Fred Wright

Fred Wright is the Goodnight Innovation Distinguished Professor and Director of the Bioinformatics Research Center at North Carolina State University's Department of Statistics. He holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Chicago (1994). His research focuses on bioinformatics, statistical genetics, and likelihood-based inference, with applications in toxicology, genomics, and computational biology. He leads efforts to integrate multi-omics data for environmental and health risk assessment, particularly in studying genetic modifiers of diseases like cystic fibrosis and evaluating chemical hazards using new approach methodologies (NAMs). His work bridges statistical theory and applied problems in precision medicine and regulatory science. He is affiliated with the NC State University campus in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Key research areas include population-based toxicity screening, gene expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis, and the development of computational tools for big data integration (e.g., ToxPi software). His projects often involve collaborations with institutions like the Texas A&M Superfund Research Program and the Collaborative Cross mouse population studies. Recent work emphasizes leveraging human in vitro models and machine learning to advance regulatory toxicology and reduce reliance on animal testing.

Dr. Wright's contributions span statistical methodology, environmental health, and genetic epidemiology. He has advised numerous graduate students and postdocs, though specific names are not listed in the provided texts. His grants and funding focus on advancing computational frameworks for chemical risk assessment and understanding genetic contributions to complex diseases.