Institute for Genomic
Medicine

Whole Genome Sequencing

Neuropsychiatric Genetics

Copyright (c) 2012 - UFBR, a 501(c)3 non-profit

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ABOUT leadership

  • Gholson Lyon
    M.D., Ph.D.

    Officer, Founding Board Member and Director, Neuropsychiatric Genetics

  • Reid J. Robison
    M.D., M.B.A.

    President and Founding Board Member

  • Clark W. Johnson
    M.D.

    Board Member and Trustee

  • Kai Wang
    Ph.D

    Scientific Advisor
Gholson J. Lyon, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Human Genetics at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the NYU Child Study Center.Dr. Lyon completed his adult training at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia, where he became interested in the role that dopamine plays in a variety of illnesses, including schizophrenia, ADHD, and Tourette’s syndrome, and how this can be studied using animal models, genetics, and neuroimaging. Other areas of interest include evidence-based psychiatric training and education.

Dr. Lyon completed his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College, where he studied biochemistry and molecular biology. He received an M.Phil. in genetics from the University of Cambridge, England and a Ph.D. in protein and peptide chemistry at Rockefeller University. He completed his medical education at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Gholson also completed his Child and Adolescent Residency at the NYU Child Study Center.

He is currently a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Neuropsychiatric Association, the New York Academy of Sciences, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has published in the areas of biochemistry, pharmacology, and molecular biology.

Reid Robison, M.D., M.B.A. is president and co-founder of the Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research. Dr. Robison is a board-certified psychiatrist, with fellowship training in clinical research, biomedical informatics and neurodevelopmental genetics. Prior to medical school, Dr. Robison studied neuroscience at Brigham Young University where he conducted research on the effects of neuropeptides in animal models of brain disorders. After residency and fellowship training at the University of Utah, Dr. Robison joined as tenure track faculty where he served as Associate Director of the Psychiatry Research Clinic running clinical trials in psychopharmacology, and studying the genetics of Autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, using technologies such as microarrays and whole exome sequencing. Dr. Robison currently serves as the Medical Director of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Intermountain Medical Center, and is also the Principal Investigator of a number of clinical resesarch studies, including medication studies for Autism Spectrum Disorders.  He is a founding board member of the Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research, where he conducts research on the genetics of Autism and related conditions, as well as drug development in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Fragile X Syndrome. You can read more about Dr. Robison’s research here.
Dr. Johnson is a Board Certified psychiatrist & experienced entrepreneur. He trained at the University of Utah Medical School, then completed a residency in New York City. He then practiced in Oregon and Washington before moving back to Salt Lake City with his wife and 2 young kids. He has extensive clinical trials experience in psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on biomarkers and genetic screening. In addition to clinical research, Dr Johnson is involved in healthcare investing and startups. He has successfully helped to create and grow several companies and is currently volunteering his time on UFBR’s board as an advisor and consultant.
Dr. Kai Wang is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Preventive Medicine at the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, University of Southern California. He was trained as a molecular biologist at Peking University in China, and later became interested in Computational Biology and obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Washington. He completedpostdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, working on genomic analysis of human diseases. His current research focuses on next-generation sequencing data analysis, including the development of functional interpretation approaches, CNV calling methods and pathway-based association tests.

Mission

The Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research is dedicated to discovering the genetic underpinnings of chronic diseases and advancing the field of genomic medicine.

History

The Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research was founded in 2010 by a group of physicians with the goal of finding the genetic cause of important diseases, with the hope that better understanding of the cause of these conditions will lead to potential treatments.

Sponsors

RESEARCH

The Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research is dedicated to improving lives through biomedical research. Please call us at 881-449-1246, or email , if you’d like to volunteer, donate, or learn more.

GENETICS
INSTITUTE FOR GENOMIC MEDICINE
NEURODEVELOPMENT
ATHEROMETABOLICS
The Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research is currently conducting an IRB-approved genetic study of neuropsychiatric conditions such as Autism, ADHD, Tourette, Schizophrenia, Bipolar, and Developmental Delay. Please call us at 881-449-1246 if interested. UFBR uses whole-genome sequencing and advanced genome analysis to detect genetic variants implicated in neurodevelopmental conditions. UFBR has a number of partnerships in place to collaborate on genome sequencing and analysis, including CSHL, USC, Illumina, the University of Utah, Intermountain Healthcare, Complete Genomics, Omicia, and more.

The Institute for Genomic Medicine (IGM) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization associated with the Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research, aiming to promote the implementation of Genomic Medicine.

Find out more
DOWNLOAD BROCHURE

UFBR is actively engaged in a number of research endeavors focused on the genetics of neurodevelopmental conditions including Autism, Fragile X Syndrome, Intellectual Disability, and more.
Atherometabolism is a new term referring to the intersection of dysmetabolic states and increased risk of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is “hardening of the arteries” which is the major cause of cardiovascular events (heart attacks and strokes), which in turn is the #1 cause of death and disability in the US and in most of the rest of the world. The most important dysmetabolic states include dyslipidemia (low levels of the “good” cholesterol, high levels of the “bad” cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides), diabetes mellitus, the metabolic syndrome (“pre-diabetes”), obesity, and sex-hormone deficiency. The section of Atherometabolic Research within the UFBR is led by Eliot A. Brinton, MD, Director, and includes M. Nazeem Nanjee, PhD, Co-Investigator. Drs. Brinton and Nanjee are researching abnormal lipoprotein metabolism, dyslipidemia and related abnormalities as they may cause progression of atherosclerosis and increased risk of cardiovascular events. The primary focus of their research is HDL and HDL-related lipoproteins. Their studies look primarily at the biological causes of dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis, but their interests extend to the genetic factors underlying these biological phenomena.

INVESTIGATORS

  • Gholson Lyon
    M.D., Ph.D.

    Officer, Founding Board Member and Director, Neuropsychiatric Genetics

  • Reid J. Robison
    M.D., M.B.A.

    President and Founding Board Member

  • Kai Wang
    Ph.D

    Scientific Advisor

  • Eliot A. Brinton
    MD, FAHA, FNLA

  • M. Nazeem Nanjee
    PhD, FAHA

Gholson J. Lyon, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Human Genetics at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the NYU Child Study Center.Dr. Lyon completed his adult training at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia, where he became interested in the role that dopamine plays in a variety of illnesses, including schizophrenia, ADHD, and Tourette’s syndrome, and how this can be studied using animal models, genetics, and neuroimaging. Other areas of interest include evidence-based psychiatric training and education.Dr. Lyon completed his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College, where he studied biochemistry and molecular biology. He received an M.Phil. in genetics from the University of Cambridge, England and a Ph.D. in protein and peptide chemistry at Rockefeller University. He completed his medical education at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Gholson also completed his Child and Adolescent Residency at the NYU Child Study Center.He is currently a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Neuropsychiatric Association, the New York Academy of Sciences, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has published in the areas of biochemistry, pharmacology, and molecular biology.
Reid Robison, M.D., M.B.A. is president and co-founder of the Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research. He is a board-certified psychiatrist, with fellowship training in clinical research, biomedical informatics and genetics. Prior to medical school, Dr. Robison studied neuroscience at Brigham Young University where he was investigation the effects of certain neuropeptides on weight loss in rodents. After residency and fellowship training at the University of Utah, Dr. Robison joined as tenure track faculty where he served as Associate Director of the Psychiatry Research Clinic running clinical trials in psychopharmacology, and conducting researching psychiatric genetics using technologies such as microarrays and whole exome sequencing. Dr. Robison is now the Medical Director of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Intermountain Medical Center, and is the Principal Investigator of a large-scale family-based genetics study at the Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research using whole genome and sequencing to identify the genetic underpinnings of neuropsychiatric diseases.
Dr. Kai Wang is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Preventive Medicine at the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, University of Southern California. He was trained as a molecular biologist at Peking University in China, and later became interested in Computational Biology and obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Washington. He completedpostdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, working on genomic analysis of human diseases. His current research focuses on next-generation sequencing data analysis, including the development of functional interpretation approaches, CNV calling methods and pathway-based association tests.
Dr. Brinton obtained his M.D. degree at The University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, did his Internal Medicine residency at Duke University, Durham, NC, and his fellowship in Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition at The University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Dr. Brinton is board certified in Internal Medicine and Clinical Lipidology and is President and founding board member of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications in various journals, including Science, Circulation, the Journal of Clinical Investigation, JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine. He is an Editor of Lipids Online, Assistant Editor of the Journal of Clinical Lipidology and the Journal of Obesity and on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, and Clinical Lipidology. He is a fellow of the American Heart Association and Co-Chair of Clinical Lipidology Committee of the AHA. He is past President of the Pacific Lipid Association, and fellow and founding Board Member of the National Lipid Association. Dr. Brinton is the recipient of numerous scientific awards including the 2012 Robert I. Levy Award of the Kinetics and Metabolism Society.
M. Nazeem Nanjee received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of London. He served as Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem (1988-1993), and as co-director of the Cardiovascular Biochemistry Unit at St. Bartholomew’s Medical College, London (1994-2002). Dr Nanjee currently serves as Research Associate Professor and Director of Metabolism Research Laboratory in the Cardiovascular Genetics Division of the University of Utah School of Medicine.

CONTACT

Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research
150 S. 100 W.
Provo, UT 84601
881-449-1246

Copyright (c) 2012 – Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research, a 501(c)3 non-profit