Journal of Genetic Syndromes & Gene Therapy
Open Access

Owen M Rennert

Biography

Owen M. Rennert, M.D. is Head of the Laboratory of Clinical and Developmental Genomics within the Division of Intramural Research of NICHD. He received his M.S. and M.D. from the University of Chicago, where he subsequently completed his pediatric residency, was Chief Resident and then a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biochemistry. Thereafter he was a Research Associate at the neurology Institute of NIH. Following these two years of training he joined the faculty of the departments of pediatrics and biochemistry at the University of Chicago. In 1968 he joined the faculty of the University of Florida as Associate Professor and then Professor in the departments of pediatrics, neuroscience and molecular biology/biochemistry. During that period he headed the institutional division of genetics, endocrinology and metabolism at the University of Florida. Subsequently he became Professor and Chairman of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma, then Georgetown University, prior to joining NICHD. He served as Scientific Director of NICHD from 2000 until 2009. His past research has focused on inborn errors of metabolism and dysmorphology. While at NICHD the laboratory’s research focused on the regulatory changes in the transcriptome during spermatogenesis as a model system of differentiation. During the past year-and-half the lab has redirected its research employing induced pluripotent stem cells (reprogramming) for the study of neurobehavioral disorders, specifically autism. Dr. Rennert published over 250 manuscripts, and 38 books or book chapters. He has received numerous awards, amongst them Washingtonian of the Year, Clinical Scientist of the Year, and Distinguished Alumnus from the University of Chicago.

Research Interest

Genetic and Genomic Studies in Normal Development and Diseases