Lynn B. Jorde is an American human geneticist. He is a professor in, and chair of, the Department of Human Genetics at the

University of Utah School of Medicine The University of Utah School of Medicine is located on the upper campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1905 and is currently the only MD-granting medical school in the state of Utah. History The school began ...

, where he holds a H.A. and Edna Benning Presidential Endowed Chair.

Career

Jorde joined the faculty of the University of Utah in 1979. He became the chair of their Department of Human Genetics in 2009. He served as the president of the

American Society of Human Genetics The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), founded in 1948, is a professional membership organization for specialists in human genetics. As of 2009, the organization had approximately 8,000 members. The Society's members include researchers, a ...

from 2011 to 2012.

Research

Jorde's research focuses on multiple areas in the field of

human genetics Human genetics is the study of inheritance as it occurs in human beings. Human genetics encompasses a variety of overlapping fields including: classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, genomics, population gene ...

, including human

population genetics Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and between populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as Adaptation (biology), adaptation, ...

. For example, a 2010 study by him and his colleagues found that human genetic diversity was very low about 1 million years ago, and that early humans almost went extinct as a result. He has also studied the genetic basis for, among other conditions, hypertension, inflammatory bowel disease, and congenital limb malformations.

Personal life

Jorde is married to Debbie Jorde, who has two children, Heather Madsen and Logan Madsen from a previous marriage, both of whom have the rare genetic conditions of

primary ciliary dyskinesia Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare, autosomal recessive genetic ciliopathy, that causes defects in the action of cilia lining the upper and lower respiratory tract, sinuses, Eustachian tube, middle ear, Fallopian tube, and flagella of sper ...

and

Miller syndrome Miller syndrome, also known as Genée–Wiedemann syndrome, Wildervanck–Smith syndrome or postaxial acrofacial dystosis, is an extremely rare genetic condition that manifests as craniofacial, limb and eye deformities. It is caused by a mutation ...

. After marrying Debbie, Professor Jorde decided to map the genome of his wife, her two children, Heather and Logan Madsen, and the children's biological father in order to determine the cause of these conditions, which were later determined to be genetic. This family later became the first family to have their entire genome sequenced.

References

External links

Jorde Lab Page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jorde, Lynn B. American geneticists Living people University of Utah School of Medicine faculty University of New Mexico alumni Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Population geneticists Human geneticists Year of birth missing (living people)