Carlos Bacino, MD, FACMG
Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine And Patient Families
Carlos Bacino, MD, FACMG diagnoses and manages patients with birth defects and a variety of genetic disorders. He participates in subspecialty clinics such as the Skeletal Dysplasia and Craniofacial Clinics. As the Medical Director of the Kleberg Cytogenetics Laboratory, he has a particular interest in structural chromosomes abnormalities and genomic disorders, as well as the mechanism of origin of these chromosome anomalies. In the area of clinical genetics, he is actively involved in the diagnosis and management of pediatric patients with birth defects and rare genetic disorders. He is also interested in the clinical aspect of bone disorders and participate at the Skeletal Dysplasia Clinic at TCH. Currently, he supervises and trains medical students, residents, and fellows. As the Medical Director of the BMGL Cytogenetics Laboratory, Dr. Bacino has a particular interest in structural chromosomes abnormalities and genomic disorders (contiguous gene deletion/duplication syndromes).
Amy Brower, PhD
American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics
In her role at the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), Dr. Brower’s work focuses on creating informatics tool and an expert network of clinicians, researchers sand public health teams to advance research in newborn screening. Dr. Brower was a member of the Human Genome Project Team and spent a decade in industry developing molecular diagnostic tools. She is a former member of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (ADHDNC) and a member of the Follow-up and Treatment Subcommittee and co-chair of its Quality Measures and Health Outcome Workgroup. She serves several advisory boards focused on incorporating genomic medicine into clinical care to improve health outcomes. Dr. Brower lectures on genomics, neuroscience, embryology and child development for doctoral level programs.
Susan Klugman, MD, FACOG, FACMG
Montefiore Medical Center – Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Susan Klugman, MD, FACOG, FACMG, serves as Director of Reproductive and Medical Genetics, and Program Director, Medical Genetics and Genomics Residency at Montefiore. She is also Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women’s Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Klugman’s clinical work focuses on the evaluation of patients and families at risk for genetic disorders during pregnancy or preconception, including prenatal diagnosis and consultation for patients undergoing assisted reproductive technologies. She also provides evaluations for patients at risk for hereditary cancer syndromes. Dr. Klugman’s research focuses on novel methods for prenatal screening, testing and diagnosis as well as the assessment of new modalities for diagnoses and treatment of hereditary cancer syndromes. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and other print publications. She has completed six year terms on both the Committee on Genetics of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Residency Review Committee for Medical Genetics for the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education. Currently, president-elect, in 2023 she will serve as president of the organization.
Brendan Lee, MD, PhD
Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine
A pediatrician and geneticist, Brendan Lee, MD, PhD leads a research program that translates the study of structural birth defects and inborn errors of metabolism into a basic understanding of development, disease and novel therapeutic approaches. In the area of metabolism, he has applied genetic approaches to the study of biochemical genetic disorders (specifically urea cycle disorders) as models of complex disease (those involving nitric oxide dysregulation). This has led his team to study the consequences of metabolic derangements broadly in the endocrine, cardiovascular, skeletal, renal and neurological systems. In the area of structural birth defects, they have studied paracrine and endocrine signaling pathways that regulate skeletal development including morphogens (TGFb, Wnt and Notch), and extracellular matrix proteins and their modifications (e.g., collagen prolyl-hydroxylation) that contribute to the human skeletal dysplasias including brittle bone diseases. These developmental pathways have led them to ask how their dysregulation contributes to common diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and bone cancer.
Gail Tomlinson, MD, PhD
Division Chief of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Mays Cancer Center
Gail Tomlinson, MD, PhD serves as the Division Chief of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and is currently co-director of the Population Science and Prevention Program at the Mays Cancer Center and part of the high-risk Genetic High-Risk Cancer Screening team. Since her arrival in 2007, she has also served as Interim Director of the GCCRI and Interim Chair of the Department of Pediatrics. She currently is the holder of the Greehey Distinguished Chair in Cancer and Genetics. Dr. Tomlinson is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology-oncology. Her clinical interests are in guiding individuals and families who may be at risk for cancer because of genetic predisposition and leads a multi-site program working with individuals and families throughout South Texas. Her research background is in the genetics and biology of liver tumors in children. She has recently initiated an investigation of predisposing factors underlying the increased incidence of leukemia in children of Hispanic background in South Texas and maintains a growing registry and biobank for children and adolescents with cancer. She has served on multiple national and state committees focusing on advancing research, education, and advocacy in childhood cancer and has published over 180 scientific papers. She currently is a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Counselors.
Jerry Vockley, MD, PhD, FACMG
Division Director, Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Cleveland Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research
Professor of Pediatrics and Human Genetics, and Director, Center for Rare Disease Therapy
Jerry Vockley, MD, PhD, FACMG, is the Division Director, Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Cleveland Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research, Professor of Pediatrics and Human Genetics, and Director, Center for Rare Disease Therapy. Dr. Vockley received his undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and received his degree in Medicine and Genetics from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of inborn errors of metabolism. His lab has been responsible for identifying multiple new genetic disorders, many of them defects in mitochondrial energy metabolism, and he has published nearly 300 scientific articles in peer review journals. His current research focuses on the molecular architecture of mitochondrial energy metabolism, in which he is breaking new ground in describing the role of dysfunction of mitochondrial energy metabolism in such common conditions as diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer disease, and branced chain amino acid metabolism. He also is a leader in the development and testing of novel therapeutic agents for treating inborn errors of metabolism. He is the principle investigator on four NIH grants and a co-investigator on seven others.
Alice Zhou, PhD
Chief Science Officer
Color Genomics
Alicia Zhou, PhD, is the Chief Science Officer at Color Genomics. She leads research collaborations with academic institutions, biopharmaceutical companies, and large population initiatives. She and her team initiates and executes academic collaborations towards driving improved population health outcomes. In addition, Dr. Zhou is an active part of Color’s market development team for population genomics and population research. Dr. Zhou received her PhD at Harvard and performed her postdoctoral work at UCSF with an emphasis on cancer biology.
