Justin Avila is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Sauka-Spengler Lab.

Current Project: Melanocytes are specialized cells responsible for producing pigment in the epidermis, where they play a critical role in protecting against ultraviolet radiation. In addition to the skin, these cells have been identified in several non-cutaneous tissues, including the inner ear, central nervous system, heart, and gastrointestinal tract. However, their precise functions in these locations remain poorly understood. Furthermore, their susceptibility to disease differs across tissues and is reflected in conditions such as vitiligo, Tietz syndrome, and Waardenburg syndromes.  To better understand melanocyte heterogeneity and disease susceptibility, we aim to profile melanocyte lineages and identify both shared and unique factors that contribute to disease risk. A key challenge is the substantial amount of data required to distinguish regulatory differences between cells that share highly similar identities. To address this, we are establishing methods that enable efficient and cost-effective integration of genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic profiling across individual melanocyte populations. These approaches enable systematic screening of molecular diversity across regulatory layers while linking cells to their developmental origins. By connecting multi-omic signatures to developmental trajectories, we aim to identify the regulatory programs that define cell identity and drive disease susceptibility.