Diddahally (Raju) Govindaraju, Ph.D.,

The Institute for Aging Research; The Glenn Center for the Biology of Human Aging Albert Einstein College of Medicine.1300 Morris Park Ave, Bronx NY 10461 781-***-****(home) • 781-***-**** (cell)• acqkj1@r.postjobfree.com EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

An entrepreneurial and academic leader, with a broad knowledge base in computational and experimental (quantitative, population, molecular and medical) genetics, genetic epidemiology, life-course analysis, rare human genetic disorders, molecular biology, and molecular and statistical genetic data analysis. Knowledgeable in Exome and NextGen sequencing and interpretation as well as in the application of bioinformatics and statistical methods for developing individualized/precision medicine.

● Biotechnology – led pharmacogenetics, nutritional genomics, biomarker and gene discovery studies

● Academe – authored >80 articles in many areas of genetics/genomics and evolutionary biology in major journals

● Approaches – integrative/systems and translational medicine (Mendelian, complex diseases and aging). Leading proponent of genotype - epigenetic - phenotype (GEP) mapping coupled with systems (network) and life- course (longitudinal) approaches to understand human biology and disease, and for developing predictive and interventional approaches in relation to age and stage in the aging process.

● Clinical research – longevity, cardiovascular, inflammatory diseases and cancer, Mendelian (childhood)diseases

● Cohorts studied: the French Canadian Founder population; the Framingham Heart Study; the Ashkenazi centenarian study and others. Knowledgeable in clinical study designs: case-control; longitudinal, cross- sectional and cross-over designs, survival analysis and overall aspects of clinical trials.

● Technical writing: Authored dozens of lead and single author papers as well as many grant proposals, technical reports and popular articles.

EXPERIENCE

INSTITUTE FOR AGING RESEARCH, ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE 2012 –

● Growth hormone receptor polymorphisms (d3-GHR) and exceptional longevity in humans (to submit)

● Genetics, lifestyle and longevity: lessons from centenarians (2015). Applied & Translational Genomics 4: 23- 32

- Sustained life style changes as might have influenced increased the overall life expectancy among human populations. Origin and maintenance of centenarians may be governed by negative frequency dependent selection

BETH ISRAEL AND DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL 2012- 2014

● Evolutionary genetic bases of life span and senescence (2015). Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 847: 1- 44.

- Senescence results primarily from a sequential slippage of the genome; the effects of which are dissipated through epigenetic and phenotype spaces over time (phenotypic lag).

● A systems analysis of age-related changes in some cardiac aging traits. Biogerontology, 15: 139-152

- Applied Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) to study the relationships among physiological, anatomical and morphological traits that contribute to cardiac aging in <65 and >65 year olds. While only a few traits showed consistency between the two age groups, most differed among traits, age and genders. These insights are useful toward developing age and gender specific medical interventions.

● Opportunity for selection in human health. Advances in Genetics 87: 1-70.

- Extended Lewontin's “Units of Selection” idea to human health. Proposed that evolutionary ideas are helpful for developing individualized medicines

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NATIONAL EVOLUTIONARY SYNTHEIS CENTER, DURHAM, NC 2011

- Worked on “Opportunity for selection in human health” project HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL AND THE NATIONAL EVOLUTIONARY SYNTHESIS CENTER 2008 -2011 Visiting Scientist/Scholar

● Worked on copy number and mitochondrial variation in relation to aging, as PI and Co-PI, respectively

- Prolonged genomic integrity may be the cause of exceptional longevity in centenarians

● Published 10 research and review articles in PNAS, NRG, PRS, etc. BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE _ 2005 – 2010 Associate Professor and Director, Framingham Heart Study Genetics Laboratory

● Re-engineered and streamlined laboratory operations for 10 people; Participated in committees evaluating proposals, DNA distribution and biological samples for epidemiological studies

● Developed relationships and managed projects among at least 50 national and international collaborators

● Published a set of articles on the genetic bases of heart diseases, systems genetics and genetic homeostasis

● Organized six conferences and introduced more integrative approaches to study cardiovascular health.

● Initiated the field of “Evolutionary Medicine” via National Academy of Sciences colloquia and PNAS special edition. We provided empirical evidence on ongoing evolution in contemporary human populations, which solved a 125 year old (Tait’s) conjecture.

● Organized and chaired one plenary session and one scientific session at the American Society of Human Genetics with an emphasis on mutational load and evolutionary approaches in relation to human disorders. GALILEO GENOMICS 2004 – 2005

Senior Director, Genetic Analysis

● Led world’s first genome wide association studies (GWAS) on Crohn’s disease using the French Canadian cohort. Discovered at least 12 genomic regions. This work was prescient to >1350 GWAS that followed to understand the genetic architecture of quantitative traits and complex diseases in humans. INTERLEUKIN GENETICS, Waltham, MA 2001- 2003

Director, Statistical Genetics

● Introduced haplotype based approaches to understand the influence of interleukin gene cluster on inflammation diseases/ processes and co-author on a patent

● Worked with a team toward developing nutraceuticals, this translational approach eventually resulted in developing a commercially viable product (translational medicine) and the company has been selling diagnostic kits since 2004

● Co-recipient of a patent, titled, “THE IL1 GENE CLUSTER AND ASSOCIATED INFLAMMATORY POLYMORPHISMS AND HAPLOTYPES (PCT_080703_03064600_WO)” PSYCHIATRIC GENOMICS, Gaithersburg, MD 1999 - 2001 Director of genomics and tissue resources

● Identified and established collaborative projects among four various tissue bio-repositories

● Established a genetics laboratory to store and process brain samples VARIAGENICS, INC., Cambridge, MA 1997 – 1999

Senior Scientist

● First to initiate haplotype centered approaches in cancer pharmacogenetics as well as using haplotypes in association studies

● Forged academic collaborations with six universities (Harvard, Penn State, Michigan, WashU, NCState, Mayo Clinic)

● The company raised close to 20M for expansion because of the haplotype centered approaches. GENAISSANCE PHARMACEUTICALS, New Haven, CT 1996 - 1997 Senior Scientist

● Instrumental in changing the focus of the company from making reagents to pharmacogenetics research

● Co-PI on an SBIR grant to identify haplotypes among some of the well-known disease causing genes in the human genome

● Established academic collaborations and developed guidelines for obtaining tissue samples

● The company later became a major force toward extending haplotype approaches in personalized medicine. Company raised over 30M.

EXPERIENCE PRIOR TO 1996

YALE UNIVERSITY, New Haven, CT. NIH Fellow in Clinical Biochemical Genetics

● Studied clinical biochemical genetics as well as molecular basis of metabolic disorders

● Investigated one of the biochemical bases of Sudden Infantile Death Syndrome (SIDS) using (GC/MS) and discovered that small chain fatty acids play a critical role in the pathophysiology of SIDS.

● This work later influenced me to think on the utility of intermediate products (biomarkers), biochemical pathways and phenomics (genotype – epigenetic – phenotype map; see Houle et. al., 2010). CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, Cleveland, OH Senior Research Associate

● Investigated ribosomal copy number variation (a prescient to the present day Copy Number Variation – CNV) in relation to environmental stress

● Phylogenetic relationships among pines spread across the world

● Evolutionary bases of genome size regulation in plants UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, Lexington, KY Research Associate

● Performed very first compressive molecular population genetic analysis of chloroplast DNA variation in pines

● Established that an individual tree in “NOT AN INDIVIDUAL” but a composite of many genotypes

● Developed demographic genetic analysis of long-lived organisms, particularly forest trees. Introduced the idea of landscape genomics which is now a major field in conservation genetics programs UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada National Science Engineering Research Council Fellow

● Used allozymes (protein biomarkers) for both population and quantitative genetic analysis to understand homeostatic mechanisms in relation to genetic diversity in forest trees

● Introduced path analysis ( a form of systems approach) to study developmental plasticity in plants EDUCATION

Clinical Biochemical Genetics - Earned board eligibility at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT Ph. D. Population Genetics - Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ M.F.S. Quantitative Genetics - Yale University, New Haven, CT M.S. Quantitative Genetics - University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, INDIA SKILLS

Laboratory: have performed almost all the commonly used laboratory analysis techniques, including SNP and copy number discovery as well as NGS. Knowledgeable in exome & RNAseq analysis. Computational Biology Skills: Excellent knowledge of STATA, SPSS, SAS and R as well as many commonly used genetic analysis programs (PLINK, GenePattern, MERLIN, SOLAR, PANTHER, etc.). Working knowledge of Python, SciPy/NumPy for bioinformatics and SQL.

Attended the NHGRI 2014 short course on Next-Generation sequencing: Technology & Statistical Methods at the Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham. The course provided an opportunity to gain hands-on sequencing and expression data analysis.

Teamwork: demonstrated ability to lead and work as part of a team as well as meet deadlines Leadership: introduced many novel ideas that have influenced both academic and industrial research. Organized National and International Conferences, including a Sackler Colloquium of the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine. This effort has catalyzed the synthesis of Evolution, Medicine and Public Health. Public Speaking: articulate, confident, comfortable speaker in small groups or large audience AWARDS AND HONORS

● Short Term Visiting Scholar, National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Durham, NC

● NIH Fellow in Medical Genetics, Yale University

● Pratt Fellow, University of Virginia and Marine Biological Laboratories Award

● Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Fellow

● Yale Fellowship, teaching assistantship, merit and general scholarships for college education GRANTSMANSHIP

● The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center

● The National Academies Keck Futures Initiative

● National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine

● American Society of Human Genetics

● National Human Genome Research Institute

FEATURES IN POPULAR MEDIA

Interviewed by many science journalists. Features on the scientific work has appeared in journals such as Sci. American, Science, National Geographic, The Scientist, TIME, BBC, Wall Street Journal and dozens more. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

Founding member of a team involved in taking Nobel Laureates to inner city schools; member of “Genetics and Society,” discussion group which examines the impact of genetics on society; established a memorial for Sewall Wright in Melrose, MA. DETAILED C.V. UPON REQUEST

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