(From left) P. Todd Stukenberg, PhD; Richard P. Lifton, MD PhD; Jeffrey R. Martens, PhD; and Stephen S. Rich, PhD
Complex human diseases are characterized by a genetic susceptibility whose initiation and progressions depend on a permissive environment. Identification of changes in human DNA sequences leading to disease risk can occur in protein-coding genes or in the vast non-coding genome. In order to understand how to better treat individuals with human diseases, with ultimate hope for a cure, a combination of approaches involving genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry are needed to understand how mutations in genes can lead to a better understanding of the gene targets for these disorders.
Genetic discovery was a theme for the Anderson Lecture’s keynote speaker Richard (Rick) Lifton, MD, PhD, president and director of the Laboratory of Human Genetics and Genomics at the Rockefeller University. Dr. Lifton is a preeminent scholar and researcher whose work has utilized exome sequencing to discover over 20 genes contributing to the extremes of blood pressure (hypertension and hypotension) and other disorders. Importantly, Dr. Lifton has utilized genetic and genomic approaches that represent previously unknown genetic mutations leading to disease in families that not only reduce the burden of disease in those individuals affected, but identify therapeutic interventions.
During his lecture on March 11, Dr. Lifton told a series of stories about genetic discovery, and how his research career has been rooted in the need to help patients suffering from both common and rare disorders. His research initiated on discovery of the gene/mutation that leads to disease, with examination of the biological pathways that are affected by the specific mutations. The interrogation of the biological pathway can lead to design of a therapeutic or intervention, using genetics as a biomarker for disease risk and screening, with development of targets to provide new therapies.
The lecture hall for Dr. Lifton’s seminar was filled by students, postdoctoral fellows, residents, and faculty from across Grounds. Dr. Lifton is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the AmerDer Association of Arts and Sciences, and recipient of the prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Novartis Award for Hypertension Research, the Wiley Prize, the Kornberg-Berg Lifetime Achievement Award, the George M Kober Medal, and many other awards and honors. Prior to serving as president of the Rockefeller University, Dr. Lifton was an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Under his leadership as president of Rockefeller University, his faculty have received two Nobel Prizes, three Lasker Awards, two Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences, and over 20 members of the HHMI.
Dr. Lifton has served on many boards, committees and councils related to both science and science policy, including the Whitehead Institute, the Broad Institute, and the Simons Foundation for Autism Research, as well as chairing the White House Precision Medicine Initiative. He has served on fiduciary boards and scientific advisory boards for various biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies – Merck & Co, Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Roche/Genetech, and (since 2025) the Harvard University Corporation (as a Fellow of Harvard College).
More About the Anderson Lecture Series
The Anderson Lecture series was started 70 years ago when UVA School of Medicine alumnus John Anderson, MD, provided a generous gift to the medical school to support a lecture by a prominent scientist in medicine or public health. Today, the Anderson Lectureship has become a venue to unite the UVA scientific community by inviting prominent scientists of our age to Grounds every spring and fall.
The Anderson Committee will host Eva Nogeles, PhD, from the University of California, Berkeley, for the next Anderson Lecture in September 2026. Dr. Nogeles is a structural biologist who has solved the structure of tubulin and other critical proteins.
Additional invitations have been submitted to several other remarkable researchers. The Anderson Lecture committee welcomes nominations for future lecturers through the Office for Research website.
Filed Under: Research