Audrey Gasch is a Professor of Genetics in the Laboratory of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the director of Genome Center of Wisconsin and the Director of Graduate Studies in Genetics at the university as well.
Professor Gasch's lab combines functional and comparative genomics with computational and molecular biology, for a systems-wide view of eukaryotic stress defense and signaling. Specifically, they focus on how cells sense their environment, detect when there is a problem, and then mount a multi-faceted response to protect themselves against stress. Because defects in sensing and responding to cellular stress are linked to many human diseases, and because much of yeast physiology is similar to human cells, the group's research is generating important insights into how normal cells function and when problems cause disease. In addition to addressing fundamental questions about basic biology, they also apply this information to producing sustainable and economical biofuels from cellulosic materials.