Dr. Pengfei Liu receives 2022 Dr. Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award
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Dr. Pengfei Liu, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, is the recipient of the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine’s 2022 Dr. Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award. The “Watson Award” is named for the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics first and longstanding executive director, Dr. Michael Watson.
“It is my greatest privilege and honor to receive the Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award from the ACMG Foundation,” Liu said. “The last 10 years have been a period of dramatic innovation in our field of human and medical genetics. I feel so fortunate to have received my training and started my career during this time. I am excited to continue this journey to translate cutting-edge technologies to clinical implementation and to improve the utilization of diagnostic big data.”
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Dr. Pengfei Liu
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“Dr. Liu has been at the forefront of developing approaches to harness large genomic data sets to improve our ability to diagnose genetic disorders. He is a true innovator in our field, and, as such, highly deserving of recognition as the recipient of the Dr. Michael S. Watson Genetic and Genomic Medicine Innovation Award,” said Dr. Bruce R. Korf, president of the ACMG Foundation.
Liu is the director of the ACGME-accredited Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Fellowship Training Program at Baylor and an associate clinical director at the Baylor Genetics diagnostic laboratory. He is a board-certified laboratory geneticist who holds a Ph.D. in molecular and human genetics from Baylor.
His scientific contributions include using clinical diagnostic big data to generate knowledge that advances genomic science, as well as developing novel approaches to improve the implementation of genomic medicine. He is one of the recipients of the Genomic Innovator Award from the National Human Genome Research Institute. Liu has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in the field of medical genetics and genomics. He has been active in many NIH-funded team science projects including the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, the Genomics Research to Elucidate the Genetics of Rare Diseases Consortium, the Prenatal Genetic Diagnosis by Genomic Sequencing and the Rare and Atypical Diabetes Network.
The Watson Award recognizes those who have demonstrated innovation in their work and developed or implemented a new concept, method or idea that has had significant impact on genetic and genomic medicine. The award was created to honor the role Watson played during his nearly 20 years at the helm of ACMG while the field of genetic and genomic medicine emerged and evolved into the far-reaching practice it is today, a period during which Watson helped ACMG assume its position at the forefront of policy and guideline development.