Brynn Levy, MSc. (Med), PhD, FACMG and David Tilstra, MD, MBA, CPE Are Elected to the Board of Directors of the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine

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American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics

Sep 12, 2019, 08:00 ET

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Brynn Levy, MSc. (Med), PhD, FACMG, professor in the Department of Pathology & Cell Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and David Tilstra, MD, MBA, CPE, president emeritus of CentraCare Clinic, have been elected to the board of directors of the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine. The ACMG Foundation is a national nonprofit foundation dedicated to facilitating the integration of genetics and genomics into medical practice. The board members are active participants, serving as advocates for the Foundation and for advancing its policies and programs.

"I am very pleased to welcome Drs. Levy and Tilstra to the ACMG Foundation Board of Directors. Both are seasoned and highly experienced geneticists who will bring important perspectives to help the Foundation fulfill its mission in support of activities of the College," said ACMG Foundation President Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG.

Dr. Levy is a professor in the Department of Pathology & Cell Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUMC). He is also the medical director of the Clinical Cytogenetics Laboratory of the New York Presbyterian Hospital and a co-director of the Division of Personalized Genomic Medicine in the Department of Pathology & Cell Biology. Dr. Levy is regarded internationally as an expert in the clinical utility of genomic technologies in reproductive medicine. He has authored books, book chapters and publications on molecular genetics, clinical cytogenetics and molecular cytogenetics and lectured internationally about his experience utilizing comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarrays both as a clinical and research tool. His research areas of interest include early prenatal screening using fetal cells and cell-free fetal DNA from maternal circulation, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and the etiology of recurrent miscarriage. Dr. Levy was a co-investigator of the multicenter Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) study that investigated the use of microarrays for prenatal diagnosis and was the Columbia University site principal investigator (PI) of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study from the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network (SCRN) that assessed copy number variations (CNVs) in stillbirths. Dr. Levy is a past president of the Cancer Genomics Consortium (CGC) and was the PI at CUMC for the CGC Multi-center Quality Control trial that performed cross-platform validation of cytogenomic arrays for cancer diagnostics. Dr. Levy currently serves as the Genetics and Genomics Section Editor for the journal Prenatal Diagnosis.

"With genomic medicine playing an increasingly important role in all aspects of medical practice, the need for trained clinical and laboratory geneticists is greater than ever. Concomitant with the integration of sophisticated new genetic tests into clinical care comes the critical requirement for education of non-genetics health care professionals. The ACMG organization plays a crucial role in achieving these goals as well as developing evidence-based guidelines that assist health care professionals adopt these new technologies. The ACMG ultimately seeks to improve public health and meaningfully impact individual patient care, so I am excited to join this energized group who have a clear vision of what needs to be achieved to support that mission. It is an honor to be elected to this prestigious board," said Dr. Levy.

Dr. Tilstra has been president emeritus of CentraCare Clinic since January of 2019. He served as the president of CentraCare Clinic from 2012 to 2019 where he was active in managing physician engagement, strategic thinking, system thinking and recruitment. He has an active role in quality improvement, patient satisfaction and safety and physician relationship activities. Prior to that he was medical director of CentraCare Clinic from 2003 to 2012, with an emphasis on ambulatory clinical improvement, patient experience and community engagement. He practices part time as a medical geneticist. His undergraduate degree in chemistry was obtained at Northwestern College of Orange City in 1983. He spent a year in a biochemistry graduate program at Iowa State University. He attended medical school at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, followed by a pediatric residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, which he completed in 1991. Dr. Tilstra then did a fellowship in medical genetics at the University of Washington, in Seattle, which he completed in 1994. He has been employed by CentraCare Clinic since 1995. He is board certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG). He completed an MBA with emphasis in healthcare administration from the University of Colorado Denver in 2015.

"I am excited to be a part of the ACMG Foundation Board. I am looking forward to opportunities to support the medical genetics community in ways that wouldn't happen without the Foundation's help," said Dr. Tilstra.

A complete roster of the ACMG Foundation board can be found at www.acmgfoundation.org.

About the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine

The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine (ACMGF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a community of supporters and contributors who understand the importance of medical genetics and genomics in healthcare. Established in 1992, the ACMGF supports the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) mission to "translate genes into health." Through its work, the ACMGF fosters charitable giving, promotes training opportunities to attract future medical and laboratory geneticists and genetic counselors to the field, shares information about medical genetics, and sponsors important research and education. To learn more and to support the ACMGF mission to achieve "Better Health through Genetics," visit www.acmgfoundation.org or email [email protected].

Kathy Moran, MBA
[email protected]

SOURCE American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics