Margaret Ann Pericak-Vance (born June 28, 1951) is an American human geneticist who is the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Professor of Human Genetics and director of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. She is known for her research on the

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

of common

human disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

s. This research has led to a number of findings of genes that increase the risk of certain diseases, such as

apolipoprotein E Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is a protein involved in the metabolism of fats in the body of mammals. A subtype is implicated in Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease. APOE belongs to a family of fat-binding proteins called apolipoproteins. ...

and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

IL7R The interleukin-7 receptor is a protein found on the surface of cells. It is made up of two different smaller protein chains - i.e. it is a heterodimer, and consists of two subunits, interleukin-7 receptor-α (CD127) and common-γ chain recep ...

and

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

, and

complement factor H Factor H is a member of the regulators of complement activation family and is a complement control protein. It is a large (155 kilodaltons), soluble glycoprotein that circulates in human plasma (at typical concentrations of 200–300 microgra ...

and

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

Education and career

A native of Buffalo, NY, Pericak-Vance attended

Wells College Wells College is a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York. The college has cross-enrollment with Cornell University and Ithaca College. For much of its history it was a women's college. Wells College is located in the Finger Lakes reg ...

, graduating in 1973 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

. She went to earn her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in 1978 from

Indiana University School of Medicine The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) is a major multi-campus medical school in the state of Indiana. There are nine campuses throughout the state; the principal research and medical center is located on the Indiana University–Purdu ...

: Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, where she studied under P. Michael Conneally. She did a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill under Robert C. Elston. She subsequently served on the faculty of

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, where she eventually became director of the Center for Human Genetics,

James B. Duke James Buchanan Duke (December 23, 1856 – October 10, 1925) was an American tobacco and electric power industrialist best known for the introduction of modern cigarette manufacture and marketing, and his involvement with Duke Universit ...

Professor of Medicine, and Chief of the Section of Medical Genetics at

Duke University Medical Center Duke University Hospital is a 957-acute care bed academic tertiary care facility located in Durham, North Carolina. Established in 1930, it is the flagship teaching hospital for the Duke University Health System, a network of physicians and hosp ...

. In January 2007, Pericak-Vance left Duke to help launch the Miami Institute for Human Genomics, which is now the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics at the

's Miller School of Medicine.

Honors and awards

Pericak-Vance is a founding fellow of the

American College of Medical Genetics The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) is an organization composed of biochemical, clinical, cytogenetic, medical and molecular geneticists, genetic counselors and other health care professionals committed to the practice of ...

. She was recognized in 1997 by

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

Magazine for The Best of What's New in Science and Technology for the Gene Identified for Alzheimer's Disease and by

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

Magazine as part of "The Century Club". In 2001, she received the

Grand Prix scientifique de la Fondation Louis D. The Grand Prix scientifique de la Fondation Louis D. (Scientific Grand Prize of the Louis D. Foundation) is an award conferred annually by the Louis D. Foundation of the Institut de France. It is awarded for fundamental or applied research in the ...

from the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

for her research on Alzheimer's disease. She was inducted into the Western New York Women's Hall of Fame (2002) and received Wells College Distinguished Alumnae Award (2003) She was elected to the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...

in 2003. She received the Hauptman-Woodward pioneer of Science award in 2004. Dr. Pericak-Vance received the Alzheimer’s Association's Bengt Winblad lifetime achievement award in 2011, and was named a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

in 2012. In 2014, she received the Ming Tsuang Lifetime Achievement Award from the

International Society of Psychiatric Genetics The International Society of Psychiatric Genetics (ISPG) is a learned society that aims to "promote and facilitate research in the Psychiatric genetics, genetics of psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders and allied traits". To this end, amon ...

. She was Awarded the Plaza Health Network Foundation's Women of Distinction & Caring Award in 2019.

Personal life

Pericak-Vance is married to Jeffery M Vance, whom she met when they were both students at

. Vance was the founding chair of the Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics at the

Miller School of Medicine. They had a son, Jeffery Joseph Vance, who died in 1998 from thrombotic storm, their daughter, Danica Davies Vance, is an orthopedic surgeon and their son, Richard L Belton, is a basketball coach.

References

External links

Faculty page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pericak-Vance, Margaret Ann Living people 1951 births American geneticists American women geneticists University of Miami faculty Duke University faculty Wells College alumni Indiana University Bloomington alumni Human geneticists Members of the National Academy of Medicine Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Alzheimer's disease researchers Fellows of the American College of Medical Genetics