Ph.D. Candidate • Texas A&M

Andres Barboza

Genetics & Genomics Researcher | Blackmon Lab

Studying genome evolution, population genetics, and sex chromosome dynamics through computational and theoretical approaches

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About Me

Ph.D. Candidate in Genetics

Researcher at the Blackmon Lab, Texas A&M University • Expected Graduation 2026

Research Interests

  • Genome Evolution
  • Population Genetics
  • Sex Chromosomes
  • Bioinformatics
  • Computational Biology
  • Evolutionary Theory

Education

  • Ph.D. Genetics & Genomics
    Texas A&M University, 2026 (Expected)
    GPA: 4.00
  • B.S. Biochemistry
    Arkansas Tech University, 2022
    Summa Cum Laude, GPA: 3.96
Research

Current & Past Projects

Exploring genome evolution and population genetics through computational approaches

Current

SeqDef: Phylogenetically Weighted Genomic Prioritization

R package for phylogenetically weighted genomic prioritization across the tree of life. Enables researchers to identify and prioritize genomic regions based on evolutionary context.

R Phylogenetics Bioinformatics
Current

Epistatic Capacitance

Understanding the accumulation of epistatic variations in populations and its effect on future adaptation. Developing theoretical framework for cryptic genetic variation.

Population Genetics Simulations Python
Published

Evolution of Achiasmatic Meiosis

Exploring evolutionary dynamics of achiasmatic meiosis, investigating drivers including sexual antagonism versus heteromorphy-dependent aneuploidy.

Sex Chromosomes Meiosis Modeling
Publications

Peer-Reviewed Work

Google Scholar Profile

In Preparation

SeqDef: An R package for phylogenetically weighted genomic prioritization across the tree of life

ANDRES BARBOZA, GARRETT FISSELL, DANIEL SPALINK, HEATH BLACKMON

Preparing for submission to Journal of Evolutionary Biology

Under Review

Self-compatibility weakens barriers to karyotype change and increases the rate of chromosome evolution in angiosperms

MEGAN COPELAND, ANDRES BARBOZA, PHILIP UGOCHUKWY, HEATH BLACKMON

Under Review in PNAS

Published 2025

Drivers of Achiasmatic Meiosis: Sexual Antagonism versus Heteromorphy-Dependent Aneuploidy across Sex-Chromosome Divergence

ANDRES BARBOZA, HEATH BLACKMON

G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics

Published 2025

Direct Repeater: R package for annotating direct repeats in genome assemblies

MEGAN COPELAND, ANDRES BARBOZA, JOSEPH ROMANOWSKI, ZACH ADELMAN, HEATH BLACKMON

F1000 Research

Published 2024

Orphan Genes are not a Distinct Biological Entity

ANDRES BARBOZA*, MATTHEW MARANO*, RAMYA BATHALA, RIGOBERTO AYALA ZARAGOZA, ANDRES NEIRA, ALEX SAMANO, ADEKOLA OWOYEMI, CLAUDIO CASOLA

BioEssays

Published 2022

In Situ Generation of a Zwitterionic Charge Transfer Probe for Selective Detection of Human Serum Albumin

RAJIB CHOUDHURY, ARUN K. SHARMA, PRATIKSHYA PAUDEL, PRESTON WILSON, ANDRES BARBOZA

Analytical Biochemistry

DOI
Experience

Education & Career

Academic journey, professional development, and leadership

2022 - 2026

Ph.D. in Genetics and Genomics

Texas A&M University

Studying genome structure, population genetics, and evolutionary biology under Dr. Heath Blackmon. Major GPA: 4.00

Summer 2024

Pharmacogenetics Clinical Trial Intern

AbbVie

  • Compared short-read, long-read, and PharmacoScan sequencing platforms
  • Built pipelines for star-allele calling using WGS and ONT data
2023 - Present

Graduate Teaching & Research Assistant

Texas A&M University

  • Focus on genome evolution and population genetics via simulations
  • Lead Introductory Biology II & Principles of Genetics Labs
  • Conduct mathematical modeling and ML for image recognition
2023 - 2025

Leadership & Service

GGSA, Texas A&M University

  • Membership Committee Chair (2024-2025): Led faculty-student committee and reviewed applications
  • Seminar Committee Co-Chair (2023-2024): Invited speakers and coordinated itineraries
2018 - 2022

B.S. in Biochemistry

Arkansas Tech University

Graduated Summa Cum Laude with Major GPA: 3.96.

2021 - 2022

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Arkansas Tech University & UAMS

  • Assisted projects on organic fluorescent probes (Arkansas Tech)
  • Performed osteoblast gene expression research (UAMS, Summer 2021)
2019 - 2022

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant & Tutor

Arkansas Tech University

  • Assisted in Organic Chem I, General Chem, and Survey of Chemistry Labs
  • Tutored Chemistry, Biology, and Calculus (2020)
Leadership

Mentorship & Awards

Guiding the next generation of scientists and academic recognition

GGSA Teaching Excellence & Conference Awards

Texas A&M University Genetics Graduate Student Association

2023

ACS Physical Chemistry Achievement Award

American Chemical Society recognition at Arkansas Tech University

2022

Kenzie Laird

Ph.D. Program at UBC

Kevin Bolwerk

Ph.D. Program at Texas A&M

Meghann McConnell

Ph.D. Program at Clemson

Zoya Wani

STEGG Post-Bac at Houston
Skills

Technical Expertise

Computational, analytical, and laboratory skills

Programming

Python R Linux/Unix Bash C++ HTML/CSS LaTeX

Genomics & Bioinformatics

bwa bamtools GATK bcftools vcftools PLINK samtools HIFIasm SPAdes BUSCO FastQC bowtie2 Salmon DESeq2 GWAS

Data Science

Machine Learning Computer Vision Simulations Data Visualization Software Development HPC Cluster Computing

Code Management

Git/GitHub Conda Docker Singularity Snakemake Nextflow

Molecular Biology

DNA/RNA Extraction PCR qPCR RT-PCR Gel Imaging

Chemistry

UV-Vis Spectrometry IR Spectroscopy
Contact

Get In Touch

Interested in collaboration or have questions about my research?

Email

andresdbp00@gmail.com

GitHub

@Andresdbp

Google Scholar

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