Dr. Peterson’s lab is interested in quality of life issues that affect all people indirectly or directly. Two critical conditions that his lab is especially interested in are aging and mental health. Mental health is a global health issue in that the outcome we seek is greater mental health equality for all people. The focus of their longevity research is on healthspan –  the healthy period of one’s life. Dr. Peterson takes molecular and population-level approaches to identify causal factors underlying these global public health issues. In particular, his lab is uses computational approaches such as including natural language processing, machine learning for coexpression analysis and wet-lab approaches such as high-throughput sequencing, CRISPR screening, and metabolomics.