Aaron Quinlan
Professor Of Human Genetics at University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Summary
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Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolAaron Quinlan is a Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Utah with 17 years of experience leading a computational genomics lab that builds algorithms and software to extract biological signal from large, noisy genomic data. Trained in computer science (BS) and genomics (PhD), he blends systems-level engineering with statistical genetics to study genome biology and the genetic basis of traits. He is an active open-source contributor to foundational bioinformatics tools—contributing performance and statistical features to vcflib and quality-control and RNA handling improvements to the widely used bedtools suite. His work emphasizes robust, production-ready code for genome arithmetic and VCF processing, reflecting a rare combination of deep biological insight and low-level C++/Cython optimization. Based in Salt Lake City, he runs the Quinlan lab and translates methodological advances into broadly usable software for the genomics community.
17 years of coding experience
9 years of employment as a software developer
BS, Computer Science, BS, Computer Science at The College of William and MaryDoctor of Philosophy (PhD), Biology (Genomics), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Biology (Genomics) at Boston College
French
Github Skills (12)
bioinformatics10
data-structures10
algorithms10
genomics10
c-language10
cprogramming-language10
computer-engineering10
cython10
data-structure10
algorithm9
sequence-analysis9
python8
Programming languages (17)
Github contributions (5)
arq5x/bedtools2
Jul 2018 - Dec 2022
bedtools - the swiss army knife for genome arithmetic
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:18 releases, 3 reviews, 200 commits in 4 years 5 months
Contributions summary:Aaron primarily contributed to the implementation of quality control features within the bedtools2 suite, introducing a new "qc" tool and related contexts and tools in the C++ codebase. They also addressed a memory issue related to data compression, improving the stability of the tool. Further, the user added functionality for handling RNA sequence reverse complementation within the sequence utilities.
bedtools
vcflib/vcflib
Sep 2011 - Mar 2012
C++ library and cmdline tools for parsing and manipulating VCF files with python and zig bindings
Role in this project:Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:37 commits in 5 months
Contributions summary:Aaron primarily contributed to the `vcflib` library, focusing on enhancing its functionality for handling and manipulating VCF files. Their work involved adding new methods, such as `getNumSamples()`, `getAAF()`, and `getNucleotideDiversity()`, demonstrating a focus on providing statistical analysis capabilities. The user also created a Cython port and introduced features like parsing genotype information, indicating a focus on performance improvements and expanding the library's usability.
cppparsingpythonvcf-fileszig
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