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    Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D.

    Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D.
    Dr. Pericak-Vance is Director of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics and Executive Vice Chair of the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Board certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties in Medical Genetics, she is a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. Her productivity in genetics research has resulted in more than 725 peer-reviewed papers (H-Index = 127, many in high-impact scientific journals). She was part of the team that discovered the effect of the common variant, the E4 allele of apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, on Alzheimer disease risk. Dr. Pericak-Vance has also identified genetic risk factors for autism, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis.

    Many of Dr. Pericak-Vanceʹs efforts are directed towards addressing health disparities in genomics research including initiating the Genetic Awareness Project (GAP) to educate South Florida’s Black and Hispanic Communities about the value of genetics and its influence on personal health. She is an organizer of the nationally acclaimed ʺWhy We Canʹt Wait: Conference to Eliminate Health Disparities in Genomic Medicine.ʺ Additionally, she directs several related genetic research projects, one on Alzheimer disease in African Americans and a second on admixed Caribbean Hispanic and Amerindian populations. She is one of the principal investigators of "The Alzheimer Disease Sequence Analysis Collaborative" and she leads the Alzheimerʹs Sequencing Project Follow-up Study which is whole genome sequencing over 40,000 individuals from diverse populations.

    Dr. Pericak-Vance is the recipient of numerous awards, including the international ʺLouis Dʺ Scientific Prize from the Institut de Franceʹs Academie des Sciences for her Alzheimer’s disease research, the Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alzheimerʹs Association and the Snow and Ming Tsuang Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics (ISPG) for her lifelong contribution to psychiatric disease research.
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