Scientific Advisory Board
PNRI’s Scientific Advisory Board brings together esteemed leaders in genomics, molecular biology, and translational research. These experts guide and inform PNRI’s mission to discover new solutions in the fight against disease. Meet the members who drive innovation and collaboration at the forefront of science.
Sue Biggins, PhD
Director, Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Dr. Sue Biggins earned a doctoral degree in molecular and cellular biology from Princeton University. She performed her postdoctoral work in Dr. Andrew Murray’s lab at UCSF and then joined the faculty of Fred Hutch Cancer Center in 2000. Her lab studies the mechanisms that ensure accurate chromosome segregation and regulation of the cell cycle. Her lab achieved the first isolation of kinetochores and has been applying structural, biophysical and biochemical techniques to elucidate the mechanisms of kinetochore-microtubule interactions and spindle checkpoint regulation. Her lab also works on the mechanisms that ensure chromatin composition and centromere identity.
Dr. Biggins is currently Director of the Division of Basic Sciences, as well as an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She has received the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology and the Genetics Society of America Novitski Prize. She serves on the Advisory Boards for the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, the Coalition for Life Sciences, and the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund. Dr. Biggins is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Gregory Carter, PhD
Professor, The Bernard & Lusia Milch Endowed Chair, The Jackson Laboratory
Dr. Gregory Carter is a Professor and the Bernard and Lusia Milch Endowed Chair at the Jackson Laboratory. His work is focused on maximizing translational utility of experimental models through genetic engineering, molecular alignment, and precision therapeutic testing. Dr. Carter leads computational efforts for three NIA translational consortia: MODEL-AD to create the next generation of ADRD mouse models, MARMO-AD to study aging and dementia in marmoset models, and TREAT-AD to derisk omics-based therapeutic targets. These programs follow an open science model in which data and resources are shared without restrictions to accelerate research in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Jay Shendure, MD, PhD
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Professor of Genome Sciences, University of Washington
Scientific Director, Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology (Allen-CZI-UW)/Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing/Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine
Jay Shendure, MD, PhD is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a Professor of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington, and Scientific Director of the Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology (Allen-CZI-UW), the Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing, and the Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine. His 2005 doctoral thesis with George Church included one of the first successful reductions to practice of next-generation DNA sequencing. Dr. Shendure’s research group in Seattle pioneered exome sequencing and its earliest applications to gene discovery for Mendelian disorders and autism; cell-free DNA diagnostics for cancer and reproductive medicine; massively parallel reporter assays, saturation genome editing; combinatorial single cell molecular technologies; and genome editing-based molecular recording technologies. Dr. Shendure is the recipient of the Curt Stern Award from the American Society of Human Genetics (2012), the Richard Lounsbery Award from the National Academy of Sciences (2019) and the Mendel Award from the European Society of Human Genetics (2022). He is an elected member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academy of Sciences. He serves or previously served as an advisor to the NIH Director, the US Precision Medicine Initiative, National Human Genome Research Institute, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Gladstone Institute, New York Genome Center and Allen Institute. He received his MD and PhD degrees from Harvard Medical School in 2007.
Photo Credit: Ron Wurzer/AP Images for HHMI