Three Accomplished Genomic Scientists Join Scripps Genomic Medicine Program

Schork, Frazer, Shaw Murray join Eric Topol’s new program

Scripps Chief Academic Officer Eric J. Topol, M.D., has recruited three accomplished genomic scientists to join the newly created Scripps Genomic Medicine Program. Nicholas J. Schork, Ph.D., is director of research; Kelly A. Frazer, Ph.D., is director of genomic biology; and Sarah Shaw Murray, Ph.D., is director of genetics.


“We are so fortunate to have recruited and assembled such a remarkable team of exceptionally talented scientists with diverse expertise,” Topol said. " Scripps Genomic Medicine Program is poised to become a major discovery engine for the future of individualized medicine"


One of the country’s preeminent scholars in statistical methods applied to genetics research, Schork and his team will guide efforts to make sense of the millions, if not billions, of pieces of genetic and clinical information to be gathered by researchers affiliated with the Scripps Genomic Medicine Program to understand the causes and treatments of human diseases. He is also professor of molecular and experimental medicine at The Scripps Research Institute.Previously, Schork was a full time, tenured professor of psychiatry and biostatistics at the University of California, San Diego. Previously, he was an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Case Western Reserve University and an associate professor of biostatistics at the Harvard University School of Public Health.


Recognized internationally for her research in the genomics field, Frazer joins Scripps from Perlegen Sciences, Inc., where she was vice president of genomics and was the principal investigator directing several NIH funded large-scale genomics projects. This included the oversight of the International Haplotype Mapping (HapMap) genomic analysis and describing 8 million markers in the mouse genome. In her new role, she will serve as an associate professor with The Scripps Research Institute’s department of molecular and experimental medicine. Previously, she was a staff scientist in the genome sciences department of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.


An accomplished genetic research scientist, Shaw Murray previously directed the genotyping science group at Illumina, Inc. As Illumina’s key human geneticist, she defined the overall strategic direction for the company’s genotyping product portfolio. Prior to Illumina, Shaw Murray held several positions where she conducted many disease gene discovery projects.She was associate director of genetics with DNA Sciences Inc.; assistant professor in the departments of psychiatry and medicine at the University of California, San Diego; and senior scientist of statistical genetics for AxyS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Sequana Therapeutics, Inc. She is also an assistant professor with The Scripps Research Institute’s department of molecular and experimental medicine.


Scripps Genomic Medicine Program*,*an initiative of Scripps Health in collaboration with The Scripps Research Institute, will support basic research and clinical programs focused on defining the genes that underlie susceptibility to disease, and take these findings into drug discovery programs and ultimately into clinical trials. The program will begin with a focus on cardiovascular treatment and the genetics of health but will also focus on cancer, neurological, musculoskeletal and other specialties.


The program’s work will involve genotyping tens of thousands of individuals of diverse ancestry in an attempt to identify and define genes responsible for major disease and the underpinnings of health. The identification of these genes will lead to drug discovery and gene-specific clinical trials.


Media contact: Don Stanziano

Stanziano.don@scrippshealth.org

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