Richard M. Weinshilboum MD

Richard Weinshilboum, M.D. studies pharmacogenomics the role of inheritance and individual variation in DNA sequence or structure in drug response. The goal is to develop safer and more effective drug therapy to treat diseases that range from cancer to depression.

Dr. Weinshilboum's research program utilizes genomic techniques that include genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and "next-generation" whole-genome DNA sequencing using samples from large numbers of patients treated with a specific anticancer or antidepressant drug. Sophisticated cell-based functional genomic techniques are used to determine mechanisms responsible for variation in drug response phenotypes. This approach has already succeeded in the discovery and functional/mechanistic pursuit of novel, unanticipated genes that influence response to a series of drugs used to treat childhood leukemia and breast cancer.