Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Jan Vijg is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York since July 2008. He received his PhD from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, in 1987, and moved to the US in 1993. He was an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School from 1993 to 1999, a Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio from 1999 to 2005, and a Professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, CA, from 2005 to 2008.
With his research team he was the first to develop transgenic mouse models for studying somatic mutations in different organs and tissues (in 1989), one of which (MutaMouse) became the industry standard in genetic toxicology testing. His lab used these mouse models to demonstrate an age-related increase in somatic mutations for most tissues, as well as tissue-specificities in the types of mutations accumulating, from base substitutions to large genome rearrangements. Since 2007 he has developed single-cell and single-molecule methods for studying somatic mutations and epimutations in relation to aging and disease. Using these methods, he demonstrated that, also in humans, somatic mutations accumulate with age in a tissue-specific manner. Dr. Vijg’s research has been continuously funded by the US National Institutes of Health since 1994. He has published over 300 scientific articles and three books.
Jan Vijg is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York since July 2008. He received his PhD from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, in 1987, and moved to the US in 1993. He was an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School from 1993 to 1999, a Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio from 1999 to 2005, and a Professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, CA, from 2005 to 2008.
With his research team he was the first to develop transgenic mouse models for studying somatic mutations in different organs and tissues (in 1989), one of which (MutaMouse) became the industry standard in genetic toxicology testing. His lab used these mouse models to demonstrate an age-related increase in somatic mutations for most tissues, as well as tissue-specificities in the types of mutations accumulating, from base substitutions to large genome rearrangements. Since 2007 he has developed single-cell and single-molecule methods for studying somatic mutations and epimutations in relation to aging and disease. Using these methods, he demonstrated that, also in humans, somatic mutations accumulate with age in a tissue-specific manner. Dr. Vijg’s research has been continuously funded by the US National Institutes of Health since 1994. He has published over 300 scientific articles and three books.