Two years after the launch of the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, the University announced the institute's first director Thursday.
Huntington Willard, director and president of the Research Institute of University Hospitals of Cleveland, will take the helm of the IGSP on a part-time basis next week and permanently sometime after the new year.
"I'm phenomenally excited about this great opportunity," Willard said. "There are some great people that I've met at Duke, and this is a chance to make a real difference in the field of genomics."
The $200 million IGSP was launched in 2000 to conduct research in genome science and study its implications on ethical, legal and policy issues. It is composed of the Center for Human Genetics, Center for Human Disease Models, Center for Genome Technology, Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and the Center for Genome Ethics, Law and Policy.
"The combination of his superb credentials in the field and his immediate and strong embrace of the kind of underlying conceptual purpose of the IGSP made him a terrific candidate," Provost Peter Lange said. He described Willard as a very personable, thoughtful and straightforward leader.
"He understands what managing and leading a research institute in a strong academic institution is all about, especially how you interact and work with the faculty," Lange said.
Willard said he was attracted to the position because of the IGSP's unique mission, as well as the Duke name.
"The vision for the IGSP is really what I think the field of genomics and genetics needs to be right now--which is beyond just the science," the native New Englander said. "It is one of the first and only institutions to really address those issues."
Willard spent his undergraduate years at Harvard University and completed his doctoral work at Yale University. His research focuses on the organization of the genome, as well as areas connected to medicine and society.
"[He] is one of America's premier geneticists, and his record for leadership at a local and national level is superb," said Dr. Sandy Williams, dean of the School of Medicine, in a statement. "He is a perfect fit to lead the IGSP, and he brings the requisite stature, energy and vision to the task."
IGSP draws from multiple disciplines at the University and Medical Center, and includes scientists, engineers and physicians, as well as scholars in law, business, economics, public policy, ethics, religion, environmental studies and other humanities and social sciences. Two new buildings to accommodate the institute are currently under construction, and a third is still in the planning stages.
"My short term goals are to pull together the group of people who have already been engaged on the IGSP... and figure out the two or three key areas that we want to work on," Willard said. "I'd like to focus pretty heavily on faculty recruiting as soon as these new buildings are ready."
A year of administrative inaction followed IGSP's launch, but Williams' arrival in July 2001 allowed the genomics initiative to gain momentum. Williams and Lange soon offered the directorship to Dr. Lewis "Rusty" Williams, Medicine '78, Ph.D. '77. After long consideration, however, he declined the position to stay in California for family reasons. The search committee then set its eyes on appointing a director by this fall, hitting their mark by hiring Willard.
Lange, Williams and Willard will now turn their attention to filling the director vacancies at the human disease models, genome technology and bioinformatics and computational biology centers. Willard said he is optimistic that those positions will be filled within six months.
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