Laura Scott

Laura Scott is a Research Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She holds a PhD in Cell Biology from Johns Hopkins University (1993) and an MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan (1995). Her career includes postdoctoral work at the Joslin Diabetes Center and the University of Michigan, where she has been a faculty member since 2003. Dr. Scott chairs the Biostatistics Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and actively promotes racial equity in academia and community settings.

Her research focuses on genetic and epigenetic factors influencing Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), psychiatric disorders, and metabolic traits. Key projects include the FUSION study (integrating multi-omic data in T2D-related tissues) and the InPSYght project (whole-genome sequencing of African American bipolar disorder/schizophrenia cases). Methodological contributions include eQTL analysis, imputation quality in diverse populations, and meta-analysis techniques.

Dr. Scott’s work bridges computational genetics and clinical applications, with studies on ACE2 expression in adipose tissue, genetic variants in β-globin loci linked to pneumonia susceptibility, and polygenic risk scores for blood pressure. She collaborates with global initiatives like the Michigan Genomics Initiative and leads the Center for Statistical Genetics.