NHGRI Names New Chief of Genome Technology Branch, April 5, 2010 News Release - National Institutes of Health (NIH) U.S.

"Dr. Brody has headed GTB's Molecular Pathogenesis Section, investigating genetic variants that lead to changes in normal metabolic pathways to cause cancer and birth defects. He has made key discoveries regarding the genetics of breast cancer and neural tube defects. For example, the Brody laboratory was among the first to report that women who carry mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes are at a higher risk of developing both breast cancer and ovarian cancer compared to women without such mutations. In addition, his group was the first to report that the frequency of specific BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are elevated in the Jewish population. In collaboration with scientists at Howard University, Washington, D.C., he described a series of mutations and rare variants in BRCA1 carried by some African-American women with breast and ovarian cancer."