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Rajiv McCoy

Rajiv McCoy, PhD

Highlights

Languages

  • English

Gender

Male

Johns Hopkins Affiliations:

  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty

About Rajiv McCoy

Background

Rajiv McCoy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology. His research program uses computational and statistical approaches to study how germline and somatic evolution shape human genome function, reproduction, and development. Current research themes include using data from prenatal genetic testing to understand the causes of human pregnancy loss, as well as generating and analyzing data from global populations to understand the genetic basis and evolution of human genome function. Before joining Johns Hopkins, Rajiv received his PhD in Biology from Stanford University and conducted postdoctoral work at Princeton University and the University of Washington.

LinkedIn

Additional Academic Titles

Joint Appointment in Genetic Medicine

Lab Website

Research Summary

Genetic differences in DNA sequence underlie much of the variation in traits we see in nature, both within and between species. Even within a single individual, genetic differences can arise among cells over time, contributing to variation in traits and, in some cases, to conditions such as pregnancy loss and cancer.

The McCoy Lab uses tools from computational and statistical human genetics to study how germline and somatic evolution shape genome function and reproduction and development. Our work spans diverse biological systems but is unified by a common goal: developing methods to uncover the fundamental evolutionary forces that influence our genomes, from individual cells to entire populations.

Google Scholar - Publications

Selected Publications

  • Carioscia, S. A., Biddanda, A., Starostik, M. R., Tang, X., Hoffmann, E. R., Demko, Z. P., McCoy, R. C. (2026). Common variation in meiosis genes shapes human recombination and aneuploidy risk. Nature, 651: 146–153.
  • Taylor, D. J., Chhetri, S. B., Tassia, M. G., Biddanda, A., Yan, S. M., Wojcik, G. L., Battle, A., McCoy, R. C. (2024). Sources of gene expression variation in a globally diverse human cohort. Nature, 632: 122–130.
  • McCoy, R. C., Summers, M. C., McCollin, A., Ottolini, C. S., Ahuja, K., Handyside, A. H. (2023). Meiotic and mitotic aneuploidies drive arrest of in vitro fertilized human preimplantation embryos. Genome Medicine, 15: 77.
  • Aganezov, S., Yan, S. M., … Taylor, D. J., … McCoy, R. C., Dennis, M. Y., Zook, J. M., Schatz, M. C. (2022). A complete reference genome improves analysis of human genetic variation. Science, 376: eabl3533.
  • Yan, S. M., Sherman, R. M., Taylor, D. J., Nair, D. R., Bortvin, A. N., Schatz, M. C., McCoy, R. C. (2021). Local adaptation and archaic introgression shape global diversity at human structural variant loci. eLife, 10: e67615.

Honors

  • Next Generation Pregnancy Initiative Award, Burroughs Wellcome Fund (2026)
  • Discovery Award, Johns Hopkins University (2025, 2022)
  • Catalyst Award, Johns Hopkins University (2024)
  • Graduate Education Award, CMDB Graduate Program (2024)

Graduate Program Affiliations

  • Cellular, Molecular, Developmental Biology, and Biophysics (CMDB)
  • Human Genetics and Genomes (HGG)

Expertise

Education

  • Stanford University, Ph.D., 2015