Elaine Mardis

Elaine Mardis, PhD is Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. She is one of the foundational architects of cancer genomics, having co-led the Genome Center at Washington University in St. Louis for nearly two decades where she directed sequencing for landmark projects including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and multiple acute leukemia whole genome sequencing studies that transformed understanding of the somatic mutation landscape in human cancer. Her contributions to cancer prevention come through a genomics lens: identifying the somatic mutations that initiate and drive cancer, elucidating how carcinogenic exposures create recognizable mutation signatures, and pioneering detection of pre-cancerous clonal events — particularly clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) — that represent cancer interception opportunities. Dr. Mardis has been a leader in translating genomic findings into actionable prevention and early detection strategies, including development of ultra-sensitive sequencing assays for circulating tumor DNA that can detect cancer months to years before clinical presentation. Her pediatric cancer genomics work identifies children with hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes, enabling preventive surveillance and intervention before cancer develops. She has authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.