A native of Bulgaria, Boyd trained in Russia, the United Kingdom, the Indiana University School of Medicine, SUNY at Stony Brook and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Board-certified in both pediatrics and clinical genetics, Boyd is past president and current co-director of the Society of Craniofacial Genetics. He has been credited with delineating several novel genetic syndromes in humans and recently identified the genetic cause of craniolenticulosutural dysplasia, a dysmorphic syndrome causing specific craniofacial features, also known as Boyadjiev-Jabs syndrome.
“I see my transition to UC Davis as a unique opportunity to establish a strong genetic program with state-of-the-art clinical care for patients,” Dr. Boyd said. “The endowed chair in pediatric genetics allows me to collaborate and provide genetic expertise to researchers throughout the UC Davis campus who are interested in the genetic analysis of human disease.”
Boyd’s research efforts have concentrated on congenital anomalies of the head and face, focusing on anomalies that are not caused by single gene defects. Such craniofacial defects include craniosynostosis, cleft lip and palate, facial asymmetry and ossification defects of the skull. According to Boyd, many birth defects are considered complex human traits, along with diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and autism. It is believed that variations in certain genes increase the predisposition for such defects, but complex gene-gene or gene-environmental interactions are needed for these to occur. The identification of these genetic and non-genetic factors can be particularly challenging as they produce individually small effects and can also be observed among controls.
Identifying the causes of multifactorial disorders is one of the most challenging areas within the field of genetics. Often, such investigations begin with association analysis of candidate genes known to cause similar defects in animal models or to be involved in biological pathways somehow related to these disorders. The available sequence of the human genome has created the necessary tools for whole-genome association studies that use hundreds of thousands of genetic markers for identifying predisposing gene variants. These are the tools Boyd has successfully used for analyzing craniofacial anomalies, and he believes similar approaches can be used for dissecting any human disorder with genetic determinants.
With his office and laboratory located in the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, an international center for research on neurodevelopmental disorders, Boyd plans to contribute to the analysis of the genetics of autism and other disorders involving developmental delay.
“The M.I.N.D. Institute has attracted an impressive group of excellent investigators and I am looking forward to working with them to develop new hypotheses about the causes of autism and related disorders,” said Boyd.
Boyd added that he looks forward to supporting the research efforts of other investigators throughout the UC Davis campus interested in various genetic problems. He will be recruiting additional faculty members in metabolic, molecular and population genetics to UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
“We’re thrilled that Simeon has joined our team to direct efforts in pediatric genetics,” said Anthony Philipps, medical director of UC Davis Children’s Hospital and chair of pediatrics for the School of Medicine. “We’re certain he will make significant contributions to improving our understanding of the genetic causes of diseases in children.”
Boyd brings with him a large multicenter grant from the National Institutes of Health that targets the genetic and environmental causes of craniofacial defects. In addition to maintaining his established collaborations with investigators at the Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University and Pennsylvania State University, Boyd plans to establish a regional network of collaborators with similar clinical and research interests.
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