There is probably no aspect of human health that is not influenced by our genes.  To this end, many laboratories at UCSF use genetic approaches to untangle problems as diverse as infertility, cancer, asthma and diabetes. Other members of our faculty are leaders in the development of cutting-edge genome analysis including microarray technology, comparative genome hybridization (CGH) and haplotype analysis.  Still others realize the benefits of model organisms to discover fundamental pathways that can unravel in human disease.  All entering BMS Students take a core Genetics course (BMS 255) and can opt to take Advanced Human Genetics (Genetics 224), offered every other spring.  Through the new Program in Human Genetics, students are also encouraged to prepare posters and talks for an annual Genetics Day retreat.

Kaveh Ashrafi, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology & Human Genetics
Genetics  and Neurobiology of Fat and Feeding Regulation

Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Telomeres and Telomerase

Laura Bull, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Genetics approaches to study of the biology of the liver in health and disease

Esteban Gonzalez Burchard, MD, MPH
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Identifying ethnic specific genetic and biologic risk factors for asthma and asthma severity among U.S. ethnic minority groups

James Cleaver, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
DNA Repair Mechanisms and Human Disease

Philip Coffino, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Proteasomes, substrate recognition and processing

Joe Costello, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Integrated genomic and epigenomic mechanisms contributing to cancer

Lindsey A. Criswell, MD, MPH
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Immunology
Genetics and epidemiology of human autoimmune disease

Creg Darby, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Biofilms of pathogenic bacteria; C. elegans models of bacterial pathogenesis

Joseph DeRisi, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Genomic approaches to yeast molecular biology and infectious disease

Marc Diamond, MD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Molecular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration in Polyglutamine Expansion Diseases

Gerard Evan, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Molecular Basis of Carcinogenesis: Regulation of Cell Proliferation and Cell Death (Apoptosis)

Ying-Hui Fu, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Human genetics in neurodegenerative diseases

Kathleen Giacomini, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Pharmacogenomics of Membrane Transporters

Jane Gitschier, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Genetic Defects in Heavy Metal Transport

Andrei Goga, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology and Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Human Genetics
Oncogenes and Cell Cycle Control

Douglas B. Gould, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Genetic and molecular mechanisms of ocular and cerebrovascular diseases

Steven Hamilton, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Genetics and Pharmacogenetics of Psychiatric Disorders

Douglas Hanahan, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Modelling Pathways to Cancer: Cellular, Genetic & Immunological Determinants, and Experimental Therapeutics

Graeme Hodgson, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Gene Discovery and Targeted Molecular Therapeutics in Brain Tumors

Wen-Chi Hsueh, MPH, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Genetic epidemiology of aging- and metabolism- related complex traits in humans

C. David James, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
CNS Tumor Molecular Biology and Therapeutic Testing

Alexander Johnson, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Virulence and Evolution of a Human Pathogen

Ophir Klein, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Developmental genetics of dental and craniofacial structures

Tom Kornberg, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Organogenesis and patterning during development

Pui-Yan Kwok, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Analysis of Complex Genetic Traits

Diana Laird, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics, Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Molecular and cellular mechanisms of primordial germ cell development

Hiten Madhani, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
How a good yeast lives and how a bad yeast kills:  S. cerevisiae vs. C. neoformans

Michael McManus, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology , Immunology
Mammalian microRNA and RNA Interference Pathways

Paul Muchowski, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Molecular mechanisms that underlie neurodegenerative disorders

Robert Nussbaum, MD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Human Genetic Analysis of Parkinson's Disease and Other Disorders

Louis Ptacek, MD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Genetics and biology of human nervous system disorders

Jennifer Puck, MD
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Inherited disorders of lymphocyte development

Jeremy Reiter, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology and Cell Signaling, Human Genetics, Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Signaling at the Primary Cilium, the Cell's Antenna

Neil Risch, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Human Genetics, Population Genetics, Statistical Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology

Philip Rosenthal, MD
Primary Research Interest: Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Molecular, translational, and clinical studies of malaria

Davide Ruggero, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Dynamics of translation control in gene expression, cancer, and disease

Nirao Shah, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Neurobiology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics,
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Neural control of sexually dimorphic behaviors

Kevin Shannon, MD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Molecular Genetics and Therapy of Myeloid Leukemia

Dean Sheppard, MD
Primary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Mechanisms by Which Signals from the Extracellular Matrix Regulate Inflammation and Tissue Fibrosis

Anita Sil, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Fungal pathogenesis and host response

Deepak Srivastava, MD
Primary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics, Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Molecular and genetic dissection of cardiogenesis and its role in human disease

Christian Vaisse, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Tissue/Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Genetics of Metabolic Diseases

William Weiss, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Mouse Models for Tumors of the Nervous System

Joe Wiemels, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Etiology and genetics of childhood leukemia and brain cancer

John Witte, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Genetic Epidemiology of Cancer and other Complex Diseases

Anthony Wynshaw-Boris, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Secondary Research Interest: Developmental & Stem Cell Biology, Neurobiology
Pathogenesis of Human Neurogenetic Diseases

Scott Zamvil, MD, PhD
Primary Research Interest: Immunology
Secondary Research Interest: Neurobiology, Human Genetics
Novel Treatments for Multiple Sclerosis

Elad Ziv, MD
Primary Research Interest: Human Genetics
Application of Population Genetics to the Study of Complex Traits in Humans