Frontiers in Population Genomics Research Meeting

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., is the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Collins is now leading NHGRI's effort to ensure that this new trove of sequence data is translated into tools and strategies to advance biological knowledge and improve human health.

Dr. Collins received a B.S. from the University of Virginia, a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Yale University, and an M.D. from the University of North Carolina. Following a fellowship in Human Genetics at Yale, he joined the faculty at the University of Michigan, where he remained until moving to NIH in 1993. His research has led to the identification of genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes and the genes responsible for cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, Huntington's disease and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Harris is an Epidemiologist in the Office of Population Genomics, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), joining NHGRI in 2006. She received her Ph.D. in Medical Genetics from Indiana University in 1980 and her M.P.H. in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985, and is a board-certified Ph.D. Medical Geneticist. She manages a portfolio of research in population genomics, including a collaborative group of studies funded through the Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative's (GEI's) genome-wide association program. She serves as the Chair of the Data Access Committee (DAC) for the Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN) and as Co-chair of NHGRI's DAC.

Prior to joining NHGRI, Dr. Harris was an extramural researcher in genetics and epidemiology, with appointments at Johns Hopkins University (1986-1993) and Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland OR (1993-2006). Her experience includes designing and implementing family studies and population-based epidemiologic studies, and human research subjects' protection (former member of two IRBs). Her research interests include implementing genetics into clinical care, and gene-environment interactions in complex diseases.

Dr. Hindorff is an Epidemiologist in the Office of Population Genomics at NHGRI. She received her M.P.H. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Washington, where her research focused on cardiovascular genetic epidemiology and motivating factors for using genetic tests in clinical care. At NHGRI, Dr. Hindorff is involved in efforts to better characterize functional genetic variants in large-scale populations to understand their public health importance. Her research interests include pharmacogenetics, the integration of genetic tests into clinical care, and practical issues related to large epidemiological studies.

Ms. Junkins is a Scientific Program Analyst in the Office of Population Genomics, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), joining NHGRI in 2007. She received her M.S. in Biomedical Anthropology from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2004. She is currently working on the Phenotypes and Exposures Tool Kit (PhenX) project, Electronic Medical Record Genomic Network (eMERGE) and the Frontiers in Population Genomics Workshop.

Ms. Junkins has worked in clinical and laboratory settings focusing on public health and education and disease outcome and care. Her research interests include women and minority health issues and translating genome-wide association studies into clinical science as well as addressing the multi-cultural aspects of such research.

Dr. Manolio is Director of the Office of Population Genomics, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and Senior Advisor to the Director, NHGRI, for Population Genomics. She received her M.D. from the University of Maryland in 1980 and her Ph.D. in human genetics and genetic epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University in 2001.

In 1987, Dr. Manolio joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute where she was heavily involved in large-scale cohort studies such as the Cardiovascular Health Study and the Framingham Heart Study. She joined NHGRI in 2005 to lead efforts in applying genomic technologies to population research, including the Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN) and the Genes and Environment Initiative (GEI).

Dr. Manolio also maintains an active appointment on the in-patient medical service of the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. and is on the faculty of the University Services University of the Health Sciences as Professor of Medicine. She is the author of over 190 original research papers and has research interests in the epidemiology of subclinical cardiovascular disease, ethnic differences in disease risk and genome-wide association studies of complex diseases.

Lisa McNeil is a Scientific Program Analyst in the Office of Population Genomics, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). She received her B.S. in Biology/Genetics from The Pennsylvania State University in 2005. Lisa joined NHGRI in July 2007, and is the lead Program Analyst on the Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN) and the Genes, Environment and Health Initiative (GEI).

While attending Penn State, Lisa worked as an assistant in Dr. Ross Hardison's laboratory, where she performed comparative genomics experiments. Her research interests include genetic epidemiology of common complex diseases such as cardiovascular disease and autoimmune disorders. She is also interested in the ethical and legal components of human subjects' research.

Dr. Ramos is an Epidemiologist in the Office of Population Genomics, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). She received her B.S. in biology/genetics from the Pennsylvania State University and her M.P.H. and Ph.D. in the multidisciplinary field of public health genetics from the University of Washington. Dr. Ramos is the NIH Project Scientist on a collaborative project to develop a set of standardized phenotypic and exposure measures for use in genome-wide association studies and related genomic and epidemiologic research.

Before joining NHGRI, Dr. Ramos focused her research on the identification of genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease and also explored the ethical, social, and policy implications that surround genomics research. While at the University of Washington, she worked with the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center to develop and implement a process for standardizing and storing detailed phenotypic and clinical data. Her general research interests include the genetic epidemiology of dementia and both human subjects and health policy research.

Dr. Struewing received his M.D. degree in 1981 from Indiana University and completed a Preventive Medicine Residency at the University of Maryland where he also received an M.S. degree. After serving 3 years as a Medical Officer in the US Navy, he joined the National Cancer Institute in 1991 as a Commissioned Officer in the Public Health Service. He received tenure in 2001 and joined the Office of Population Genomics in 2007.

Dr. Struewing's research has focused on breast and ovarian cancer and has included epidemiologic and laboratory studies in family- and population-based settings. He is leading the eMERGE consortium of biorepositories linked to electronic medical records to conduct genomics research.