HMP Telebriefing Participant Bios
HMP Telebriefing, June 13, 2012
James Anderson is director of the NIH Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, which plans and implements trans-NIH initiatives of the NIH Common Fund, including the NIH Human Microbiome Project. His office identifies emerging scientific opportunities, rising public health challenges and scientific knowledge gaps that merit further research. Dr. Anderson graduated from Yale University, received his Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University, and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Bruce Birren is director of the Genomic Sequencing Center for Infectious Diseases and co-director of the Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He directs one of the largest programs in microbial genomics in the world, leading genome projects for bacteria, viruses, parasites, and insect vectors of disease, as well as research on the human microbiome. Dr. Birren received his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and completed postdoctoral training at the California Institute of Technology.
Eric D. Green, M.D., Ph.D., is director of NHGRI, the largest organization in the world solely dedicated to genomic research. For two decades, Dr. Green has been at the forefront of efforts to map, sequence, and understand the genomes of eukaryotes - organisms with membrane-bound nuclei, including significant, start-to-finish involvement in the Human Genome Project. He earned an M.D. and Ph.D. in cell biology from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Amy McGuire is associate professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics and associate director of Research for the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine. Her research focuses on legal and ethical issues in genomics, including ethical issues in human microbiome research. She received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, J.D. from the University of Houston and Ph.D. in medical humanities from the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Phillip Tarr is the Melvin E. Carnahan Professor of Pediatrics, and director of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine. His chief contributions have been in the field of diarrheagenic
Escherichia coli, especially
E. coli O157:H7. His work has helped delineate the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and medical management of illnesses caused by this pathogen. He obtained his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine and completed clinical training in pediatrics, pediatric gastroenterology and pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Washington/Seattle Children's Hospital.
Larry J. Thompson, M.S., M.F.A., is chief of the Communications and Public Liaison Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). His team manages media relations and creates a wide range of communications products, including websites, multimedia presentations and documentaries. He co-founded the
Washington Post's Health section and the
San Jose Mercury News' Science and Medicine section. He holds an M.S. in molecular biology from Lehigh University and an M.F.A. in film and electronic media from American University.
