August 15, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Dr. Ray Hershberger is the new director of the division of human genetics within the department of internal medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Hershberger comes to Ohio State from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, where he was director of translational cardiovascular genetic medicine.
Hershberger will be responsible for continuing to expand the clinical cancer genetics program for the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) and the medical genetics program at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center.
The division of human genetics provides outpatient and inpatient consultation service, performs clinical and translational research and participates in medical center and community education and outreach. Each year the nationally acclaimed clinical cancer genetics program provides comprehensive risk assessments and cancer genetic counseling to approximately 600 families. The division also has an active medical genetics program that provides consultation and evaluation for adult genetic conditions.
Ohio State offers a specialized cardiovascular genetic medicine program, which includes the high-risk family heart clinic and the hereditary heart rhythm disorders clinic. Hershberger will expand the cardiovascular genetic medicine program for consultation for patients and families with all types of cardiomyopathy, as well as develop specialty clinics for adult cardiovascular syndromic disease and aneurysm disorders. Hershberger anticipates expanding medical genetics, with emphasis on counseling and molecular genetic testing, to other areas of medicine. He also anticipates directed therapies for specific genetic conditions.
“Ray is a renowned translational scientist and his expertise will enable Ohio State to be at the forefront of applied research in personalized medicine,” said Dr. Steven G. Gabbe, CEO of Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center. “Ohio State is very fortunate to have Ray leading its division of human genetics.”
Hershberger earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska. He completed his medical residency at George Washington University (the Washington Hospital Center), and the University of Kansas.
He served as the chief medical resident at the University of Kansas-Wichita before completing extensive fellowship training in both clinical and research cardiovascular medicine at the University of Utah’s School of Medicine. He also completed fellowship training in cardiac transplantation at the University of Utah.
Hershberger joined the faculty at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland in 1990, serving as director of cardiac transplantation and endstage heart disease programs. In 2009, he joined the faculty in cardiovascular medicine at Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.
As a physician-scientist, Hershberger has distinguished record of extensive peer-reviewed funding, and most recently was funded to pursue research in familial dilated cardiomyopathy.
His publication record includes more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, five book chapters, and several websites. He has also mentored many post-doctoral fellows and graduate students. He reviews for numerous prestigious journals in genetics, cardiovascular medicine, and in pharmacogenomics.
He is a member of many professional societies, including the American Society of Human Genetics; International Society for Heart Transplantation; American College of Cardiology; International Society for Heart Research and the Heart Failure Society of America. He is also a fellow of the American Heart Association in the Functional Genomics & Translational Biology Council.
While at Miami, Hershberger also served as associate chief of the cardiovascular division, director of cardiovascular advanced therapies program, and director of the cardiovascular disease fellowship program. He was a member of the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics at the University of Miami.
###