Each year, the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine grants its Next Generation fellowship awards to promising early career professionals in a range of medical genetics and genomics specialties including Biochemical Genetics and Laboratory Genetics and Genomics. Support for this year’s class of Fellows was generously provided by Bionano Genomics, and Sanofi. The ACMG Foundation depends on corporate donations to support these and many other critical programs and thanks all the members of our Corporate Partners Program.
“I am very pleased to recognize the recipients of this year’s Next Generation Fellowship Awards, and to acknowledge the support of Bionano Genomics and Sanofi in making these awards possible. These investments in future leaders in medical genetics and genomics are critical to the mission of ACMG and the Foundation,” said Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG, president of the ACMG Foundation.
Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellowship Award:
Amélie Pinard, PhD, University of California San Francisco
Dr. Amélie Pinard earned her PhD with highest honors in Human Genetics from Aix-Marseille University in France in 2016. Her doctoral work was titled, “Marfan syndrome and related disorders and identification of novel genes involved in bicuspid aortic valve.” Following her graduation, she continued working on vascular genetics as a postdoctoral researcher in the Medical Genetics Division at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, TX under the supervision of Dr. Dianna Milewicz. Dr. Pinard was the recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association allowing her to focus her work on the “Identification and characterization of novel genes for Moyamoya disease” as well as several travel awards to present her results at international meetings including a Brandt Young Scholarship at the 10th Annual Individualizing Medicine Conference. She has published 20 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. In July 2022, she started her first year as a Laboratory Genetics and Genomics clinical fellow in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) LGG program.
“I am thrilled and very honored to receive this Next Generation Fellowship and Training Award from the ACMG Foundation. I would like to thank UCSF and my program director, Dr. Jessica Van Ziffle for her trust and guidance, as well as my previous and current mentors for advising me to persevere and to always believe in myself to reach my potential, and my co-workers and my family for their unconditional support. As a Next Generation Fellow, I am actively looking forward to being involved in the medical genetics community. As a prospective lab director, I will strive to establish good practices to provide patients and their families with the most adequate results and recommendations,” said Dr. Pinard.
Mina Tabrizi, MD, PhD, Oregon Health and Science University
Dr. Mina Tabrizi is an Assistant Professor at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in Iran and is currently a Visiting Scholar at Brown University. She received her MD from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada and her PhD in a joint program from the Cleveland State University and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute in Cancer Biology and Regulatory Biology. An accomplished researcher and teacher, Dr. Tabrizi has published more than 50 publications.
“My heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the ACMG Foundation for giving me the Next Generation LGG Award and to the Laboratory Genetics and Genomics team at Oregon Health and Sciences University for their vision and support. It has been my dream to experience a time-tested evidence-based network of laboratories to address the Genetics and Genomics needs of a community and a population,” Dr. Tabrizi said. “Ultimately, standardized systems should be developed, and the workforce should be trained to produce reliable data to be shared worldwide. Genomic variation can contribute to differences in disease susceptibility, drug response and diagnostic accuracy. Through strict adherence to guidelines and standards worldwide, genetic information will most efficiently be utilized toward prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, follow-up and research to save resources and elevate standards of care and living across socioeconomic levels and populations.”
Medical Biochemical Genetics Subspecialty Fellowship Award:
Herodes Guzman, MD, MPH, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Herodes Guzman, MD, MPH, completed medical school at the UNC School of Medicine, and a pediatric residency at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He is currently a second-year combined fellow in Clinical Genetics, Medical Biochemical Genetics, and Pediatric Endocrinology at CHOP. He is working with Drs. Rebecca Ganetzky and Shana McCormack to better characterize the pathophysiology of mitochondrial diabetes within a cohort of patients with single large scale mitochondrial DNA deletion syndromes, which may have broader practice implications for patients with more common forms of diabetes. Dr. Guzman plans to continue leading clinical research that helps advance the care he provides to his patients with both common and rare metabolic disorders.
Dr. Guzman said, “I am honored to have been selected for this ACMG Foundation Next Generation Medical Biochemical Award. It recognizes how interconnected genetics is to endocrinology and all branches of medicine. Through this award, I hope to enhance my understanding of inborn errors of metabolism to facilitate the care I provide to patients with rare disease.”
Shira Ziegler, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Shira G. Ziegler, MD, PhD is currently Chief Resident in the Johns Hopkins Department of Genetic Medicine. Dr. Ziegler grew up in Bethesda, MD and spent her summers during high school and college working in the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). She graduated with highest honors in neuroscience from Oberlin College and then joined the National Institute of Health’s Undiagnosed Diseases Program as their first research fellow. She completed her MD and PhD at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her graduate research in Dr. Hal Dietz’s laboratory elucidated the mechanisms underlying rare disorders of ectopic and vascular calcification and identified new treatment strategies. She then pursued dual residency training in pediatrics and medical genetics. Dr. Ziegler plans to combine her bench-to-bedside research on rare genetic conditions with clinical care.
“I am excited about the opportunity to continue my training in biochemical genetics,” said Dr. Ziegler.
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 www.acmgfoundation.org.
Note to editors: To arrange interviews with experts in medical genetics and genomics, contact ACMG Senior Director of Public Relations Kathy Moran, MBA at kmoran@acmg.net.
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