David Goldstein to Direct Columbia’s Institute for Genomic Medicine

A pioneering human geneticist has been recruited to direct a new Institute for Genomic Medicine at Columbia, a joint effort with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. David Goldstein, PhD, will join Columbia Jan. 1, 2015, as professor of genetics & development. Dr. Goldstein, who has been recruited from Duke University, will be responsible for building a program that comprehensively integrates genetics and genomics into research, patient care, and education.

Dr. Goldstein also will develop programs that prepare students for careers in the expanding field of genomic and precision medicine.

Dr. Goldstein will serve as an adviser to Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences Lee Goldman, MD, on the genetic and genomic components of Columbia’s university-wide initiative in precision medicine, which was announced in February.

Dr. Goldstein’s research has focused on identifying the relationship between human genetic variations and disease, including epilepsy, hepatitis C, and schizophrenia, and the response of disease to pharmacologic treatments. In addition to his leadership of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at CUMC, he will have a faculty appointment at the New York Genome Center and an appointment in neurology at P&S.

At Duke, Dr. Goldstein has been director of the Center for Human Genome Variation and the Richard and Pat Johnson Distinguished University Professor, with appointments in molecular genetics & microbiology and biology. He joined Duke in 2005 after six years at University College London, which named him Honorary Professor in 2007. He received his PhD in biological sciences from Stanford University in 1994.

“The vision of Columbia University and NYP to create a truly integrated environment for research, clinical application, and student instruction is exactly the right vision,” says Dr. Goldstein. “Human genomics is creating breathtaking new opportunities to better understand the biology of disease and to provide more effective and more accurately targeted therapies. Capitalizing on these opportunities and ensuring that clinical applications adhere to the highest-possible scientific standards require close collaborations among researchers, the clinical community, and patients and their families.”

Dr. Goldstein was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2013 and received one of the first seven nationally awarded Royal Society/Wolfson research merit awards in the United Kingdom for his work in human population genetics. Also in 2013, Dr. Goldstein chaired the Gordon Research Conference in Human Genetics. He serves on the Advisory Council at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.