Mollie Minear, Ph.D.

Mollie Minear, Ph.D., joined IDDB as a health scientist administrator in March 2021. She oversees the branch’s Hunter Kelly Newborn Screening Research Program and the human clinical genomics research portfolio. Much of her work relates to the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of genomics research. She facilitates the ethical translation of genomics into clinical practice and develops a better knowledgebase about the personal use and clinical utility of genomic information.

Prior to joining NICHD, Dr. Minear was a program officer with NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), serving as the institute’s ELSI research point of contact. She was an extramural genomic program administrator for the Database of Genotypes and Phenotypes and provided advice on genomic data sharing questions and policies. She also served as the founding program officer for the Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal Heart and Lung Study.

Dr. Minear earned her doctorate degree in genetics and genomics from Duke University, where her research aimed to characterize the genetic basis of the ocular disorder Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy. She then completed 3 years of postdoctoral ELSI training, focusing on the ELSI associated with the rapid uptake of non-invasive prenatal genetic screening. During her postdoctoral training, she completed a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Dr. Minear also was an American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science & Technology Policy Fellow at NHLBI. Her fellowship focused on providing policy and programmatic guidance related to returning genetic results to research participants, primarily for NHLBI’s longitudinal epidemiology cohorts and Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine Program.