Biography:

 

Dr. Jan Friedman is a clinical geneticist and Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He earned M.S. and M.D. degrees from Tulane University and a PhD in Genetics from the University of Washington. He completed specialty training in pediatrics (Northwestern University) and medical genetics (University of Washington). He joined UBC and the BC Provincial Medical Genetics Program in 1986 and has since held leadership positions at UBC, BC Children’s & Women’s Hospital, and the Child and Family Research Institute, as well as in national and international scientific societies. Dr. Friedman is a clinician-scientist whose research bridges clinical genetics and more fundamental studies of genetics and genomics. In the past two decades, he has been a pioneer in the development and clinical application of genomics tools to understand the causes and improve the diagnosis of intellectual disability and other genetic conditions. He is also a recognized expert in clinical teratology, with a focus on determining the safety or risks of birth defects related to maternal medication use during pregnancy. Dr. Friedman has published more than 340 peer-reviewed papers and has written six books and edited two others. Dr. Friedman is also an award-winning teacher and educator. He led the development of the UBC Medical Genetics Graduate Program and the UBC Genetic Counselling MSc program, chaired the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Medical Genetics Examination Committee, and was founding president of the Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics.