Janey L. Wiggs | |
---|---|
Born | Washington, DC |
Spouses |
Eric Stephen Schreiber (m. 1986) |
Academic background | |
Education | B.A., PhD., Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley Harvard Medical School Tufts University School of Medicine |
Academic advisors | Mike Chamberlin |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Harvard Medical School |
Main interests | Glaucoma,Ocular Genomics |
Janey Lee Wiggs is the Paul Austin Chandler Professor of Ophthalmology and vice chair for clinical research in ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.
Wiggs was born to parents Dolores Ray and Russell L. Wiggs Jr. in Washington,DC. [1] Wiggs was inspired by a high school teacher to focus on both biology and chemistry. As a freshman at University of California at Berkeley,she originally wished to major in chemical engineering until she discovered lac operon in biology class. After earning her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley,Wiggs was awarded the Pearl and Martin Silverstein academic scholarship in Health Sciences and Technology to attend the Harvard Medical School. [2] Afterwards,she married Eric Stephen Schreiber in a Jewish ceremony [1] before divorcing and marrying her second husband Robert D'Amato. [3]
In 1988,Wiggs and other researchers published a paper titled "Prediction of the risk of hereditary retinoblastoma,using DNA polymorphisms within the retinoblastoma gene" that aimed to identify the gene for retinoblastoma. [4] She shortly thereafter joined the Massachusetts Eye and Ear hospital in 1992 and eventually became co-director of the HMS Ophthalmology Glaucoma Center of Excellence and director of the genetic testing lab. [5]
In 2015,Wiggs made major discoveries and earned promotions within her profession. She was promoted to the Paul Austin Chandler Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard, [5] and was inducted into the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis for her research on glaucoma. [6] As principal investigator for NEI Glaucoma Human Genetics Collaboration Heritable Overall Operational Database (NEIGHBORHOOD),Wiggs was the lead author on the article,“Genome-wide association analysis identifies TXNRD2,ATXN2 and FOXC1 as susceptibility loci for primary open-angle glaucoma”which identified three genes that contribute to primary open-angle glaucoma. [7] [8] Wiggs and her research team also used NEIGHBORHOOD Consortium to study glaucoma genetics. They collected consortium has collected over 5,000 samples from primary open-angle glaucoma patients,as well as 30,000 control samples,to try and narrow down on genes that play a role in many forms of glaucoma. [9] She is also investigating the genetic etiologies of early-onset and adult forms of glaucoma and is a founding member of the International Glaucoma Genetics Consortium (IGGC). [10]
In 2018,Wiggs was awarded the 2018 Dr. David L. Epstein Award,which came with a $100,000 research award. [11] Later,Wiggs was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for her research in the field of ocular genetics. [12]
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that lead to damage of the optic nerve,which transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of sight" because the loss of vision usually occurs slowly over a long period of time. A major risk factor for glaucoma is increased pressure within the eye,known as intraocular pressure (IOP). It is associated with old age,a family history of glaucoma,and certain medical conditions or medications. The word glaucoma comes from the Ancient Greek word γλαυκός,meaning 'gleaming,blue-green,gray'.
The National Eye Institute (NEI) is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH),an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mission of NEI is "to eliminate vision loss and improve quality of life through vision research." NEI consists of two major branches for research:an extramural branch that funds studies outside NIH and an intramural branch that funds research on the NIH campus in Bethesda,Maryland. Most of the NEI budget funds extramural research.
Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina,the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common primary malignant intraocular cancer in children,especially those under 3 years old.
Axenfeld–Rieger syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder,which affects the development of the teeth,eyes,and abdominal region.
Mary-Claire King is an American geneticist. She was the first to show that breast cancer can be inherited due to mutations in the gene she called BRCA1. She studies human genetics and is particularly interested in genetic heterogeneity and complex traits. She studies the interaction of genetics and environmental influences and their effects on human conditions such as breast and ovarian cancer,inherited deafness,schizophrenia,HIV,systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. She has been the American Cancer Society Professor of the Department of Genome Sciences and of Medical Genetics in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington since 1995.
Myocilin,trabecular meshwork inducible glucocorticoid response (TIGR),also known as MYOC,is a protein which in humans is encoded by the MYOC gene. Mutations in MYOC are a major cause of glaucoma.
Optineurin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the OPTN gene.
Thaddeus P. Dryja is an American ophthalmologist and geneticist known for his role in the 1986 discovery of the Rb tumor suppressor gene. He was the David G. Cogan Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard University and was the Global Head of Ophthalmology Research at Novartis. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1996.
Pseudoexfoliation syndrome,often abbreviated as PEX and sometimes as PES or PXS,is an aging-related systemic disease manifesting itself primarily in the eyes which is characterized by the accumulation of microscopic granular amyloid-like protein fibers. Its cause is unknown,although there is speculation that there may be a genetic basis. It is more prevalent in women than men,and in persons past the age of seventy. Its prevalence in different human populations varies;for example,it is prevalent in Scandinavia. The buildup of protein clumps can block normal drainage of the eye fluid called the aqueous humor and can cause,in turn,a buildup of pressure leading to glaucoma and loss of vision. As worldwide populations become older because of shifts in demography,PEX may become a matter of greater concern.
Persistent fetal vasculature(PFV),also known as persistent fetal vasculature syndrome (PFVS),and until 1997 known primarily as persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV),is a rare congenital anomaly which occurs when blood vessels within the developing eye,known as the embryonic hyaloid vasculature network,fail to regress as they normally would in-utero after the eye is fully developed. Defects which arise from this lack of vascular regression are diverse;as a result,the presentation,symptoms,and prognosis of affected patients vary widely,ranging from clinical insignificance to irreversible blindness. The underlying structural causes of PFV are considered to be relatively common,and the vast majority of cases do not warrant additional intervention. When symptoms do manifest,however,they are often significant,causing detrimental and irreversible visual impairment. Persistent fetal vasculature heightens the lifelong risk of glaucoma,cataracts,intraocular hemorrhages,and Retinal detachments,accounting for the visual loss of nearly 5% of the blind community in the developed world. In diagnosed cases of PFV,approximately 90% of patients with a unilateral disease have associated poor vision in the affected eye.
Jennifer Anne Doudna is an American biochemist who has pioneered work in CRISPR gene editing,and made other fundamental contributions in biochemistry and genetics. She received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry,with Emmanuelle Charpentier,"for the development of a method for genome editing." She is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor's Chair Professor in the department of chemistry and the department of molecular and cell biology at the University of California,Berkeley. She has been an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1997.
Mitali Mukerji is a Professor and Head of the Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering,IIT Jodhpur. She was formerly a Chief Scientist at the CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology with notable achievement in the field of human genomics and personalized medicine. She is best known for initiating the field of "Ayurgenomics" in partnership with her colleague Dr. Bhavana Prasher under the mentorship of Prof. Samir K. Brahmachari. Ayurgenomics is an innovative study,blending the principles of Ayurveda- the traditional Indian system of medicine- with genomics. Mukerji is also a major contributor in the Indian Genome Variation Consortium,a comprehensive database that is producing "the first genetic landscape of the Indian population",and has been an author in many publications that use IGV databases to study population genomics. Mukerji has done extensive research on hereditary ataxias,and is involved in many other projects related to tracking disease origins and mutational histories. She is the recipient of the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 2010 for her contribution in the field of Medical Sciences.
Primary juvenile glaucoma is a subtype of primary congenital glaucoma that develops due to ocular hypertension and is diagnosed between three years of age and early adulthood. It is caused due to abnormalities in the anterior chamber angle development that obstruct aqueous outflow in the absence of systemic anomalies or other ocular malformation.
Terri L. Young is an American pediatric ophthalmologist.
J. William Harbour is an American ophthalmologist,ocular oncologist and cancer researcher. He is Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He previously served as the vice chair and director of ocular oncology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and associate director for basic science at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine.
Daniel L. Hartl is the Higgins Professor of Biology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He is also a principal investigator at the Hartl Laboratory at Harvard University. His research interests are focused on evolutionary genomics,molecular evolution,and population genetics.
Anil Kumar Mandal is an Indian ophthalmologist and a consultant at L. V. Prasad Eye Institute,Hyderabad. Known for his research on glaucoma,Mandal is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research,awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology,one of the highest Indian science awards,for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 2003.
Santosh Gajanan Honavar is an Indian ophthalmologist and is currently the Honorary General Secretary of the All India Ophthalmological Society;Director of Medical Services;Director,Department of Ocular Oncology and Oculoplasty at Centre for Sight,Hyderabad;and Director,National Retinoblastoma Foundation. He was the Editor of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology and Indian Journal of Ophthalmology - Case Reports,the official journals of the All India Ophthalmological Society from 2017 to 2023.
Mounira Hmani Aifa is a Tunisian geneticist,best known for her work in mapping the PRSS56 gene. She has been a recipient of the "Sur les traces de Marie Curie" award from UNESCO and the L'Oreal Foundation in 2012,and a fellowship from them in 2002.
Brenda Louise Gallie is a Canadian ophthalmologist. She is the Head of the Retinoblastoma Program in the Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto) Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences.