Youssef Idaghdour
Associate Professor of Biology; Global Network Associate Professor of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Science, NYU
Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: BSc in Biology from Ibn Zohr in Agadir; MSc, University of Leicester; PhD, North Carolina State University
Research Websites: Idaghdour Lab — Environmental Genomics
Research Areas: Population and Medical Genomics, Gene-environment Interactions
The overarching goal of Youssef Idaghdour’s group is to understand how genomes and environment interact at various levels of biological variation, moving from the architecture of the genome itself to protein function and transitioning through the complex modes of epigenetic and gene expression regulation.
Youssef Idaghdour is particularly interested in studying the role genetic and environmental factors play in shaping health-related phenotypes and how interactions between these effects trigger disease and modulate its outcome. He does most of his experimental research on mammalian systems and he focuses on metabolic traits and immune response to cancer and infection. To achieve these goals, his lab generates high-dimensional genomic datasets from single-cells, tissues, and cells, and use bioinformatics and statistical genetic approaches to analyze the data.
Youssef is also interested in the area of ecological genomics and he's actively involved in developing genetic tools to facilitate population genetic analysis of endangered marine and wildlife species including Houbara bustards and falcons.
Youssef grew up in southern Morocco where he later graduated with BSc in Biology and spent several years working on endangered avian species. After completing his M.Sc. training in Molecular Genetics at the University of Leicester in the UK and Ph.D. training in Genetics at North Carolina State University under a Fulbright Scholarship, he received a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship and became part of a large program in medical and population genomics at Sainte-Justine Research Center in Montreal prior to joining New York University Abu Dhabi.