Susan Slaugenhaupt, PhD, is currently a Principal Investigator in the Center for Human Genetic Research, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Geneticist in the Department of Neurology/Molecular Neurogenetics Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is also Co-Director of the Genetics and Genomics Unit of the MGH Clinical Research Program. Dr. Slaugenhaupt joined the laboratory of Dr. James F. Gusella as a postdoctoral research fellow in 1991, and she obtained her first faculty position at MGH in 1995. Since that time, she has built a strong research program aimed at understanding the genetic basis of human disease.
Education / Training
Bachelor's Degree: B.S. in Biology from Eckerd College
Doctoral Degree: M.S. and Ph.D in Human Genetics from the University of Pittsburgh
Research focus:
Our goal is to clone the genes that cause the MMVP2 and MMVP3 forms of familial mitral valve prolapse, and to identify other genes that play a role in the development of this common disease.
Representative Publications:
Levine RA, Slaugenhaupt SA. Molecular genetics of mitral valve prolapse. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2007; 22(3):171-5.
Nesta F, Leyne M, Yosefy C, Simpson C, Dai D, Marshall JE, Hung J, Slaugenhaupt SA, Levine RA. New locus for autosomal dominant mitral valve prolapse on chromosome 13: clinical insights from genetic studies. Circulation 2005;112(13):2022-30.
Freed LA, Acierno JS Jr, Dai D, Leyne M, Marshall JE, Nesta F, Levine RA, Slaugenhaupt SA. A locus for autosomal dominant mitral valve prolapse on chromosome 11p15.4. Am J Hum Genet. 2003;72(6):1551-9.
