The New York Genome Center (NYGC) today announced that Bing Ren, PhD, its Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. Dr. Ren was elected in recognition of his transformative contributions to epigenomics and his pioneering work revealing how the organization and regulation of the genome influence cellular function, development, and disease.
Dr. Ren’s research has fundamentally advanced scientists’ understanding of how genes are regulated and how DNA is organized within cells. He developed transformative methods to map transcriptional regulatory elements, helping researchers identify and characterize millions of enhancers and promoters across hundreds of human cell types. His work also helped establish that chromosomes are organized into structures known as topologically associating domains, which shape interactions between regulatory elements and genes and play a critical role in controlling gene activity.
Dr. Ren has played a leading role in major international genomics initiatives, including the ENCODE Project, the NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Mapping Consortium, the 4D Nucleome Consortium, and the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN). More recently, his research has generated detailed maps of cell types in the human and mouse brain, providing new insights into how the brain changes with age and the cellular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition to his leadership at NYGC, Dr. Ren is a professor of Genetics and Development at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, with additional appointments in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and Systems Biology. He also serves as associate director of the Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Science.
Established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Medicine is an independent organization that brings together leaders across disciplines to address critical issues in health, medicine, and science. Election to the Academy recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. Dr. Ren will be formally welcomed as a member at the Academy’s annual meeting in October 2027.
About the New York Genome Center
The NYGC is an independent, nonprofit academic research institution at the forefront of transforming biomedical research and clinical care. Founded as a collaborative venture by the region’s premier academic, medical, and industry leaders, the NYGC aims to accelerate the translation of genomic research into new diagnostics, therapeutics, and treatments for human disease. NYGC member organizations and partners are united in an unprecedented collaboration of technology, science, and medicine that is designed to harness the power of innovation and discoveries to advance medical genomics and precision medicine and to benefit patients around the world.
Our institutional founding members include Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Columbia University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York University, Northwell Health, The Rockefeller University, and Weill Cornell Medicine. Our associate members include the American Museum of Natural History and the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Learn more at nygenome.org
