Elaine R. Mardis (born September 28, 1962) is the co-executive director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at

Nationwide Children's Hospital Nationwide Children's Hospital (formerly Columbus Children's Hospital) is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care teaching hospital located in the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio. The hospital has 673 pediatric be ...

, where she also serves as the Nationwide Foundation Endowed Chair in Genomic Medicine. She also is professor of pediatrics at the

Ohio State University College of Medicine The Ohio State University College of Medicine (formerly known as The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health) is the medical school at The Ohio State University and is located in Columbus, Ohio. The college is nationally re ...

. Mardis’s research focuses on the genomic characterization of cancer and its implications for cancer medicine. She was part of the team that reported the first next-generation-based sequencing of a whole cancer genome, and participated extensively in

The Cancer Genome Atlas ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(TCGA) and the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP).

Biography

Mardis was born in

North Platte, Nebraska North Platte is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Nebraska, United States. It is located in the west-central part of the state, along Interstate 80, at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers forming the Platte River. T ...

. She gained a passion for science at an early age, and credits her father, a chemistry professor for more than 30 years, for nurturing this passion. She received her undergraduate degree in Zoology from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

in 1984. During her senior year she took a course in biochemistry that was taught by Bruce Roe, PhD, which says opened her eyes to the world of molecular biology. She stayed at the University of Oklahoma for her doctoral studies under the supervision of Dr. Roe, who was one of the first academic scientists to have a fluorescent DNA sequencer in the laboratory. As a result, during her doctoral work Mardis learned the art of DNA sequencing, at a time when few others were doing this. After obtaining her PhD in chemistry and biochemistry in 1989, Mardis did postgraduate work in industry at

Bio-Rad Laboratories Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. is an American developer and manufacturer of specialized technological products for the life science research and clinical diagnostics markets. The company was founded in 1952 in Berkeley, California, by husband and ...

Hercules, California Hercules is a city in western Contra Costa County, California. Situated along the coast of San Pablo Bay, it is located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about north of Berkeley, California. As of 2010, its population was 24, ...

. In 1993, Mardis joined the faculty of

Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine has 1,260 students, 604 of which are pursuing a medical degree with or ...

. Over the next 23 years, she held several and academic and leadership roles at the University, including serving as co-director of the

McDonnell Genome Institute McDonnell Genome Institute (The Elizabeth H. and James S. McDonnell III Genome Institute) at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, is one of three Nih, NIH funded large-scale sequencing centers in the United States. Affiliated with Washing ...

. In that position, she contributed substantially to the sequencing and analysis of the human genome, and was instrumental in establishing the utility of massively parallel sequencing technologies for understanding cancer biology. Her work in cancer genetics and genomics has provided insights into the genetic drivers of many types of cancer, including

acute myeloid leukemia Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with normal blood cell production. Symptoms may includ ...

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

, and

lung adenocarcinoma Adenocarcinoma of the lung is the most common type of lung cancer, and like other forms of lung cancer, it is characterized by distinct cellular and molecular features. It is classified as one of several non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), to d ...

. By better defining the landscape of germline and somatic alterations, this research helps drive new strategies for treating cancer, and is central to the concept of

precision medicine Precision, precise or precisely may refer to: Science, and technology, and mathematics Mathematics and computing (general) * Accuracy and precision, measurement deviation from true value and its scatter * Significant figures, the number of digit ...

. Since joining Nationwide Children's Hospital in 2016, Dr. Mardis has turned the focus of her research to the incorporation of next-generation sequencing assays and established knowledge about cancer genomics into clinical and therapeutic decision-making, and into the design of new approaches to cancer immunotherapy. In 2015, Mardis helped launch an open access, precision medicine journal, ''Molecular Case Studies'', in conjunction with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief. In 2020 she was Deputy Editor-in-Chief of ''

Disease Models & Mechanisms ''Disease Models & Mechanisms'' (DMM) is a monthly peer-reviewed Open Access biomedical journal published by The Company of Biologists that launched in 2008. DMM is partnered with Publons, is part of the Review Commons initiative and has two-way in ...

'' journal, with

Elizabeth Patton Elizabeth Patton, Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE is professor of chemical genetics and group leader of Medical Research Council (United Kingdom), Medical Research Council Institute for Genetics and Mo ...

the Editor-in-Chief. Mardis was elected as president of the

American Association for Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and t ...

for 2019–2020.

Awards and honors

*2010: Scripps Translational Research Award *2011: Distinguished Alumna Award from the College of Arts and Sciences, Oklahoma University *2016: Morton K. Schwartz Award for Significant Contributions in Cancer Research Diagnostics from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry *2017: Precision Medicine World Congress 2017 Luminary Award *2019: Elected to the 2019 class of Fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy

References

External links

McDonnell Institute BioPubMed Citations
''US News & World Report.'' 30 June 2009.
"Revolutionizing cancer care with next-generation sequencing: an interview with Elaine Mardis."
Disease Models & Mechanisms 2014 7: 313-317; doi: 10.1242/dmm.015396
"Genetic Clues to Cancer's Spread."
''Technology Review.'' 14 April 2010.
"Washington University Team Sequences AML Relapse Tumor."
''GenomeWeb Daily News.'' 12 May 2010.

15 April 2010.
"A Conversation about Sequencing Cancer Genomes with Dr. Elaine Mardis."
''NCI Cancer Bulletin''. 26 January 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mardis, Elaine 1962 births Cancer genomics Human Genome Project scientists Living people American geneticists University of Oklahoma alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine faculty Ohio State University faculty