Robert K. Moyzis

Picture of Robert K. Moyzis
Professor, Biological Chemistry
School of Medicine
PH.D., The Johns Hopkins University, 1978
University of California, Irvine
Department of Biological Chemistry
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697
Research Interests
Human genome project, complex genetic disease, recent evolutionary selection of human genes
Research Abstract
Dr. Robert K. Moyzis, Professor, Biological Chemistry and Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, University of California, Irvine, and Distinguished Senior Fellow, Beijing Normal University National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, is internationally known for his pioneering work on human genome organization and complex genetic disorders. His discovery and molecular cloning of the human telomere is a landmark in the history of our understanding of chromosome structure and function. Alterations of this telomere sequence, (TTAGGG)n, the molecular “cap” of human chromosomes, have been implicated as responsible for cellular aging and cancer progression. As prior Director of the Center for Human Genome Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and as an advisor to both the DOE and NIH, he helped initiate the world-wide Human Genome Project (HGP), whose goal to identify all human genes is now completed. Moyzis’ current research focuses on the development and use of HGP technology to study the molecular genetics of human behavioral variability. Dr. Moyzis obtained his Ph.D. in Biophysics/Molecular Genetics from the Johns Hopkins University, is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and is the recipient of numerous scientific awards, including the 2018 Los Alamos Medal and the United States E.O. Lawrence Presidential award for distinguished contributions to the field of molecular genetics.
Publications
All publications at www.genome.uci.edu
Y.C. Ding, H.C. Chi, D.L. Grady, A. Morishima, J.R. Kidd, K.K. Kidd, P. Flodman, M.A. Spence, S. Schuck, J.M. Swanson, Y.P. Zhang, R.K. Moyzis, Evidence of positive selection acting at the human dopamine receptor D4 gene locus, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99, 309-314 (2002).
D.L. Grady, H.C. Chi, Y.C. Ding, M. Smith, E. Wang, S. Schuck, P. Flodman, M.A. Spence, J.M. Swanson, R.K. Moyzis, High prevalence of rare dopamine receptor D4 alleles in children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Mol. Psychiatry 8, 536-545 (2003).
E. Wang, Y.C. Ding, P. Flodman, J.R. Kidd, K.K. Kidd, D.L. Grady, O.A. Ryder, M.A. Spence, J.M. Swanson, R.K. Moyzis, The genetic architecture of selection at the human dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene locus, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 74, 931-944 (2004).
The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome, Nature 431, 931-945 (2004).
E.T. Wang, G. Kodama, P. Baldi, R.K. Moyzis, Global landscape of recent inferred Darwinian selection for Homo sapiens, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103, 135-140 (2006).
Graduate Programs
Cancer Biology
Developmental Biology and Genetics
Research Centers
Genomics and Bioinformatics
Last updated
08/30/2018