Nancy J. Mendelsohn, MD, FACMG has been elected as president of the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine. The ACMG Foundation is a national nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving health and patient care through the support of research, education and the safe, effective practice of genetic and genomic medicine. Dr. Mendelsohn, previously a member of the Foundation’s board of directors, is the fourth person and first woman to serve as the organization’s president. She succeeds Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG, who is stepping down on March 18, 2023 after 11 years at the Foundation’s helm.
“It has been a great joy to have served alongside of Dr. Mendelsohn as a Foundation Board member and I welcome her into this new role as president of the Foundation with unbridled enthusiasm and a sense of great expectation,” said Robert G. Best, PhD, FACMG, interim chief executive officer of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and the ACMG Foundation. “Nancy brings a wealth of knowledge and fresh perspective as a top executive leader with a deep understanding of the payor landscape, a seasoned clinical geneticist with particular mastery in the treatment of lysosomal storage disorders, an accomplished scholar and a person with longstanding commitments to governance within medical genetics as evidenced by her notable service to the College, Foundation, and our certifying board, the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG).”
“I am delighted that Dr. Nancy Mendelsohn will succeed me as president of the ACMG Foundation. Dr. Mendelsohn is an accomplished medical geneticist with broad experience both in clinical practice and the administration and management of medical genetics services. She has been an outstanding member of the Foundation Board of Directors and will be an outstanding spokesperson for the Foundation and our field as president,” said ACMG Foundation President Bruce R. Korf, MD, PhD, FACMG.
Previously the chief medical officer for Complex Health Solutions at UnitedHealthcare and a clinical leader serving in both the Optum and UnitedHealth Group organizations, Dr. Mendelsohn is a clinical geneticist, physician-scientist, healthcare executive and researcher with leadership experience. Her role as chief of specialty pediatrics at Children’s Minnesota, one of the largest children’s hospital centers in the United States, included the strategy and development of the multi-specialty physician practice. She has more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and presentations.
Dr. Mendelsohn received a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from Indiana University and an MD from the University of Missouri. She completed a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in medical genetics at St. Louis Children’s Hospital at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Early on as a general pediatrician and an Assistant Professor, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, at the University of Minnesota Medical School, she established the first genetics service at Hennepin County Medical Center. Dr. Mendelsohn then would go on to build the genetics program at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare and Children’s Hospital Minnesota from as little as two clinicians to the largest genetics program in the upper Midwest. She has served broadly on national committees for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the ACMG, the ABMGG, and Children’s Minnesota.
“It is truly an honor to be elected by my peers to serve as president of the ACMG Foundation and I am humbled and privileged to follow the Foundation’s three previous leaders: David L. Rimoin, MD, PhD, R. Rodney Howell, MD, FACMG and Dr. Bruce Korf. It is exciting to be elected at a time when the field of genetics and genomics is rapidly expanding and integral to clinical medicine,” noted Dr. Mendelsohn. “As a believer in servant leadership, I am hopeful I can support the Foundation as we continue its role and grow, finding new ways to broaden our community and further the College’s mission. I look forward to getting to know the members of the ACMG Foundation staff, the leadership of the Board and Foundation better, and to meeting many others in our community.”
About the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine
The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a community of supporters and contributors who understand the importance of medical genetics and genomics in healthcare. Established in 1992, the ACMG Foundation supports the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) mission to “translate genes into health.” Through its work, the ACMG Foundation fosters charitable giving, promotes training opportunities to attract future medical geneticists and genetic counselors to the field, shares information about medical genetics and genomics, and sponsors important research. To learn more and support the ACMG Foundation mission to create “Better Health through Genetics” visit www.acmgfoundation.org
