Craig Lowe

Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology

Craig Lowe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.  His research interests are in understanding how traits and characteristics of humans, and other vertebrates, are encoded in their genomes.  He is especially focused on adaptations and disease susceptibilities that are unique to humans.  To address these questions, Craig uses both computational and experimental approaches.  Craig's recent research has been on differences in how genes are regulated between species, or between different individuals within a species, and how this causes traits to differ.  All students in Craig's lab are exposed to an interdisciplinary environment; current lab members have backgrounds in mathematics, computer science, neuroscience, developmental biology, and genetics.  Each year Craig teaches one or two courses on rotating topics of: ancient DNA, ethical issues in genomics, and software development for genetic analyses.

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
  • Assistant Professor of Cell Biology
  • Member of the Duke Cancer Institute

Contact Information

  • Email Address: craig.lowe@duke.edu
  • Websites:

Education

  • Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz, 2010

Courses Taught

  • UPGEN 778C: University Program in Genetics and Genomics Biological Solutions Module Ill
  • UPGEN 778B: University Program in Genetics and Genomics Biological Solutions Module Il
  • UPGEN 778A: University Program in Genetics and Genomics Biological Solutions Module I

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Au, Eric H., Seth Weaver, Anushka Katikaneni, Julia I. Wucherpfennig, Yanting Luo, Riley J. Mangan, Matthew A. Wund, Michael A. Bell, and Craig B. Lowe. “Genome Sequence of a Marine Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Rabbit Slough in the Cook Inlet.” G3 (Bethesda), May 23, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkaf114.
  • Yoo, DongAhn, Arang Rhie, Prajna Hebbar, Francesca Antonacci, Glennis A. Logsdon, Steven J. Solar, Dmitry Antipov, et al. “Complete sequencing of ape genomes.” Nature 641, no. 8062 (May 2025): 401–18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08816-3.
  • Au, Eric H., Seth Weaver, Anushka Katikaneni, Julia I. Wucherpfennig, Yanting Luo, Riley J. Mangan, Matthew A. Wund, Michael A. Bell, and Craig B. Lowe. “Genome Sequence of a Marine Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Rabbit Slough in the Cook Inlet.” BioRxiv, February 8, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.06.636934.
  • Katikaneni, Anushka, and Craig B. Lowe. “Novelty versus innovation of gene regulatory elements in human evolution and disease.” Curr Opin Genet Dev 90 (February 2025): 102279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2024.102279.
  • Bartelt, Luke C., Pawel M. Switonski, Grażyna Adamek, Fabiana Longo, Juliana Carvalho, Lisa A. Duvick, Sabrina I. Jarrah, et al. “Dysregulation of zebrin-II cell subtypes in the cerebellum is a shared feature across polyglutamine ataxia mouse models and patients.” Sci Transl Med 16, no. 772 (November 6, 2024): eadn5449. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.adn5449.