New Appointment in Genomics

Dear CUIMC community,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Bing Ren, PhD, a pioneer in the field of genomics and epigenetics, as professor in the departments of Genetics and Development, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, and Systems Biology, and as the associate director of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Science, within the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Bing will also serve as scientific director and chief executive officer of the New York Genome Center, of which Columbia is a founding institution. Bing joins Columbia from the University of California San Diego (UCSD), where he was a professor of cellular and molecular medicine and founding director of the Center for Epigenomics at the UCSD School of Medicine.

Bing’s renowned work focuses on the regulatory processes that control gene expression and has developed groundbreaking tools for the systematic analysis of gene regulatory processes. His work has advanced our understanding of how genetic variants are interpreted and how gene activities are regulated throughout development and disease pathogenesis, to ultimately improve patient care. His inventions and discoveries have transformed a variety of fields, from precision medicine to cancer and neurological disease research.

Bing has published extensively in prestigious peer-reviewed journals and has earned numerous accolades for his scientific contributions. He was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2013 and received the Chen Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement in Human Genetic and Genomic Research. Bing has been a driving force in shaping the trajectory of genomics and epigenetics through his involvement with multiple NIH-supported consortia, including ENCODE, the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Mapping Consortium, the International Human Epigenome Consortium, the 4D Nucleome Consortium, and the Brain Initiative Cell Atlas Network.

Bing received his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University and joined the faculty of UCSD in 2001, after completing his postdoctoral training at the Whitehead Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Please join me in giving Bing a warm welcome to our community.

Sincerely,

James McKiernan, MD
Interim Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Acting Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences, Columbia University
CEO, ColumbiaDoctors