Eric Johnson, PhD, has joined Transgenomic Inc as Medical Director for Laboratory Services. In this newly created position Johnson will be responsible for leading the strategic vision and managing the day-to-day operations of Transgenomic’s Molecular Diagnostics Services lab.

Johnson brings to Transgenomic nearly 20 years of genetics experience in both research and diagnostics. Most recently he served as the founder of the Neurovascular/Epilepsy Genetics Research Laboratory at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz, and has helped to establish and mentor BioBanking efforts for a number of rare disease family groups, both independently and as the founding Director of the DNA and Tissue Archive of the Genetic Alliance BioBank.

His experience in the clinic includes being the founding director of the Molecular Diagnostics and BioBanking Laboratories at St Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix; serving as director of diagnostic testing at Prevention Genetics in Marshfield, Wis; and holding the position of Chief Scientific Officer and Clinical Laboratory Director for Iverson Genetic Diagnostics in Seattle, a personalized medicine genetic diagnostics company.

Johnson has authored and coauthored numerous publications on the nature, identity, and function of several epilepsy and neurovascular related genes including FEB2, a febrile seizure susceptibility gene; SCN1B, a Febrile seizure "plus" gene; and CCM1, CCM2 and CCM3, three causative genes for cerebral cavernous malformations. He is considered an expert in translational research: moving tests for heritable diseases from the laboratory bench to the clinic, as evidenced by presenting at more than 50 genetic conferences and workshops during his career.

Johnson received a B.A. in biology/chemistry from Boston University and a PhD in Neuropharmacology/Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. He did postdoctoral work in Psychiatry and Neurosurgery at Yale University, and received advanced training genetics at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Source: Transgenomic Inc