Kiely N. James, PhD, FACMG is the recipient of the 2025 Richard King Trainee Award. This award was instituted by the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine to encourage American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG), international equivalents, or genetic counseling trainees in their careers and to foster the publication of the highest quality research in Genetics in Medicine (GIM), an official journal of the ACMG.
Each year the editorial board reviews all articles published in GIM by eligible trainees who were either a first or corresponding author during that year. The manuscript considered to have the most merit is selected by a committee of editorial board members. Dr. James received the award for her published article, “Genome sequencing detects a wide range of clinically relevant copy-number variants and other genomic alterations,” which was published online in GIM in January 2024.
Dr. James completed her undergraduate degree at Stanford University and obtained a PhD in Neurosciences from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She spent several years gaining research and clinical experience in human genetics at UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine. After completing a fellowship in Laboratory Genetics and Genomics at the University of Colorado, Anschutz, Dr. James returned to UC SD in 2023 as an Associate Director of Medical Genetics and Genomics and Assistant Clinical Professor. Her interests include rare diseases, somatic mosaicism and emerging genetic diagnostics technologies.
“I’m very grateful to the ACMG Foundation and Genetics in Medicine for this award. I hope it can spotlight the value of diligent assessment of our diagnostic tests as they evolve, as one way to improve patient outcomes. The work described in my publication was done in collaboration with many wonderful colleagues at Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine,” said Dr. James.
“I am thrilled to congratulate Kiely James, winner of this year’s King Award. There was very stiff competition, and I wish we could have given out awards to all the finalists. We continue to be amazed by the outstanding work accomplished by trainees and I am delighted that early career clinicians and scientists choose to submit some of their best work to the Journal,” said Robert D. Steiner, MD, FAAP, FACMG, editor-in-chief of GIM.
The award is given by the ACMG Foundation and is named for Dr. Richard King in recognition of his instrumental role in creating Genetics in Medicine and serving as the first and founding editor-in-chief of the journal.
About the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine
The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a community of supporters and contributors who understand the importance of medical genetics and genomics in healthcare. Established in 1992, the ACMG Foundation supports the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) mission to “translate genes into health.” Through its work, the ACMG Foundation fosters charitable giving, promotes training opportunities to attract future medical geneticists and genetic counselors to the field, shares information about medical genetics and genomics, and sponsors important research. To learn more and support the ACMG Foundation mission to create “Better Health through Genetics” visit acmgfoundation.org.
Note to editors: To arrange interviews with experts in medical genetics, contact ACMG Communications Manager, Barry Eisenberg, MS at beisenberg@acmg.net.