Genes, Genomes, and the Future of Medicine
Thursday, May 31, 2018
6:00 PM Reception | 6:30 PM Program
The Rockefeller University
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Hall
1230 York Avenue at East 66th Street
SPEAKER
Richard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D.
President
Laboratory of Human Genetics and Genomics
MODERATOR
Barry S. Coller, M.D.
Vice President for Medical Affairs and Physician-in-Chief
David Rockefeller Professor
Allen and Frances Adler Laboratory of Blood and Vascular Biology
In 2009, Dr. Richard Lifton and his colleagues at the Yale Center for Genome Analysis diagnosed a rare birth disorder in a chronically dehydrated infant who was 5,000 miles away, in Ankara, Turkey. Looking at nothing more than the baby’s DNA, the scientists made the first definitive diagnosis of a human genetic disease based on genome-level sequencing, and it likely saved the boy’s life.
Dr. Lifton and his research group used technology they had developed to analyze the child’s exome—the segments of his genome that code for proteins. Although the exome makes up only one or two percent of human DNA, it is believed to contain the vast majority of disease-causing mutations. Focusing only on the exome is a faster and cheaper alternative to full genome sequencing, and an enormously effective strategy.
Today, as the president of The Rockefeller University, Dr. Lifton continues to exploit the power of genetics to transform human health. In addition to greatly improving the immediacy and specificity of patient diagnosis and treatment, genetic approaches also promise to yield revolutionary therapeutics and preventive measures. In recent years, Dr. Lifton’s group has identified several hundred human disease risk mutations—for cardiovascular, renal, neuropsychiatric, and many other types of disorders.
On May 31, Dr. Lifton will discuss the innovative science that has ushered in this new genetic age and describe what he sees as the clear but challenging path forward. “What remains to be done in human genetics?” he asks. “The answer is practically everything.”
Richard Lifton became the eleventh president of The Rockefeller University in 2016. He was previously the Sterling Professor of Genetics at Yale University, where he also chaired the department of genetics for 18 years. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Lifton has received many scientific honors, including a 2014 Breakthrough Prize. He serves on the scientific advisory board of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative and as a member of the boards of directors of Genentech and Roche. In 2015, he co-chaired the working group for the NIH’s Precision Medicine Initiative.