Huntington F. Willard, Ph.D.
Duke University
Nanaline H. Duke Professor of Genome Sciences
Director, Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy
Dr. Willard has served as the founding Director of the Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy at Duke University since January 2003. He is also the Nanaline H. Duke Professor of Genome Sciences in the Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology and the Department of Biology at Duke University.
Dr. Willard is a respected leader in the fields of human genetics and genome biology, known both for his research accomplishments and for his passion for integrating research and education at all levels. A graduate of Harvard College, he received his Ph.D. from Yale University in human genetics and carried out postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. Prior to coming to Duke University and Duke University Medical Center, he held faculty positions at the University of Toronto, Stanford University, and Case Western Reserve University and was Chairman of the Department of Genetics at Case Western Reserve University from 1992 to 2001. Dr. Willard has served in numerous leadership positions, both nationally and internationally, and has played an advisory role for research foundations, government agencies and various biotechnology and genomics companies. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals, most recently as co-founder and Executive Editor of Human Molecular Genetics for 14 years. Dr. Willard is the author or co-author of over 350 scientific publications. He is co-author of Genetics in Medicine, a widely used textbook, now in its seventh edition, and co-editor of Genomic and Personalized Medicine, a new two-volume reference text. In addition, he is co-author of a forthcoming book on scientific and societal aspects of the Genome Revolution and is an author of numerous editorial and opinion pieces for the general public on the topics of biomedical research, education, genetics and the impact of the Genome Revolution on society.
An elected fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dr. Willard was awarded the 2009 William Allan Award by the American Society of Human Genetics for scientific contributions to the field of human genetics. His scholarly interests include genetics and epigenetics; genome and chromosome biology; and the genome sciences and their broad implications for biology, medicine and society.
