Dr. Mary Lauren Benton
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

Education
- PhD, Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University (2020)
- MS, Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University (2018)
- BSI, Bioinformatics, Baylor University, (2015)
Research Interests
- Computational biology
- Gene regulation
Selected Publications
- Benton ML, Ruderfer DM, Capra JA. Cis-regulatory Landscape Size, Constraint, and Tissue Specificity Associate with Gene Function and Expression. Genome Biol Evol. 2023;15(7):evad126. doi:10.1093/gbe/evad126
- Benton, M. L., Jimenez, V. A., Newman, N., Gonzales, S. W., Grant, K. A., Turner, R. T., Iwaniec, U. T., & Baker, E. J. (2021). Dose-response effects of alcohol on biochemical markers of bone turnover in non-human primates: Effects of species, sex and age of onset of drinking. Bone reports, 16, 101159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bonr.2021.101159
Bio
Dr. Mary Lauren Benton joined the Baylor Engineering and Computer Science faculty as an assistant professor of bioinformatics. Prior to Baylor, she completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Benton’s research focuses on the application of computer science methods to interpret how DNA sequences alter genome function and impact disease risk. Her current interests include the development of new approaches that integrate diverse datasets and advance our understanding of gene regulation.
The Benton Lab is particularly interested in developing new methods to interpret the impact of genetic variation on gene regulatory processes, and to understand the genetic and environmental risk factors of substance use.