My research interests are centered on the development of non-invasive diagnostic and screening tools using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) extracted from biological fluids such as blood plasma — an approach now broadly termed "liquid biopsy." In the prenatal setting, I am interested in the use of next-generation sequencing and epigenomic analysis of cfDNA to detect fetal aneuploidy and pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia. A particular focus is the development of multimodal epigenomic signatures in cfDNA that have the potential to simultaneously screen for multiple conditions from a single maternal blood sample, offering a more comprehensive and still entirely non-invasive approach to prenatal testing.
Beyond reproductive medicine, I am interested in extending epigenomic liquid biopsy methods across a range of clinical domains where non-invasive diagnostic tools are currently lacking. These include neonatology, where I am interested in the early detection of Necrotizing Enterocolitis before the onset of symptoms; gynecology, where a non-invasive blood test could dramatically reduce the chronic diagnostic delays associated with endometriosis; psychiatry, where liquid biopsy approaches may enable non-invasive molecular phenotyping of the brain; and oncology and pulmonary medicine, where epigenomic cfDNA signatures have potential for cancer screening and the detection and phenotyping of diseases such as COPD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and lung transplant rejection. Central to all these interests is a commitment to translating research innovations into clinical practice through commercialization, which I view as an essential pathway for scientific discoveries to meaningfully impact public health.
- BSc (Hons), Applied Biology, Liverpool Polytechnic
- PhD, Molecular Genetics, University of Liverpool
- Post Doc, Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh
Chu T, Bunce K, Hogge WA, Peters DG*. Statistical model for whole genome sequencing and its application to minimally invasive diagnosis of fetal genetic disease. Bioinformatics. 2009 May;25(10):1244-50. PMID: 19307238.
Peters D*, Chu T, Yatsenko SA, Hendrix N, Hogge WA, Surti U, Bunce K, Dunkel M, Shaw P, Rajkovic A. Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of a fetal microdeletion syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2011 Nov;365(19):1847-8. PMID: 22070496.
Chu T, Yeniterzi S, Yatsenko SA, Dunkel M, Rajkovic A, Hogge WA, Peters DG*. Cell-free nucleic acids as non-invasive biomarkers of gynecological disorders, fetal aneuploidy and constitutional maternal chromosomal mosaicism. Hum Reprod Update. 2015 Sept-Oct;21(5):690-2. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmv015. PMID: 25765864.
Pan LA, Martin P, Zimmer T, Segreti AM, Kassiff S, McKain BW, Baca CA, Rengasamy M, Hyland K, Walano N, Steinfeld R, Hughes M, Dobrowolski SK, Pasquino M, Diler R, Perel J, Finegold DN, Peters DG, Naviaux RK, Brent DA, Vockley J. Neurometabolic Disorders: Potentially treatable abnormalities in patients with treatment-refractory depression and suicidal behavior. Am J Psychiatry. 2016 Aug 13. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15111500. PMID: 27523499.
McClain LL, Shaw P, Sabol R, Chedia AM, Segretti AM, Rengasamy M, Finegold DN, Pan L, Peters DG*. Rare variants and biological pathways identified in treatment-refractory depression. Neurosci Res. 2020 Jul;98(7):1322-1334. PMID: 32128872.
Chu T, Shaw P, McClain L, Simhan H, Peters DG*. High-resolution epigenomic liquid biopsy for noninvasive phenotyping in pregnancy. Prenat Diagn. 2020 Oct 1. PMID: 33002217.
Good M, Chu T, Shaw P, McClain L, Chamberlain A, Castro C, Rimer JM, Mihi B, Gong Q, Nolan LS, Cooksey K, Linneman L, Agrawal, P, Finegold DN, Peters DG*. Global Hypermethylation of Intestinal Epithelial Cells is a Hallmark Feature of Neonatal Surgical Necrotizing Enterocolitis. Clinical Epigenetics. 2020. Dec 11;12(1):190. PMID 33308304.
Good M, Chu T, Shaw P, McClain L, Chamberlain A, Castro C, Rimer JM, Mihi B, Gong Q, Nolan, LS, Cooksey K, Linneman L, Agrawal, P, Finegold DN, Peters DG*. Neonatal Necrotizing Enterocolitis-Associated DNA Methylation Signatures in Colon are Evident in Stool Samples of Affected Individuals Epigenomics. 2021 Jun;13(11):829-844. PMID: 33905263.
Frazer L, Chu TJ, Shaw PA, Boufford C, Tavares Naief L, Ednie M, Ritzert L, Green CP, Good M, Peters DG. Detection of an intestinal cell DNA methylation signature in blood samples from neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis. Epigenomics 2025; Feb;2:1-11.
Wang Y, Shaw PA, Boufford CK, Davis AC, Lewis E, Vallon A, Naief LT, Ednie M, Ritzert L, Gandhi FA, Donnellan NM, Chu TJ, McKennan CG, and Peters DG*. Deconvolution of DNA methylation data reveals cell-type-specific epigenomic signatures in endometriosis and eutopic endometrium. Molecular Human Reproduction; Dec; PMID: 41433079
