David H. Ledbetter

David Hamilton Ledbetter is a human geneticist best known for his contributions to the discovery of the genetic causes of Prader–Willi and Miller–Dieker syndromes. His research has focused on developing and applying technologies to understand neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorders. He has held leadership positions at the National Institutes of Health, the University of Chicago, Emory University, and until 2020, was the Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Geisinger Health System.

Education

Ledbetter received a Ph.D from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1971. He holds an American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics certification in clinical cytogenetics.

Most cited papers

Baker SJ, Fearon ER, Nigro JM, Hamilton SR, Preisinger AC, Jessup JM, VanTuinen P, Ledbetter DH, Barker DF, Nakamura Y, White R. Chromosome 17 deletions and p53 gene mutations in colorectal carcinomas. Science. 1989 Apr 14;244:217-21.
Miller DT, Adam MP, Aradhya S, Biesecker LG, Brothman AR, Carter NP, Church DM, Crolla JA, Eichler EE, Epstein CJ, Faucett WA. Consensus statement: chromosomal microarray is a first-tier clinical diagnostic test for individuals with developmental disabilities or congenital anomalies. The American Journal of Human Genetics. 2010 May 14;86:749-64.
Sanders SJ, Ercan-Sencicek AG, Hus V, Luo R, Murtha MT, Moreno-De-Luca D, Chu SH, Moreau MP, Gupta AR, Thomson SA, Mason CE. Multiple recurrent de novo CNVs, including duplications of the 7q11. 23 Williams syndrome region, are strongly associated with autism. Neuron. 2011 Jun 9;70:863-85.
Reiner O, Carrozzo R, Shen Y, Wehnert M, Faustinella F, Dobyns WB, Caskey CT, Ledbetter DH. Isolation of a Miller–Dicker lissencephaly gene containing G protein β-subunit-like repeats. Nature. 1993 Aug;364:717-21.
Sanders SJ, He X, Willsey AJ, Ercan-Sencicek AG, Samocha KE, Cicek AE, Murtha MT, Bal VH, Bishop SL, Dong S, Goldberg AP. Insights into autism spectrum disorder genomic architecture and biology from 71 risk loci. Neuron. 2015 Sep 23;87:1215-33.
Ledbetter DH, Riccardi VM, Airhart SD, Strobel RJ, Keenan BS, Crawford JD. Deletions of chromosome 15 as a cause of the Prader–Willi syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine. 1981 Feb 5;304:325-9.