Speaker Profile
PMWC PIONEER AWARD
Discovered BRCA1 and founded the field of inherited cancer genetics
Ph.D., American Cancer Society Professor of Genome Sciences and of Medical Genetics, U. of Washington School of Medicine
Biography
Mary-Claire King is a pioneering human geneticist best known for proving that breast and ovarian cancer can be inherited. In 1990, Dr. King and her team discovered the BRCA1 gene, which is responsible for a significant proportion of inherited breast and ovarian cancer cases. The finding came after roughly 17 years of research against prevailing scientific opinion, and it transformed cancer diagnosis, risk assessment, drug development, and prevention. Earlier, her doctoral work demonstrated through comparative protein analysis that chimpanzees and humans are 99 percent genetically identical. She also pioneered the use of DNA sequencing for human rights investigations, applying it to identify kidnapped children in Argentina and cases of human rights violations on six continents. Her current work spans inherited breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer; schizophrenia; and severe inherited disorders in children. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Wendy Chung, Boston Children's / Harvard
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Wendy Chung, Boston Children's / Harvard (Pioneer)
• Eric Lander, Broad Institute (Pioneer)
Featured Speakers
• Wendy Chung, Boston Children's / Harvard
• Eric Lander, Broad Institute
• Zhanzhi (Mike) Hu, Project GUARDIAN / Columbia
• Tippi MacKenzie, UCSF
• Ryan Taft, Genetic Alliance
• Heidi Cope, RTI International
• Michele Caggana, NY State DOH Wadsworth Center
• Elad Ziv, UCSF
• Scott Grosse, University of Minnesota
• Mike Talkowski, Mass General / Harvard
• F. Sessions Cole, WashU
• Lee Hood, Phenome Health / ISB
• Trey Ideker, UC San Diego
• Ralph Snyderman, Duke
• Craig Mundie, Mundie & Associates
• George Church, Harvard
Beyond the Exome: Solving Undiagnosed Disease
The next layer of rare-disease diagnosis beyond standard sequencing.
Population Genomic Screening
From newborn sequencing to implementation, evidence, economics, and equity.
Structural Variants & Long Reads
Solving cases missed by conventional sequencing.
Launching the Human Phenome Initiative
From genome to phenome as a global health infrastructure challenge.
Data-Driven Health
AI, longitudinal data, and personalized clinical medicine.
Engineering the Future of Health
Genomes, cells, and engineering biology as precision medicine moves upstream.
PMWC Hall of Impact
Previous Speakers Include
Nobel laureates, technology founders, regulators, CEOs and scientific pioneers who have taken the PMWC stage.
