How Eric Green 'Got on the Human Genome Elevator'

A St. Louis Beacon profile of Eric Green examines how the National Human Genome Research Institute director — and Missouri native — began his genomics research career in his hometown. "I come from a power-science family, which is embarrassing in some ways and is a source of incredible pride in other ways," Green tells the Beacon. His father, Maurice Green — a "prominent Saint Louis University virologist," the article notes — says that both of his sons used to visit his virology lab at the SLU School of Medicine on weekends, and that Green "would discuss surgery procedures and help with experiments," when he was a young child. Green, now 50, received both his MD and PhD at WashU before entering the fledgling field of genomics while a postdoc there. Green tells the Beacon that at the time, "I could see a future where DNA analysis would become a more central part of pathology and a central part of diagnostics." After a stint as an assistant professor, Green worked at the NHGRI for eight years before becoming its third director. "I got on the human genome elevator on day one and have ridden it ever since," Green says adding that "it's treated me very well, and I have a strong interest in seeing this field thrive."