Alexander Gusev (scientist)

Alexander (Sasha) Gusev is a computational biologist and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Research and career
Alexander Gusev has developed computational methods that use genetic data to decipher disease mechanisms. For example, he has identified 34 new genes associated with increased risk of earliest-stage ovarian cancer. He has developed computational methods that integrate molecular data to facilitate functional interpretation of findings from genome-wide association studies. He has contributed to the development of the transcriptome-wide association study approach to mapping disease-associated genes. In addition, he studies the interactions between germline (host) and somatic events (tumor) - which are typically studied separately - and their effects on cancer progression and treatment response to advance precision oncology.

Public Intellectual
Dr. Gusev has significantly contributed to public understanding of heritability and the refutation of scientific racism. In his book "A Molecular Genetics Perspective on the Heritability of Human Behavior and Group Differences", Gusev addresses common questions about the genetic basis of behavior and racial differences, emphasizing the complexities and limitations inherent in these topics. He argues against the misuse of genetic data to support racist ideologies, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between correlation and causation in genetic studies. Gusev also stresses the necessity of treating individuals with dignity and respect, irrespective of genetic findings.

In an interview with Mother Jones, Gusev pointed out the confusion people face when racist ideas are cloaked in seemingly scientific data, emphasizing the need for critical evaluation of such claims.

Awards and honors

 * Lenna Peltonen Prize, 2024
 * Claudia Adams Barr Award, 2017-2019
 * Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Postdoctoral Fellowship 2013-2015

Selected publications

 * Integrative approaches for large-scale transcriptome-wide association studies. A Gusev, A Ko, H Shi, G Bhatia, W Chung, B Penninx, R Jansen, E Geus, et al. Nature Genetics. 48(3):245–252. 10.1038/ng.3506
 * Transcriptome-wide association study of schizophrenia and chromatin activity yields mechanistic disease insights. A Gusev, N Mancuso, H Won, M Kousi, HK Finucane, Y Reshef, L Song, et al. Nature Genetics. 50(4):538-548. 10.1038/s41588-018-0092-1
 * Quantifying genetic effects on disease mediated by assayed gene expression levels.Yao DW, O'Connor LJ, Price AL, Gusev A. Nature Genetics. 52(6):626-633. 10.1038/s41588-020-0625-2
 * Allele-specific epigenetic activity in prostate cancer and normal prostate tissue implicates prostate cancer risk mechanisms. Shetty A, Seo JH, Bell CA, O'Connor EP, Pomerantz MM, Freedman ML, Gusev A. The American Journal of Human Genetics. 108(11):2071-2085. 10.1016/j.ajhg.2021.09.008
 * Atlas of prostate cancer heritability in European and African-American men pinpoints tissue-specific regulation. A Gusev, H Shi, G Kichaev, M Pomerantz, F Li et al. Nature Communications. 10.1038/ncomms10979
 * Partitioning heritability of regulatory and cell-type-specific variants across 11 common diseases. A Gusev, SH Lee, G Trynka, H Finucane et al. The American Journal of Human Genetics. 95(5):535-52. 10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.10.004
 * Genetic ancestry contributes to somatic mutations in lung cancers from admixed Latin American populations. J Carrot-Zhang, G Soca-Chafre, N Patterson,..., A Gusev, M Meyerson. Cancer Discovery. 11(3):591-598. 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1165