Pengfei Liu, PhD, FACMG is the Recipient of the 2022 Dr. Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award from the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine

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American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics

Mar 23, 2022, 09:15 ET

BETHESDA, Md., March 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pengfei Liu, PhD, FACMG is the recipient of the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine's 2022 Dr. Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award—the "Watson Award"—named for the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics first and longstanding executive director, Dr. Michael Watson, FACMG.

"It is my greatest privilege and honor to receive the Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award from the ACMG Foundation. The last ten years have been a period of dramatic innovation in our field of human and medical genetics," said Dr. Liu. "I feel so fortunate to have received my training and started my career during this time. I am excited to continue this journey to translate cutting-edge technologies to clinical implementation, and to improve the utilization of diagnostic big data."

"Dr. Liu has been at the forefront of developing approaches to harness large genomic data sets to improve our ability to diagnose genetic disorders. He is a true innovator in our field, and, as such, highly deserving of recognition as the recipient of the Dr. Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award," said Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG, president of the ACMG Foundation.

Pengfei Liu, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the Molecular and Human Genetics Department at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), the Director of the ACGME-accredited Laboratory Genetics and Genomics (LGG) Fellowship Training Program at BCM, and an Associate Clinical Director at the Baylor Genetics diagnostic laboratory. He is a board-certified laboratory geneticist who holds a PhD in molecular and human genetics from BCM.

Dr. Liu's scientific contribution includes utilizing clinical diagnostic big data to generate knowledge that advances genomic science, as well as developing novel approaches to improve the implementation of genomic medicine. He is one of the recipients of the Genomic Innovator Award from the National Human Genome Research Institute. Dr. Liu has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in the field of medical genetics and genomics. He has been active in many NIH-funded team science projects including the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN), the GREGoR Consortium (Genomics Research to Elucidate the Genetics of Rare diseases, formerly known as the Center of Mendelian Genomics), the Prenatal Genetic Diagnosis by Genomic Sequencing (PrenatalSEQ), and the Rare and Atypical Diabetes Network (RADIANT).

The Watson Award recognizes those who have demonstrated innovation in their work and developed or implemented a new concept, method or idea that has had significant impact on genetic and genomic medicine. The award was created to honor the role Dr. Watson played during his nearly 20 years at the helm of ACMG while the field of genetic and genomic medicine emerged and evolved into the far-reaching practice it is today, a period during which Dr. Watson helped ACMG assume its position at the forefront of policy and guideline development.

"Dr. Pengfei Liu, a Fellow of the ACMG and Director of the LGG fellowship at BCM, is a perfect candidate for the Watson Award," said Max Muenke, MD, FACMG, CEO of the ACMG. "Dr. Liu's work is innovative by combining laboratory diagnostics in individuals with rare diseases with advanced computational analysis."

About the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine

The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine, 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 ACMG Foundation supports the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) mission to "translate genes into health." Through its work, the ACMG Foundation fosters charitable giving, promotes training opportunities to attract future medical geneticists and genetic counselors to the field, shares information about medical genetics and genomics, and sponsors important research. To learn more and support the ACMG Foundation mission to create "Better Health through Genetics" visit www.acmgfoundation.org.

Note to editors: To arrange interviews with experts in medical genetics, contact ACMG Senior Director of Communications and Public Relations, Kathy Moran, MBA at [email protected].

SOURCE American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics