Brett Pickett

Research Interests

The research in our group can be divided into two distinct but complementary categories: comparative genomics of pathogens, and the human transcriptional response to a stimulus (i.e. infection, cancer, etc).

To perform comparative genomics, we begin by either assembling consensus genomes or retrieving them from public databases. We then generate multiple sequence alignments, reconstruct phylogenetic trees, identify significant changes between groups of sequences, and apply other relevant methods. Our goal is to better understand how the pathogens evolve over time, what advantages certain mutations may confer, and whether we can predict future changes before they occur.

To analyze the human transcriptional during acute infection (e.g. influenza, Streptococcus) or chronic disease (e.g. cancer, autoimmunity), we begin by retrieving raw sequencing data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information. These sequences are then subjected to an analytical pipeline that quantifies how many times each mRNA in the sample is present. We can then run statistics to identify significant 1) differentially-expressed genes, 2) functional enrichment of terms, and 3) signaling pathways that are represented. The signaling pathway results can then be cross-referenced to other data sources to find drugs that target host processes that the infection or chronic condition generally affects. By targeting such "key pathways", we can potentially reduce the severity, symptoms, and/or progression of these acute or chronic diseases.

The results from either research category can then be combined and subjected to machine learning algorithms. These types of analyses can identify prominent and/or subtle trends that can then be tested for biological relevance and function in the laboratory.

Teaching Interests

Molecular Biology
Genomics

Education

• Ph.D., Microbiology , University of Alabama at Birmingham (2010)
• B.S., Microbiology , Brigham Young University (2005)

Honors and Awards

• Inspiring Learning Award - Career Champion, BYU Career and Experiential Learning (2021 - 2021)
• Hiramoto Travel Award, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Microbiology (2009 - 2009)
• T32 Training Grant, National Institutes of Health (2007 - 2008)
• Student Travel Award, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (2007 - 2007)
• Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America (1995 - 1995)

Memberships

• American Society for Microbiology (2017 - Present)
• European Virus Bioinformatics Center (2017 - Present)
• American Society for Virology (2009 - Present)
• Sigma Delta Pi (2004 - Present)
• Scientists and Engineers for America (2009 - 2010)

Professional Citizenship

• Editorial Review Board Member, Genes (2022 - Present)
• Board Member, Viruses Editorial Office (2021 - Present)
• Committee/Council Chair, Operation Outbreak (2020 - Present)
• Editorial Review Board Member, PeerJ (2019 - Present)
• Officer, American Society for Microbiology, Intermountain Branch (2022 - 2023)

Courses Taught

Show Previous Years

Publications

Eliza E Bitter Jonathan Skidmore Carolyn I Allen Rachel I Erickson Rachel M Morris Toni Mortimer Audrey Meade Rachel Brog Tim Phares Michelle Townsend Brett Earl Pickett Kim Leslie O'Neill Naomi Rapier-Sharman Mae-Lynn L. Hutchinson Carlos Moreno Abraham Quaye Brian Douglas Poole Kelly Scott Weber William G Pitt Brett Earl Pickett Jonathan R Hyde Thomas Armond Jacob A Herring Sandra Hope Julianne House Grose Donald Philip Breakwell Brett Earl Pickett Hannah Hittson Leah McAleer Lydia Saucedo Lindsay Mahler Gabriel Andino Andie Zorba Sarah Walden Brett Earl Pickett Brian Douglas Poole Erika Abel Adam T Woolley Greg Nordin Brett Earl Pickett Jacob B Nielsen James D Holladay Addalyn J Burningham Naomi Rapier‑Sharman Rapier‑Sharman Joshua S Ramsey Timothy B Skaggs Mauri Dobbs Spendlove Trent Gibson Shaney McCain Benjamin C Stone Tristan Gill Brett Earl Pickett Mary Elizabeth Warren Brett Earl Pickett Byron James Adams Crystal Villalva Alyssa Applegate Richard A Robison Jeffrey Clancy Curtis S Hoffmann Brett Earl Pickett Kennedy TL Gifford Brett Earl Pickett Madison Gray Israel Guerrero-Arguero Antonio Solis-Leal Richard A Robison Bradford K Berges Brett Earl Pickett Tiana M Scott Antonio Solis-Leal J Brandon Lopez Richard A Robison Bradford K Berges Brett Earl Pickett Naomi Rapier-Sharman Jeffrey Clancy Brett Earl Pickett Ivan Specht Kian Sani Bryn C Loftness Curtis Hoffmann Gabrielle Gionet Amy Bronson John Marshall Craig Decker Landen Bailey Tomi Siyanbade Molly Kemball Brett Earl Pickett William P Hanage Todd Brown Pardis C Sabeti Andres Colubri Carlos Moreno Ellie Bybee Claudia M. Tellez Freitas Brett Earl Pickett Kelly Scott Weber Craig Decker Naomi Lydia Sharman Brett Earl Pickett Ashley Ball Emilee Augenstein Trevor Wienclaw Bradley Richmond Courtney Freestone Jessica Lewis Jared Thompson Brett E Pickett Bradford K Berges Naomi Rapier-Sharman Jeffrey Clancy Brett Earl Pickett John Krapohl Brett Earl Pickett Kiara V. Whitley Claudia M. Tellez Freitas Carlos Moreno Christopher Haynie Joshua Bennett John C. Hancock Tyler D. Cox Brett Earl Pickett Kelly Scott Weber Afsheen Asal Masood A. Shariff Victor Perez-Gutierrez Amnah Khalid Christina Pili Anjana Pillai Usha Venugopal Moiz Kasubhai Balvenkatesh Kanna Brian Douglas Poole Brett Earl Pickett David S. Redd VIdya Menon Annalie Martin Anne Babbitt Allison G Pickens Brett Pickett Jonathon T Hill Arminda Suli Brett Earl Pickett Ryan Connor Tamiru Berhanu-Denka Sherry Bhalla Vyacheslav Brover Michael James Chambers Kumardeep Chaudhary Ousmane H Cisse Allissa Dillman Moamen M Elmassry Michael Feldgarden Eric Holloway Xin Huang William Klimke Catarina Ines Mendes S. Elizabeth Norred Jonathan Parkinson Samantha Sevilla Monica Garcia Solache Defne Surujon Vadim Zalunin Ben Busby Tiana M Scott Samuel Jensen Brett Earl Pickett Israel Guerrero-Arguero Claudia M Tellez-Freitas Kelly Scott Weber Bradford K Berges Richard A Robison Brett Earl Pickett Brett Earl Pickett Maria del Pilar Martinez Viedma Stephen Panossian Kennedy Gifford Kimberly Garcia Isis Figueroa Leda Parham Laise de Moraes Lillian Nunes Gomes Tamara Garcia-Salum Cecilia Perret Daniela Weiskopf Gene S Tan Antonio Augusto Silva Viviane Boaventura Guillermo M. Ruiz-Palacios Alessandro Sette Aruna Dharshan De Silva Rafael A Medina Ivette Lorenzana Kevan M Akrami Ricardo Khouri Daniel Olson Brett Earl Pickett Naomi Rapier-Sharman John Krapohl Ethan J Beausoleil Kennedy T.L. Gifford Benjamin R Hinatsu Curtis S Hoffmann Makayla Komer Tiana M Scott Brett Earl Pickett Mariana G Ferrarini Avantika Lal Rita Rebollo Andreas J Gruber Andrea Guarracino Itziar Martinez Gonzalez Taylor Floyd Daniel Siqueira de Oliveira Justin Shanklin Ethan Beausoleil Taneli Pusa Brett Earl Pickett Vanessa Aguiar-Pulido Kara L Phipps Ketaki Ganti Nathan T Jacobs CY Lee Silvia Carnaccini MC White Miglena Manandhar Brett Earl Pickett Gene S Tan Lucas M Ferreri Daniel R Perez Anice C Lowen D Kaul R Rathnasinghe M Ferres Gene S Tan A Barrera Brett Earl Pickett BA Methe Suman R Das I Budnik Rebecca A Halpin David Wentworth M Schmolke I Mena RA Albrecht Indresh Singh Karen E Nelson Adolfo García-Sastre Christopher L Dupont Rafael A Medina Maria Del Pilar Martinez Viedma Nirgun Kose Leda Parham Angel Balmaseda Guillermina Kuan Ivette Lorenzana Eva Harris James E. Crowe Brett Earl Pickett Sean M Bialosuknia Yi Tan Steven D Zink Cheri A Koetzner Joseph G Maffei Rebecca A Halpin Emmi A Mueller Mark Novotny Meghan Shilts Nadia B Fedorova Paolo Amedeo Suman R Das Brett Earl Pickett Laura D Kramer Alexander T Ciota Maria Del Pilar Martinez Viedma Vinita Puri Lauren M. Oldfield Reed S Shabman Gene S Tan Brett Earl Pickett Bashar Ibrahim Ksenia Arkhipova Arno C Andeweg Susana Posada-Cespedes Francois Enault Arthur Gruber Eugene V Koonin Anne Kupczok Philippe Lemey Alice C McHardy Dino P McMahon Brett Earl Pickett David L Robertson Richard H Scheuermann Alexandra Zhernakova Mark P Zwart Alexander Schonhuth Bas E Dutilh Manja Marz Maria del Pilar Martinez Viedma Brett Earl Pickett Yi Tan Brett Earl Pickett Susmita Shrivastava Lionel Gresh Angel Balmaseda Paolo Amedeo Lihui Hu Vinita Puri Nadia B. Fedorova Rebecca A. Halpin Matthew P LaPointe MR Cone L Heberlein-Larson Laura D Kramer Alexander T Ciota A Gordon Reed S Shabman Suman R Das Eva Harris Lindsey A Moser Brendan T Boylan Fernando R Moreira Laurel J Myers Emma L Svenson Nadia B Fedorova Brett Earl Pickett Kristen A Bernard Susmita Shrivastava Vinita Puri Karrie A Dilley Erika Ngouajio Jessica Shifflett Lauren M Oldfield Nadia B Fedorova Lihui Hu Torrey Williams Alan Durbin Paolo Amedeo S Rashid Reed S Shabman Brett Earl Pickett Lindsey A Moser Lauren M Oldfield Nadia Fedorova Vinita Puri Susmita Shrivastava Paolo Amedeo Richard Isom Lihui Hu Alan Durbin Iara Rocchi Torrey Williams Gene S Tan Reed S Shabman KA Bernard Brett Earl Pickett Martin M Nyaga Yi Tan Mapaseka L Seheri Rebecca A Halpin Asmik Akopov Karla M Stucker Nadia B Fedorova Susmita Shrivastava A Duncan Steele Jason M Mwenda Brett Earl Pickett SR Das JM Mphahlele Susmita Shrivastava Vinita Puri Nadia Fedorova Paolo Amedeo Timothy B Stockwell Reed S Shabman Sujatha Rashid Brett Earl Pickett Alex J Lee Roshni Bhattacharya Richard H Scheuermann Brett Earl Pickett Yun Zhang Brian D Aevermann Tavis K Anderson David F Burke Gwenaelle Dauphin Zhiping Gu Sherry He Sanjeev Kumar Christopher N Larsen Alexandra J Lee X Li Catherine Macken C Mahaffey Brett Earl Pickett B Reardon T Smith L Stewart C Suloway G Sun L Tong AL Vincent B Walters Sam Zaremba H Zhao L Zhou Christian Zmasek Ed B Klem Richard H Scheuermann Mark A Miller Terri Schwartz Brett Earl Pickett Sherry He Edward B Klem Richard H Scheuermann Maria Passarotti Seth Kaufman Maureen A O'Leary Alexandra J Lee Suman R Das Wei Wang Theresa Fitzgerald Brett Earl Pickett Brian D Aevermann David J Topham Ann R Falsey Richard H Scheuermann Brian D Aevermann Brett Earl Pickett Sanjeev Kumar Edward B Klem Sudhakar Agnihothram Peter S Askovich Armand Bankhead, III Meagen Bolles Victoria Carter Jean Chang TR Clauss P Dash AH Diercks AJ Eisfeld A Ellis S Fan MT Ferris LE Gralinski RR Green MA Gritsenko M Hatta RA Heegel JM Jacobs S Jeng L Josset SM Kaiser S Kelly GL Law C Li J Li C Long ML Luna M Matzke J McDermott V Menachery TO Metz H Mitchell ME Monroe G Navarro Gabi Neumann RL Podyminogin SO Purvine CM Rosenberger CJ Sanders AA Schepmoes AK Shukla A Sims P Sova VC Tam N Tchitchek PG Thomas SC Tilton A Totura J Wang BJ Webb-Robertson J Wen JM Weiss F Yang B Yount Q Zhang S McWeeney RD Smith Katrina M Waters Yoshihiro Kawaoka Ralph Baric Alan Aderem MG Katze Richard H Scheuermann VG Dugan SJ Emrich GI Giraldo-Calderón OS Harb RM Newman Brett Earl Pickett LM Schriml TB Stockwell CJ Stoeckert Jr DE Sullivan Indresh Singh DV Ward Alison Yao J Zheng Tanya Barrett Bruce Birren Lauren Brinkac VM Bruno E Caler S Chapman FH Collins CA Cuomo Valentina Di Francesco S Durkin M Eppinger M Feldgarden C Fraser WF Fricke Maria Giovanni Matthew R Henn E Hine JD Hotopp Ilene Karsch-Mizrachi JC Kissinger EM Lee P Mathur EF Mongodin CI Murphy G Myers DE Neafsey Karen E Nelson William C Nierman Julia Puzak D Rasko David S Roos L Sadzewicz JC Silva Bruno Sobral R Burke Squires RL Stevens L Tallon H Tettelin D Wentworth Owen White R Will Jennifer Wortman Yun Zhang Richard H Scheuermann R Burke Squires Brett Earl Pickett Sajal Das Richard H Scheuermann Brett Earl Pickett M Liu EL Sadat RB Squires JM Noronha S He W Jen S Zaremba Z Gu L Zhou Chris N Larsen Irene Bosch L Gehrke Monnie McGee Ed B Klem Richard H Scheuermann R Burke Squires Jyothi Noronha Victoria Hunt Adolfo Garcia-Sastre Catherine Macken Nicole Baumgarth David Suarez Brett Earl Pickett Yun Zhang Chris N Larsen A Ramsey L Zhou Sam Zaremba S Kumar J Deitrich Ed Klem Richard H Scheuermann Jyothi M Noronha Mengya Liu R Burke Squires Brett Earl Pickett Benjamin G Hale Gillian M Air Summer E Galloway Toru Takimoto Mirco Schmolke Victoria Hunt Edward Klem Adolfo García-Sastre Monnie McGee Richard H Scheuermann Brett Earl Pickett Douglas Greer Yun Zhang Lucy Stewart Liwei Zhou Guangyu Sun Zhiping Gu Sanjeev Kumar Sam Zaremba Christopher N Larsen W Jen Ed B Klem Richard H Scheuermann DJ Schmidt Brett Earl Pickett D Camacho G Comach K Xhaja NJ Lennon K Rizzolo N De Bosch A Becerra ML Nogueira A Mondini E V da Silva P F Vasconcelos J L Muñoz-Jordán G A Santiago R Ocazionez Lee Gehrke Elliot L Lefkowitz Bruce W Birren Matthew R Henn Irene Bosch Brett Earl Pickett Rob Striker Elliot J Lefkowitz Gregory S White Brett Earl Pickett Elliot J Lefkowitz Amelia G Johnson Christy Ottendorfer Lillian M Stark Thomas R Unnasch Brett Earl Pickett Eva L Sadat Yun Zhang Jyothi M Noronha R Burke Squires Victoria Hunt Mengya Liu Sanjeev Kumar Sam Zaremba Zhiping Gu L Zhou Chris N Larsen John Dietrich Ed B Klem Richard H Scheuermann Brett Earl Pickett Elliot J Lefkowitz

Presentations