Brian
Brian H. Shirts, MD, PhD
Brian H. Shirts, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University. His clinical work focuses on developing and implementing the best molecular diagnostics to fit a broad range of clinical care settings. His research focuses on making genetics knowledge more available and accessible. Dr. Shirts uses family-based approaches to prevent genetic disease including cascade screening for hereditary disease prevention and clinical classification of rare variants of uncertain significance.
Dr. Shirts serves in numerous leadership roles in the cancer and genetics communities, including as a member of the Executive Council of the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists, the Research Committee of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited GI Cancer, the ClinGen Sequence Variant Interpretation Working Group, the Washington State Department of Health Cancer Genomics Advisory Group, the College of American Pathology Biochemical and Molecular Genetics Committee, the Workstream Committee of the BRCA-Exchange, and the BRCA Challenge Steering Committee of the International Human Variome Project.
Board certified in molecular genetic pathology and clinical pathology, Dr. Shirts supports inherited disease testing ranging from cancer-risk panel testing to targeted testing to prenatal testing to exome testing. His research focuses on diagnostic testing and communication between physicians, genetic counselors, patients, and families about the results of these tests, and he founded ConnectMyVariant to improve genetic outreach by using modern resources to help relatives connect and communicate with each other.
Dr. Shirts was the Principal Investigator of a recent equity-focused genetic screening study which evaluated equity and inclusion aspects of population genetic screening uptake and yield among a diverse cohort of patients. Dr. Shirts is also a Co-Investigator, Reporting & Clinical Interpretation, Regulatory & Compliance, and Variant Harmonization Committee Member working with the national program, All of Us, which is working to improve health care through research by building a diverse database to inform thousands of future studies on many health conditions.
Brian H. Shirts, MD, PhD
- Vanderbilt University
- Associate Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
- President, ConnectMyVariant
Brian H. Shirts, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University. His clinical work focuses on developing and implementing the best molecular diagnostics to fit a broad range of clinical care settings. His research focuses on making genetics knowledge more available and accessible. Dr. Shirts uses family-based approaches to prevent genetic disease including cascade screening for hereditary disease prevention and clinical classification of rare variants of uncertain significance.
Dr. Shirts serves in numerous leadership roles in the cancer and genetics communities, including as a member of the Executive Council of the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists, the Research Committee of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited GI Cancer, the ClinGen Sequence Variant Interpretation Working Group, the Washington State Department of Health Cancer Genomics Advisory Group, the College of American Pathology Biochemical and Molecular Genetics Committee, the Workstream Committee of the BRCA-Exchange, and the BRCA Challenge Steering Committee of the International Human Variome Project.
Board certified in molecular genetic pathology and clinical pathology, Dr. Shirts supports inherited disease testing ranging from cancer-risk panel testing to targeted testing to prenatal testing to exome testing. His research focuses on diagnostic testing and communication between physicians, genetic counselors, patients, and families about the results of these tests, and he founded ConnectMyVariant to improve genetic outreach by using modern resources to help relatives connect and communicate with each other.
Dr. Shirts was the Principal Investigator of a recent equity-focused genetic screening study which evaluated equity and inclusion aspects of population genetic screening uptake and yield among a diverse cohort of patients. Dr. Shirts is also a Co-Investigator, Reporting & Clinical Interpretation, Regulatory & Compliance, and Variant Harmonization Committee Member working with the national program, All of Us, which is working to improve health care through research by building a diverse database to inform thousands of future studies on many health conditions.