Our Team

Stephen Meyn, MD PhD

Center Director

Dr. Meyn earned his undergraduate degree cum laude at Princeton University and received his MD degree and a PhD in Basic Medical Sciences from New York University. He completed a residency in Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and then fellowships in Medical Genetics at the National Institutes of Health. He was an Assistant and Associate Professor of Genetics and Pediatrics at Yale University from 1987-1998. In 1998 he was appointed a Professor of Paediatrics and Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto.   He served as the Head of the Program in Genetics and Genome Biology at the Hospital for Sick Children from 2007 to 2013.  In 2017 Dr. Meyn was recruited to UW-Madison where he is the Jan and Kathryn Ver Hagen Professor of Translational Research (Pediatrics) and the inaugural Director of the Center for Human Genomics and Precision Medicine.

Dr. Meyn’s work encompasses the full range of genetics research – from fundamental studies of DNA repair and telomere biology to evaluations of the clinical applications of whole genome sequencing and the ethics of predictive genetic testing. He has served as principal investigator for numerous basic and clinical research studies, funded by agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Cancer Society, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada).  He has authored over 85 articles, reviews and book chapters and has been a Fulbright Distinguished Senior Scholar.  Dr. Meyn has served on grant review committees for national and international research organizations and was a long-standing member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund. While in Toronto, Dr. Meyn co-led the Hospital for Sick Children’s Cancer Genetics Program and Genome Clinic Project, which pioneered the use of diagnostic and predictive whole genome sequencing in children. His current research focuses on two of the major challenges in genomic medicine: discovering new disease genes and developing high-throughput methods for rapidly identifying pathogenic genomic variants.

Muhammed Murtaza, MBBS PhD

Associate Director

Dr. Murtaza earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (equivalent to U.S. MD) at Aga Khan University Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan, and a PhD in Medical Science from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute at the University of Cambridge. He was previously Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, and faculty member and co-director of the Center for Noninvasive Diagnostics in the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix.

His research interests include improving access to cutting-edge technology in cancer diagnostics (liquid biopsies) for patients in lower-income settings.

The Murtaza Lab is interested in furthering research around circulating and cell-free tumor DNA and RNA. More specifically how it can provide insights Into the tumor’s genome thus providing improvements to cancer care.

Jacalyn McHugh, MSc

Center Assistant Director

Jackie joined the UW Center for Human Genomics and Precision Medicine as Assistant Director on October 1, 2018. Jackie provides administrative and strategic leadership, programmatic and operational support, and oversee the effective management of the multiple and complex fiscal and human resources needed to fulfill the educational, research, and clinical missions.  She will accomplish this through building partnerships with our internal and external colleagues.

Prior to joining the Center, Jackie served as the Research Operations Manager for the Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA.  There she played an integral role in establishing the research operation infrastructure and managed the grant portfolio for the Institute.  She has conducted research as part of a team using stem cells to elucidate the mechanisms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and to investigate potential treatments for the disease.

This work developed her passion for translating research to treatments and her appreciation for the operational infrastructure needed to support researchers to do their best work. She is grateful for this remarkable opportunity to participate in building a Center that will enable our UW faculty, scientists, and staff to bring genomic science and precision medicine to our community and all Wisconsinites.

Jackie received a Master of Science in Animal Science and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She enjoys spending her free time with family and friends and traveling.