Margaret
Pericak-Vance

Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., is a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and a board-certified Ph.D. medical geneticist. She is a global leader in the genetics of common diseases. She has a particular interest in neurogenetic diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Her research group’s seminal 1993 paper describing the genetic role of APOE in Alzheimer’s disease remains one of the most-cited papers in biomedical research. Currently, she chairs the analysis committee of the Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium, whose recent efforts have had a major impact on our understanding of the genetic architecture of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (Naj et al., Nat. Gen. 2011). In addition to her AHAF award, Dr. Pericak-Vance was named to the “Century Club: 100 People to Watch as We Move to the Next Millennium” by Newsweek magazine.

She also received the international “Louis D” Scientific Prize from the Institut de France’s Académie des Sciences for her AD APOE discovery. Her other research honors include the Hauptman-Woodward Pioneer of Science in 2004, the McKnight Memory and Brain Disorders Award, the Alzheimer’s Association Zenith Award in 2001, and the Alzheimer’s Association T.L.L. Temple Foundation Discovery Awards for Alzheimer’s Disease Research in 1998. She was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2004. In 2011, she was honored with the Provost’s Award for Scholarly Activity at the University of Miami and the Alzheimer’s Association Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2012, she was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her distinguished contributions to the field of genetics.