William Newman

Overview

Bill is Professor of Translational Genomic Medicine in The Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine at the University of Manchester and Honorary Consultant at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Director of the Greater Manchester Genomic Medicine Centre for the 100,000 Genomes Project

Chair,  British Society of Genetic Medicine 2015-2017

Research Group Lead, Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, University of Manchester 2010-15

Executive Board Member (2012-17) & Scientific Programme Committee, European Society of Human Genetics (2013-17)

Lead for Genetics, NIHR Clinical Research Network 2010-15

Biography

I am a clinician scientist. I studied Medicine at Manchester University and completed professional training in adult medicine in the North West of England. I started training in Clinical Genetics in 1995 and undertook a PhD as a Wellcome Trust Clinical Training Fellow on the Genetics of Osteoarthritis in the Wellcome Trust Cell Matrix Centre. I moved to Toronto to undertake a two year Arthritis Society Fellowship with Professor Kathy Siminovitch where I worked on the genetic basis of rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.

I took up my post as Clinical Senior Lecturer in Genetics at the University of Manchester and Honorary Consultant at St Mary's Hospital in 2004 and was awarded my Chair in 2013. My research has focussed on pharmacogenetics - defining the genetic factors that influence how patients respond to their medications. I have an interest in the use of different technologies to define disease causing genes and have used SNP arrays and next generation sequencing approaches to identify a number of novel genes responsible for a range of conditions. I have established a Genome Clinic to use next generation sequencing to diagnose conditions that it was previously challenging to correctly define. This is now leading to studies to discover specific treatments for inherited disorders.