Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

People in the News: Jessica Mega, Pardis Sabeti, Thomas Caskey, Robert Ford, Miles White, More

Danaher: Jessica Mega, Pardis Sabeti

Danaher has appointed Jessica Mega and Pardis Sabeti to its board of directors. Mega has been the chief medical and scientific officer at Verily Life Sciences since October 2015, and was previously a cardiologist and senior investigator at Brigham & Women's. She has also been a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and a senior investigator with the TIMI Study Group. Mega holds degrees from Stanford University, Yale University School of Medicine, and Harvard School of Public Health.


Human Longevity: Thomas Caskey

Human Longevity has appointed Thomas Caskey as chief medical officer. Caskey is a professor of molecular and human genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine, and is board-certified in internal medicine, medical genetics, and molecular genetics. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Royal Society of Canada and the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science. He is also past president of the American Society of Human Genetics and the Human Genome Organization.


Abbott: Robert Ford, Miles White

Abbott announced Miles White will be stepping down as CEO on March 31, 2020 after 21 years in the position, and will be replaced by Robert Ford. Ford has been the president and COO of Abbott since October 2018, and was appointed to the board. Before that, Ford was the executive VP of medical devices at the company, and has been at Abbott since 1996. Miles will remain executive chairman of BD's board.


For more recent items on executive appointments and promotions in the omics and molecular diagnostics industries, please see the People in the News page on our website.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.