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(301) 594-6238
(301) 402-0837
Christopher P. Austin, M.D. is Senior Advisor to the Director for Translational Research at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). He is responsible for conceptualizing and implementing programs to derive biologic insights and therapeutic benefits from the newly completed human genome sequence.
A native of Baltimore, Dr. Austin received an A.B. in biology summa cum laude from Princeton University, and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He completed an internship in medicine and a residency in neurology, and was chief resident in neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. He followed that with a fellowship in developmental neurogenetics in the laboratory of Connie Cepko [hhmi.org] in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School.
In 1996, Dr. Austin moved to the Department of Human Genetics at Merck Research Laboratories [merck.com], where he built a group that took a variety of genetic and molecular approaches to target identification for schizophrenia, bipolar illness, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In order to expand the group's target identification and validation capacities, Dr. Austin expanded the group into microarray technologies and a multifaceted molecular histology effort, and began the first company-wide initiative in pharmacogenomics. Later, he incorporated a group that identified many new G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and identified ligands of several orphan GPCRs. Lastly, as director of genomic neuroscience, he initiated a schizophrenia project team that developed small molecule modulators for two molecular targets for schizophrenia, which are now being tested for the treatment of the disease.
Dr. Austin moved to NHGRI in 2002 to spearhead efforts to translate the remarkable accomplishments of the Human Genome Project into benefits for human health. A prerequisite for this translation is the determination of function of a large number of novel genes, which will occur most efficiently if the biomedical research community has immediate access to tools and technologies for determining gene function. Dr. Austin is leading the development of a "toolbox" of publically accessible genomic reagents and technologies analogous to the genome sequence, but focused on elucidation of gene function.
One of these initiatives is an ambitious program in chemical genomics, which will bring the power and diversity of small molecule chemistry and informatics to the determination of gene function. This paradigm-shifting initiative promises to have a transformative effect on basic biomedical research, speeding functionation of the genome and development of new therapies for human disease.
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Last Updated: January 29, 2009