In celebration of National Dog Day on August 26, 2024, the Academy is spotlighting NAS member Elaine Ostrander, NIH Distinguished Investigator and Chief at the National Human Genome Research Institute. Ostrander is a geneticist recognized for her work on advancing the dog as a genetic system for studies of morphology, disease susceptibility and behavioral variation. She has identified genes and variants controlling breed-specific variation observed across domestic dog breeds.
The Ostrander lab also studies breed-specific diseases, most of which are the same as or mimic human disorders, with a particular emphasis on cancer. By understanding the genetic underpinnings of such diseases, her lab has advanced studies of similar human disorders and enhanced the utility of the dog as a system for studies of all aspects of cancer.
Courtesy of the National Human Genome Research Institute
In a video interview, Ostrander explores how mapping the genomes of dogs has changed our understanding of domesticated dogs and their evolutionary history, how their DNA can predict their behavior and instincts, and how studying cancer and other diseases in dogs is helping to push human health research forward.
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