Eric Vilain | |
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Born | 1966 (age 57–58) Paris, France |
Alma mater | |
Known for | Genetics of disorders/differences of sex development, biology of gender identity, biology of sexual orientation |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Genetics, endocrinology, sexual development |
Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles – David Geffen School of Medicine
Children’s National Medical Center George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences University of California, Irvine |
Doctoral advisor | Marc Fellous |
Eric Vilain is a physician-scientist and professor in the fields of differences of sex development (DSDs) and precision medicine. He is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Scientific Affairs at the University of California, Irvine Health Affairs and also the director of the UCI Institute for Clinical and Translational Science.[1] He previously was the director of the Center for Genetic Medicine Research at Children's National Medical Center and the chair of the Department of Genomics and Precision Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.[2][3][4] Vilain is a fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, serves on the International Olympic Committee's Medical Commission, and sits on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
Vilain is known for his research on the molecular mechanisms of DSDs, using DNA sequencing and animal models to discover the biological bases of sex differentiation. In addition to DSDs, Vilain has also published a large body of research on sex differences in the brain, the biology of sexual orientation, and gender identity. Vilain is described as "one of the world's foremost experts on the genetic determinants of DSDs" in the journal Nature.[5]