Dr. Eric Lander is a world-renowned geneticist and systems biologist who has fundamentally shaped the field of genomics through his leadership and scientific contributions. Eric Lander is a Professor of Biology at MIT and holds a tenured position there; as of 2023, he has returned to this position following his leave for government service. Eric Lander is a Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School; as of 2023, he has resumed academic duties after being on leave during his service in the federal government. He maintains his position as a core institute member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard which he founded. After earning his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Princeton University as valedictorian in 1978, Eric Lander completed a PhD in mathematics at the University of Oxford in 1980 as a Rhodes Scholar. His career trajectory shifted from mathematics and economics to biology in the late 1980s, leading him to found the Whitehead Institute Center for Genome Research in 1990 and become one of the principal leaders of the international Human Genome Project.
Dr. Lander's pioneering work on the Human Genome Project transformed biomedical science by providing the first comprehensive map of human genetic information, with his team's approach emphasizing open access to genomic data that became the global standard for large-scale scientific collaboration. He developed groundbreaking methodologies for discovering the molecular basis of human diseases, including the first approaches for mapping genes underlying polygenic disorders such as heart disease, diabetes, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, which have since enabled more than 100,000 discoveries connecting DNA regions with diseases and traits. His research has encompassed diverse aspects of genome science including human genetic variation, population history, evolutionary forces, regulatory elements, and three-dimensional genome folding, with techniques developed in his laboratory becoming essential tools for modern genetic analysis. The Broad Institute, which he founded and led until 2021, has grown into one of the world's premier genomic research centers, catalyzing advances across biomedical science through interdisciplinary collaboration.
Beyond his direct research contributions, Dr. Lander has played a transformative role in science policy, serving as co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology for President Obama from 2009 to 2017 and as Science Advisor to President Biden from 2021 to 2022. He has mentored generations of scientists and co-founded several successful biotechnology companies that have translated genomic discoveries into clinical applications. His leadership in establishing the public data-sharing model for the Human Genome Project set a precedent for open science that continues to influence large-scale research initiatives worldwide. Dr. Lander remains actively engaged in advancing genomic medicine, with his current work focusing on integrating genomic information with clinical data to enable personalized approaches to disease prevention and treatment, continuing his lifelong commitment to transforming biological understanding into medical progress.
