Yale scientist recruited to chair genetics department

Michael Snyder

Michael Snyder, PhD, will join the School of Medicine in July as its new chair of the Department of Genetics.

Snyder, who is the Lewis B. Cullman Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Yale University and director of the Yale Center of Genomics and Proteomics, will replace former chair Richard Myers, PhD, who left Stanford in the summer of 2008 for the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Alabama.

'I feel confident that [Dr. Snyder] will bring enormous energy, important skills and a strong commitment to foster the careers of students, postdocs and junior faculty,' said Dean Philip Pizzo, MD, in his newsletter announcing the appointment on March 30. In addition to serving as chair of genetics, Snyder will head a new Center of Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford intended to 'provide a broad umbrella for school and university efforts in genomic and their application to diagnosing and managing human disease,' said Pizzo.

Snyder is no stranger to Stanford. After receiving his PhD at the California Institute of Technology, he did a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Ronald Davis, PhD, professor of biochemistry and of genetics. 'This is truly an exciting time to return to Stanford,' said Snyder. 'We are entering a revolutionary new age in which genetics and genomics will play a major role in the future of medicine. Stanford has enormous talent and resources. Together with its unique collaborative environment, the university is well positioned to take a lead role in this area. I hope to help make Stanford the best and most exciting place in the world for genetics and genomics activities.'

Snyder's laboratory at Yale specializes in the large-scale analysis of proteins using microarrays and global mapping of chromosomal protein binding sites. It built the first proteome chip for any organism and the first high-resolution tiling array for the entire human genome.

The search for a new genetics chair genetics was led by Lucy Shapiro, PhD, the Ludwig Professor of Developmental Biology and director of the Beckman Center. John Pringle, PhD, has served as the interim chair of the department since Myers' departure.