معرفی
Dr. Julie Segre is an NIH Distinguished Investigator and Chief of the Translational and Functional Genomics Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. She leads the Microbial Genomics Section, focusing on the genetic diversity of human-associated microbiota and their role in health and disease.
Dr. Segre received her B.A. summa cum laude in mathematics from Amherst College, where she now serves on the board of trustees. She earned her Ph.D. in 1996 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the laboratory of Eric Lander at the newly formed genome center. Following this, she completed postdoctoral training with Elaine Fuchs, an expert in skin biology, at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Segre joined the National Human Genome Research Institute in 2000 and was promoted to senior investigator with tenure in 2007. Her research spans two major areas: foundational studies of the human skin microbiome and tracking hospital-associated bacterial pathogens. She pioneered the first topographical maps of human skin bacterial and fungal diversity, demonstrating that humans function as ecosystems with niche-dependent microbial populations. Her work extends to patient populations with atopic dermatitis and rare primary immune deficiencies, where longitudinal studies revealed drops in skin microbial diversity and increases in Staphylococcus aureus during disease flares.
Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on skin microbiome dynamics, particularly the relationship between Staphylococcus species and atopic dermatitis, as well as advanced genomic approaches to track hospital-acquired infections. Her work bridges basic microbiology with clinical applications, developing genomic tools that have transformed outbreak investigation and infection control practices.
Her scientific achievements have been recognized with prestigious awards including:
- 2013 Service to America Medal (shared with Tara Palmore)
Dr. Segre's research is built on extensive collaborations with the NIH Intramural Sequencing Center and clinical departments of Infection Control, Microbiology, and Dermatology. She is a leader in the NIH Roadmap Human Microbiome Project, effectively communicating complex genomic concepts to both scientific and public audiences. Her laboratory functions as an interdisciplinary team advancing our understanding of microbial genomics and its critical applications in human health.
