The National Human Genome Research Institute appointed Drs. Joan Bailey-Wilson ’75 (above) and Alexander Wilson ’75 (below) co-chiefs of its Inherited Disease Research Branch, which develops and applies new methods and tools to identify how genes contribute to disease, particularly in common, genetically complex disorders, such as cancer and diabetes.

“We are excited that these outstanding scientists have agreed to take the helm. Their vision and expertise will advance our efforts to unlock the genetic mysteries of common diseases,” said NHGRI Scientific Director Eric Green M.D., Ph.D.

The scientists who work at the Inherited Disease Research Branch, part of the National Institutes of Health, are primarily statistical geneticists, a specialty that combines statistics, genetics and computer science. The center provides high-throughput genotyping to scientists at the NIH and other research institutions around the world. The doctors are currently senior investigators in the branch.

“Given the vast amounts of genomic data becoming available, the Inherited Disease Research Branch is destined to become even more important in the coming years,” says Bailey-Wilson. “Not only will our investigators search for genes themselves, but we will develop innovative methods and software to guide other genome researchers in their hunts for disease-associated genes.”

Wilson agrees. “There is an urgent need to bolster the statistical ‘toolkits’ used by the genome research community. Our branch must work to develop new methodologies that are easier to use and that can handle the massive amount of data now being generated by molecular geneticists.”

Bailey-Wilson has been engaged in an effort to find genes that contribute to the development of lung cancer. In a study published in the “American Journal of Human Genetics” in September 2004, she, along with other members of the Genetic Epidemiology of Lung Cancer Consortium, found strong evidence for the presence of a major lung cancer susceptibility gene on chromosome 6 that appears to act with smoking to increase lung cancer risk. She is also involved in the search for genes that influence vision disorders, such as glaucoma, myopia and cataracts.

Wilson studies a wide range of disorders, including obesity and cardiovascular disease. His group recently determined that at least some cases of scoliosis are linked to a region on the X chromosome. He and his colleagues are now trying to pinpoint the exact gene or genes responsible for scoliosis, which affects about one in 200 people.

In addition, Wilson created a software program that enables researchers to build better models to simulate and analyze the varying contributions of genetic and environmental factors to a specific disease in a given population. More than 70 institutions in at least 14 countries now use this Genometric Analysis Simulation Program as a teaching tool and to test new methodologies.

The doctors met in their senior year at McDaniel College while performing research projects under now retired Professor of Biology Jean Kerschner. “We got married while we were graduate students at Indiana and have been a three-career couple -– his, hers and ours –- ever since,” Wilson says.

Rebecca Kolberg, deputy chief of communications for the National Human Genome Research Institute, contributed to this article.