Monday 19 June 2017

Veritas Genetics Welcomes Dr. Robert C. Green and Dr. Natasha Y. Frank to its Medical & Scientific Advisory Board



Veritas Genetics announces Robert C. Green, MD, MPH and Natasha Y. Frank, MD, FACMG, are now members of their distinguished Medical & Scientific Advisory Board. The two respected medical geneticists, known for their extensive experience in genomics, will join an existing team of leading experts who advise Veritas, the leader in sequencing and interpreting the full accessible genome. Both Dr. Green and Dr. Frank are board certified, medical geneticists and medical scientists who serve as medical professors in the Division of Genetics at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

"As genome sequencing begins to play an increasingly important role in adult and pediatric care, it is essential that Veritas has access to the guidance of leading medical professionals," said Veritas co-founder and CEO Mirza Cifric. "Doctors Green and Frank are not only at the forefront of genomics science, they also have a clear idea of how to translate this complex information for patients and make it clinically useful for physicians. As Veritas leads the big shift toward Integrating people's entire genome data into your overall health and lifestyle, we need the advice of our Medical & Scientific Advisory Board to make sure we do it responsibly, efficiently, and with the highest quality standards.

Dr. Green has extensive experience in researching the medical, behavioral, and economic outcomes associated with the implementation of genomic medicine. He leads the Genomes2People Research Program and leads the first randomized trials to explore the implementation of medical sequencing in adults and newborns through the MedSeq and BabySeq projects, which are designed to examine the best way to integrate clinical medicine sequencing with Safety and effectiveness.

"I think sequencing the entire genome will be a natural and necessary part of each individual's health experience from birth," explained Dr. Green. "I am excited to be advising a new company in this space."

Dr. Frank has accumulated extensive experience in the fields of cancer biology, genetics and stem cell biology. He directs research programs funded by the National Institutes of Health, Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense that investigate the biology of stem cells residing in human tissues and their relationship to genetic diseases and cancer.

"We are very fortunate to practice medicine at a time when we can read and understand the human genome," Dr. Frank said. "As a geneticist, I am delighted with the unprecedented opportunities generated by rapid advances in complete genome sequencing technology as well as the opportunity to resolve the most difficult clinical cases and contribute to future therapeutic discoveries."

Physicians Green and Frank will join the following members of Veritas Medical and Scientific Advisory Board:

    George Church, PhD - Co-founder, President of SAB, Veritas. Professor of genetics, Harvard Medical School and MIT. Founding member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard.
    Peter Blume-Jensen, MD, PhD - Scientific leader in personalized oncology, targeted cancer therapies and biomarkers research. Currently CSO, Xtuit. Former executive, Metamark Genetics, Daiichi Sankyo, Merck and Serono.
    George Siber, MD, PhD - ex EVP and CSO, Wyeth. Faculty at Harvard Medical School and Dana Farber. Currently Associate Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical School.
    Scott Patterson, PhD - Formerly Amgen's Executive Director, Medical Sciences, and VP, Proteomics, Celera Genomics. Currently VP, Biomarker Sciences, Gilead Sciences, Inc.
    Scott Parazynski, MD - NASA astronaut and former physiologist with expertise in human adaptation to extreme environments. Professor of Practice, Arizona State University. Product Developer, Stanford MD.
    Shamil Sunyaev, PhD - Professor of Computer Science and Biomedical Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Computational Genomics Chair. Genetic Researcher, Brigham and the Women's Hospital. Associate Member, Broad Institute.
    Hans Lehrach, PhD - Director Emeritus, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics. CEO / CSO Dahlem Genome Research Center and Biology of the Medical System. Founder, Alacris Theranostics Gmbh.

About Veritas Genetics

Veritas is the genome company. We examine most of an individual's DNA through sequencing and interpretation of the entire genome to provide information about the hereditary risks of the disease, the carrier's condition, drug sensitivities, traits and ancestors. Our mission is to help people understand their genetics and make more informed decisions about health and lifestyle with the participation of their physician and access to specialized genetic counselors.

Co-founded in 2014 by George Church and distinguished scientists from the Personal Genome Project of Harvard Medical School, Veritas operates globally from its offices in the United States, Europe and China. The company was recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of the 50 most intelligent companies in 2016.