Robert G. Best, PhD, FACMG Elected to ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine Board of Directors

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American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics

Aug 17, 2020, 08:00 ET

BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine has elected Robert G. Best, PhD, FACMG to its board of directors. 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 ACMG Foundation and for advancing its policies and programs. Dr. Best was elected to a two-year term starting immediately.

ACMG Foundation President Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG said, "I am delighted that Dr. Best will be joining the ACMG Foundation Board of Directors. Dr. Best has long been active in laboratory genetics and genomics and also brings a wealth of leadership experience. He has also worked with ACMG for many years. I look forward to welcoming him to the Board."

Dr. Best is associate dean for faculty affairs and professional development, and professor of biomedical sciences at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. Previously, Dr. Best was interim chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, and director of the clinical laboratories and prenatal screening and the Division of Genetics and Molecular Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia. Dr. Best earned his BS in biochemistry from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and his PhD in genetics and toxicology from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He completed fellowships in clinical cytogenetics and PhD medical genetics at the Medical University of South Carolina/University of South Carolina School of Medicine and is an alternate track fellow in laboratory genetics and genomics at Harvard Medical School/Brigham & Women's Hospital and Greenwood Genetic Center/Medical University of South Carolina. He has authored numerous publications pertinent to the clinical and laboratory practice of genetics and genomics and chaired multiple ACMG working groups charged with developing clinical practice guidelines in medical genetics. Dr. Best recently completed a term as chair of ACMG's Social, Ethical and Legal Issues (SELI) Committee.

About his election to the ACMG Foundation Board of Directors, Dr. Best said, "It is a tremendous honor to be elected to serve on the board of the ACMG Foundation. The ACMG Foundation mission is both simple and noble, '…to create better health through genetics,' but our success requires a growth mindset that finds opportunity in change and challenge. Creating and identifying resources to advance the three ACMG pillars of medical genetics practice resources, education and advocacy is a truly worthy endeavor, and I am especially excited to join the board at a time when genetics has found its place fully at the center of medicine and healthcare."

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

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 acmgfoundation.org.

Kathy Moran, MBA
[email protected]

SOURCE American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics