Elisabeth F. Heuston, Ph.D.

Dr. Elisabeth F. Heuston is a molecular biology and bioinformatics Staff Scientist with the Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health (CRGGH). She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2006, earning dual degrees in Genetics and in Biophysical Chemistry and completing an Honor’s Thesis on kinesin protein structure-function relationships through x-ray crystallography. In 2012 Dr. Heuston received her Ph.D. from the Cellular and Molecular Medicine Training Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Under the guidance of mentor Dr. Robert J. Arceci, Dr. Heuston used in vitro functional assays and in vivo rodent models to identify common genomic mechanisms across multiple subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia. In 2012, Dr. Heuston joined the laboratory of Dr. David M. Bodine at the National Institutes of Health. Here, Dr. Heuston combined single cell molecular and genomics approaches with bioinformatics pipeline development to categorize heterogeneity within myeloid cell populations. These methods helped redefine cell surface markers of myeloid progenitor populations associated with red cell development.

In 2022, Dr. Heuston joined CRGGH to investigate the genomic architecture of complex traits among populations of African ancestry. Using her multidisciplinary background, she aims to create a catalogue of functionally-defined genomic elements that influence the pathophysiology of cardiometabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia in minority populations. Her current projects include (1) developing a protocol to isolate high quality DNA and RNA from a bank of stabilized tissue samples collected as part of the Africa America Diabetes Mellitus (AADM) Study, and (2) generating in vivo animal models to connect genes identified in genome-wide association studies with the biological processes they impact. Dr. Heuston’s passion is to make science accessible to students of all ages and economic backgrounds, and frequently teaches in the area.

Curriculum Vitae