Faculty

Guney Bademci, M.D.

Research Asst. Professor
Publications
Biography: I am a physician and board-certified molecular geneticist at the University of Miami, Department of Human Genetics. My research focuses on molecular investigations of Mendelian disorders.
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Deborah Barbouth, M.D.

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Felipe Beckedorff, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

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Susan Halloran Blanton, Ph.D.

Professor, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics

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Nicholas A. Borja

Assistant Professor of Clinical Genetics
Publications
Biography: Dr. Borja is a board-certified clinical geneticist born and raised in Miami who strives to provide excellent care to his patients in the South Florida community. His expertise lies in diagnosing and managing rare genetic disorders in both pediatric and adult patients. Dr. Borja also conducts research at the University of Miami in the field of hereditary cancer susceptibility...
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Michael Cuccaro, Ph.D.

Professor, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics and Department of Psychology & Behavioral Sciences
Clinical Profile | Publications
Biography: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Associate Professor, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics and Department of Psychology & Behavioral Sciences
Co-Director, Center for Genomic Education and Outreach (C-GEO), John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics

Dr. Cuccaro is the Co-Director of the Center for Genomic Education and Outreach...
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Holly N. Cukier, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor
Publications
Biography: Dr. Cukier received her Doctoral degree from Baylor College of Medicine in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics where she generated a novel fruit fly model of Rett syndrome, a disorder on the autism spectrum, and was awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Cukier returned to the University of Miami...
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Nicolas Descostes, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor
Publications
Biography: Dr. Descostes is a Research Assistant Professor in the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics at the University of Miami (UM) Miller School of Medicine and a member of the Cancer Epigenetics Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. He received his Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Genomics from Aix-Marseille University in 2014, where he studied...
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Derek Dykxhoorn, Ph.D.

Professor
Publications
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Anthony J. Griswold, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: Dr. Griswold is an Associate Professor in the Dr. John T. MacDonald Department of Human Genetics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and in the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics (HIHG). He received a BS degree in Biology from the University of Notre Dame and his PhD in Genetics from The George Washington University where he did his dissertation...
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Jingyu Huang, P.h.D.

Assistant Professor

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Rosario Isasi, J.D., M.P.H.

Associate Professor of Human Genetics, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: Rosario Isasi is Director of the Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy at the University of Miami and Associate Professor in the John T. Macdonald Department of Human Genetics at the Miller School of Medicine. She is affiliated with the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics and the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute and serves as Adjunct Professor at the...
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Brian W. Kunkle, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Research Associate Professor, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: Dr. Kunkle is a genetic epidemiologist whose research primarily focuses on investigating the genetic factors involved in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). His studies apply a combination of genomic, epidemiology and biostatistical techniques to large-scale genome-wide genotyping and sequencing datasets. He is an Assistant Professor in the Dr. John T. Macdonald...
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Kumarie Latchman, D.O.

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Eden R. Martin, Ph.D.

Professor, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation
Publications
Biography: Professor, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics and Department of Public Health Sciences
Director, The Center for Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics, John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics

Eden R. Martin, Ph.D., is Director of the Center for Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics at the John P. Hussman Institute for Human...
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Jacob L. McCauley Ph.D.

Professor, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: Jacob L. McCauley, Ph.D., is a Professor of Human Genetics and Pathology and the Director of the Center for Genome Technology and Biorepository Facility at the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics. Dr. McCauley is a genetic epidemiologist whose research focuses on the use of molecular techniques, bioinformatics, and statistical methods to identify genetic variation...
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Lluis Morey, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: Dr. Morey is a tenured associate professor at the Human Genetics Department at University of Miami (UM) and member of the Cancer Epigenetics Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. He received his degree in Biology from Universidad de Barcelona in 2003. He completed his PhD studies in the laboratory of Dr. Luciano Di Croce, where he studied the role of the chromatin-remodeling...
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Karen Nuytemans, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Publications
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Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D

Director, John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics

Biography: 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...
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Farid Rajabli

Assistant Professor

Biography: Dr. Rajabli is a computational biologist with special emphasis and training in Bioinformatics and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML). Dr. Rajabli was the first to examine ancestry around the APOE locus showing that individuals with African ancestry had a decreased risk to develop AD for the APOE-4 allele thus indicating a protective effect on this ancestral...
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Danny F. Reinberg, M.S., Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor, John T. MacDonald Department of Human Genetics Miller School of Medicine and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Publications
Biography: Born in Santiago, Chile, Danny Reinberg attained higher education in biochemistry and molecular biology in the USA, becoming a leader in Epigenetics and Chromatin Biology. Professor in the John T. MacDonald Department of Human Genetics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine School of Medicine and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center that currently studies...
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William K. Scott, Ph.D.

Professor of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: William K. Scott, Ph.D. is Professor in the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, and Professor of Neurology and Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is a core faculty member of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics and co-Director of the UM Brain Endowment Bank, one of six NIH-supported centers...
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Ramin Shiekhattar, Ph.D.

Professor
Publications
Biography: Dr. Shiekhattar serves as the Cancer Epigenetics Program Co-Leader at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. His own laboratory has been interested in understanding the mechanisms by which protein-coding genes are regulated and how disruption of such regulatory mechanisms may lead to neoplasia. Recent evidence has implicated changes in chromatin structure as an essential...
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Anuja M. Sule, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Clinical Genetics

Biography: As a clinical geneticist with specialized expertise in Pediatrics, Dr. Anuja Sule has dedicated her career to diagnosing, managing, and providing personalized care for genetic conditions across all age groups, with a particular focus on pediatric patients. Dr. Sule's areas of interest within genetics include overgrowth disorders such as Prader-Willi syndrome and Beckwith-Wiedemann...
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Willa Thorson, M.D.

Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Clinical and Translational Genetics

Biography: Dr. Willa Thorson is a board-certified Clinical Geneticist. She is also board-certified in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. Dr. Thorson was born and raised in California. She attended Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. At Creighton, she met her future husband, and they pursued residency together at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital...
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Jeffery M. Vance, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: Jeffery M. Vance, M.D., Ph.D. is a Professor in the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department Human Genetics (founding Chairman, 2008-2012) and a Professor of Neurology at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. He is boarded by both the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American College of Medical Genetics and is an elected member of the...
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Katherina Walz, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics
Publications
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Gaofeng Wang, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: Gaofeng Wang, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor with tenure in the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, an Associate Professor (secondary appointment) at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, a primary member of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, and a member of Cancer Epigenetics Research Program in the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer...
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Juan I. Young, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: Young is a neurobiologist interested in identifying epigenetic signatures of human genetic diseases and in establishing animal models of neurological diseases. He has a longstanding interest in neurodevelopmental disorders in general and in understanding the pathogenesis of Rett Syndrome in particular. His work includes the identification of RNA-related functions of MeCP2,...
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Stephan Züchner, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Human Genetics and Neurology, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics
Publications
Biography: Dr. Zuchner is a trained neurologist and molecular geneticist with research interests in identifying genetic variation associated with disease. His lab has identified several genes for Mendelian neurodegenerative disorders and also evaluated risk factors for complex genetic conditions, including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. His...
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