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| Christine Seidman, MD |
Christine Seidman, MD, director of the Cardiovascular Genetics Center in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, will receive the 2019 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science in recognition of her groundbreaking work to identify the genetic causes of several human heart diseases, including cardiomyopathy, a potentially fatal enlargement of the heart.
Established in 2006 by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM), the prize honors women scientists with a stellar record of research accomplishments who have made significant contributions to mentoring other women in science. Seidman is the 14th recipient of the prize, which she will receive on Sept. 12, when she is scheduled to give her Flexner Discovery Lecture at Vanderbilt.
As an investigator, Seidman aims to define the genetic mechanisms for human heart disease and to use these insights to improve diagnostic precision and effective therapies. Her major discoveries have included identification of the genetic causes for hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy and congenital heart malformations such as atrial and septal defects and the tetralogy of Fallot, the most common form of cyanotic heart disease.
In collaboration with the Cardiovascular Genetics Center, Seidman and her colleagues translate basic research discoveries into gene-based diagnostic approaches to improve management strategies while they explore novel therapeutic targets. Her current investigations focus on integrating transcriptional and functional analyses to uncover how different mutations in the same gene elicit distinctive disease phenotypes and clinical outcomes.
