Neil Hanchard Last updated August 05, 2025 Jamaican physician and scientist
Neil Hanchard
Education University of the West Indies, MBBS; Oxford University, PhD; Mayo Clinic, residency; Baylor College of Medicine, clinical fellowship Awards Rhodes Scholar; Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award; MBBS with Honours Scientific career Fields genomics of complex childhood diseases; global health genomics Institutions Baylor College of Medicine; National Human Genome Research Institute
Neil Hanchard is a Jamaican physician and scientist who is clinical investigator in the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), where he leads the Childhood Complex Disease Genomics section. [ 1] Prior to joining NHGRI, he was an associate professor of molecular and human genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine . [ 2] He is a fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics , . [ 1] [ 3] [ 4] Hanchard's research focuses on the genetics of childhood disease, with an emphasis on diseases impacting global health. [ 2]
Research Hanchard's research focuses on genetic factors that can lead children to manifest especially severe symptoms of malnutrition , [ 6] genomics of disease progression in children with HIV and tuberculosis , and genetic factors that contribute to comorbidities in sickle cell disease . [ 2] He is a member of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network , and is interested in identifying molecular diagnoses for children with uncommon genetic disease symptoms. [ 2]
In collaboration with the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) consortium, he was a senior author on a publication surveying human genetic diversity in Africa . [ 7] [ 8] [ 9] The study was published in and featured on the cover of Nature [ 10] [ 11] In this work, they sequenced the complete genomes of 426 African individuals who belonged to 50 distinct ethnolinguistic groups , including individuals from populations that had never previously been sequenced. [ 8] [ 12] The study revealed previously unknown historical human migration patterns, for example leading to insight into the history of the Berom people of Nigeria. [ 9] It identified more than 3 million genetic variants that had not been previously observed, which could contribute to making genetic tests more accurate for people with African ancestry. [ 9] [ 8]
He has coauthored more than 70 peer reviewed articles. His papers have appeared in Nature Science American Journal of Human Genetics . [ 1]
Personal life Hanchard is married with children. [ 3]
Selected publications Choudhury, A., Aron, S., Botigué, L.R. et al. High-depth African genomes inform human migration and health. Nature 586, 741–748 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2859-7 Schulze, K.V., Bhatt, A., Azamian, M.S. et al. Aberrant DNA methylation as a diagnostic biomarker of diabetic embryopathy. Genet Med 21, 2453–2461 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41436-019-0516-z Schulze, K.V., Swaminathan, S., Howell, S. et al. Edematous severe acute malnutrition is characterized by hypomethylation of DNA. Nat Commun 10, 5791 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13433-6 Retshabile, G, Mlotshwa, B.C.,Williams, L et al. Whole-Exome Sequencing Reveals Uncaptured Variation and Distinct Ancestry in the Southern African Population of Botswana. Am J Hum Genet. 102 (5), 731-743 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.03.010 Hanchard NA, Swaminathan S, Bucasas K et al. A genome-wide association study of congenital cardiovascular left-sided lesions shows association with a locus on chromosome 20 . Hum Mol Genet. 25 (11), 2331-2341 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddw071 Hanchard NA, Rockett KA, Spencer C, et al. Screening for recently selected alleles by analysis of human haplotype similarity. Am J Hum Genet. 78 (1), 153-9 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1086/499252 References 1 2 3 4 "Dr. Neil Hanchard joins NHGRI as a clinical investigator" . Genome.gov . Retrieved 15 February 2021 . 1 2 3 4 5 "Neil Hanchard, M.D., Ph.D." Baylor College of Medicine . Retrieved 15 February 2021 . 1 2 3 Cullinan, Sara (30 May 2018). "Inside AJHG: A Chat with Neil Hanchard" . ASHG . Retrieved 15 February 2021 . ↑ "Advisory Board: Cell Genomics: Cell Genomics" . www.cell.com . Retrieved 16 February 2021 . ↑ "UWI Rhodes Scholars" . UWI Alumni Online . 10 July 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2021 . ↑ Schulze, Katharina V.; Swaminathan, Shanker; Howell, Sharon; Jajoo, Aarti; Lie, Natasha C.; Brown, Orgen; Sadat, Roa; Hall, Nancy; Zhao, Liang; Marshall, Kwesi; May, Thaddaeus (19 December 2019). "Edematous severe acute malnutrition is characterized by hypomethylation of DNA" . Nature Communications . 10 (1): 5791. Bibcode :2019NatCo..10.5791S . doi :10.1038/s41467-019-13433-6 . ISSN 2041-1723 . PMC 6923441 . PMID 31857576 . ↑ "New Genome Sequences Reveal Undescribed African Migration" . The Scientist Magazine® . Retrieved 16 February 2021 . 1 2 3 Qaiser, Farah. "Genome Analysis Of 426 Africans Finds Over 3 Million New Variants" . Forbes . Retrieved 16 February 2021 . 1 2 3 " . STAT . 16 October 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2021 . ↑ "Volume 586 Issue 7831, 29 October 2020" . www.nature.com . 28 October 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021 . ↑ "Africa's people must be able to write their own genomics agenda" . Nature . 586 (7831): 644. 28 October 2020. Bibcode :2020Natur.586..644. . doi : 10.1038/d41586-020-03028-3 . PMID 33116292 . ↑ Choudhury, Ananyo; Aron, Shaun; Botigué, Laura R.; Sengupta, Dhriti; Botha, Gerrit; Bensellak, Taoufik; Wells, Gordon; Kumuthini, Judit; Shriner, Daniel; Fakim, Yasmina J.; Ghoorah, Anisah W. (28 October 2020). "High-depth African genomes inform human migration and health" . Nature . 586 (7831): 741– 748. Bibcode :2020Natur.586..741C . doi :10.1038/s41586-020-2859-7 . ISSN 1476-4687 . PMC 7759466 . PMID 33116287 . This page is based on this
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