalab.net, detailing ongoing projects and collaborations.