Kerstin Ludwig

Prof. Dr. Kerstin Ludwig is a Professor at the Institut für Humangenetik, University of Bonn, affiliated with the Life and Health Transdisciplinary Research Area. Her research focuses on identifying genetic risk factors for complex traits and congenital defects, particularly orofacial clefting and host genetics in diseases like COVID-19. Using genomic technologies such as exome/genome sequencing and multi-omics integration, she explores functional impacts of genetic variants and their cell-type-specific effects.

Key research interests include:

• Complex genetics of multifactorial diseases
• Craniofacial malformations and their genetic basis
• Host genetic factors in viral infections (e.g., SARS-CoV-2)
• Multi-omics approaches for disease mechanism elucidation

Her lab has pioneered diagnostic tools like LAMP-Seq for scalable pandemic testing and contributed to understanding genetic architecture of cleft lip/palate. Collaborations span clinical, computational, and basic science domains to bridge genotype-phenotype gaps.