Siddharth Gopalan

Functional genomics, quantitative biology, evolutionary genetics

I study the origins of phenotypic diversity and the relationships between genotypes and phenotypes using several different computational genomic techniques and methods (single-cell methods, Hi-C, ATAC-seq, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq etc.)

Contact

Professional Positions

University of Texas, Arlington

Postdoctoral Research Associate

June 2025 — Present

University of Texas, Arlington

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant

Sept 2020 — May 2025

Education

University of Texas, Arlington

2020 — 2025
Quantitative Biology, Ph.D.

University of Toronto

2016 — 2020
Genome Biology; Evolutionary Biology, B.Sc.

Publications

Unique physiological and regulatory activity drives divergent toxin and non-toxin gene expression in rattlesnake accessory venom glands

2025
Toxicon

Kim C., S.N. Smith, S.S. Gopalan, S.R. Kerwin, K. Ballard, B.W. Perry, C.F. Smith, A.J. Saviola, R.H. Adams, S.P. Mackessy, and T.A. Castoe

Single-cell resolution of intestinal regeneration in pythons without crypts illuminates conserved vertebrate regenerative mechanisms

2024
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Westfall A.K., S.S. Gopalan, J.C. Kay, T.S. Tippetts, M.B. Cervantes, K. Lackey, S.M. Chowdhury, M.W. Pellegrino, and T.A. Castoe.

Diverse gene regulatory mechanisms alter rattlesnake venom gene expression at fine evolutionary scales

2024
Genome Biology and Evolution

Gopalan, S.S., B.W. Perry, Y.Z. Francioli, D.R. Schield, H.D. Guss, J.M. Bernstein, K. Ballard, C.F. Smith, A.J. Saviola, R.H. Adams, S.P. Mackessy, and T.A. Castoe.

Single-cell heterogeneity in snake venom expression is hardwired by co-option of regulators from progressively activated pathways

2023
Genome Biology and Evolution

Westfall, A.K.*, Gopalan, S.S.*, B.W. Perry, R.H. Adams, A.J. Saviola, S.P. Mackessy, and T.A. Castoe. [*joint first authors]

The roles of balancing selection and recombination in the evolution of rattlesnake venom

2022
Nature Ecology and Evolution

Schield, D.R., B.W. Perry, R.H. Adams, M.L. Holding, Z.L. Nikolakis, S.S. Gopalan, C.F. Smith, J.M. Parker, J.M. Meik, S.P. Mackessy, and T.A. Castoe.

Origins, genomic structure and copy number variation of snake venom myotoxins

2022
Toxicon

Gopalan, S.S., B.W. Perry, D.R. Schield, C.F. Smith, S.P. Mackessy, and T.A. Castoe.

Snake venom gene expression is coordinated by novel regulatory architecture and the integration of multiple coopted vertebrate pathways

2022
Genome Research

Perry, B.W., S.S Gopalan, G.I.M. Pasquesi, D.R. Schield, A.K. Westfall, C.F. Smith, I. Koludarov, P.T. Chippindale, M.K. Pellegrino, E.B. Chuong, S.P. Mackessy, and T.A. Castoe.