Parul Johri

Parul Johri is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, holding joint appointments in the Departments of Biology and Genetics. Her research focuses on population genetics, statistical inference, and evolutionary genomics, aiming to understand how evolutionary processes like selection, mutation, recombination, and demographic changes shape genomic variation. She leads the Johri Lab, which develops computational and theoretical approaches to address fundamental questions in population genetics, including the effects of linked selection and gene duplication.

Education:

• PhD in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior (Indiana University, 2018) under Michael Lynch
• Masters in Biology (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 2012)
• B.Sc. in Mathematics (St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, 2009)

Research Interests: Her work explores evolutionary processes shaping genomic diversity, including the interplay between adaptive and non-adaptive forces, gene duplication dynamics, and the development of evolutionary null models for human pathogens. Current projects investigate how linked selection impacts inference of demographic history and fitness effects of mutations. The lab uses forward-in-time simulations, diffusion theory, and empirical datasets to model these processes.

Awards & Funding:

• NIH NIGMS R35 Award (2024-2029) for $1.25M to study evolutionary process interactions
• SMBE Early Career Excellence Award (2024)
• Searle Scholars Program Nominee (2023)

Lab & Collaborations: The Johri Lab is part of the UNC Research Triangle ecosystem, collaborating with institutions like Arizona State University and the University of Edinburgh. Current projects include modeling gene-based fitness effects, analyzing pathogen evolution (e.g., SARS-CoV-2), and developing open-source tools for population genetic analysis on GitHub repositories like JohriLab.