Harry Ostrer
Encyclopedia
Dr. Harry Ostrer is a geneticist
known for his study, writings, and lectures about the origins of the Jewish people. He is a Professor of Pathology and Genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
at Yeshiva University and Director of Genetic and Genomic Testing at Montefiore Medical Center
. For the prior 21 years he was Professor of Pediatrics, Pathology and Medicine and Director of the Human Genetics Program at New York University School of Medicine.
(Physics, Course 8) and received his M.D. degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
. He did a pediatrics residency and a medical genetics fellowship at Johns Hopkins University
and trained in molecular genetics at the National Institutes of Health. Prior to his position at NYU, Dr. Ostrer was a member of the faculty of the University of Florida
Medical School in Gainsville, Florida.
ern tribe that coalesced approximately 2500 years ago, a time in accordance with biblical
accounts of Jewish origins. This tribe fragmented and spread throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but remained endogamous
. Dr. Ostrer’s laboratory studies the disease allele
markers present in these different Jewish populations. He summarizes the field in a 2001 Nature Reviews Genetics
article. Specifically, Ostrer’s lab explains migrations of Jewish populations by the genetic diseases each population carries.
Ostrer’s research has demonstrated the principles of genetic epidemiology
on a very large scale. According to Ostrer:
Ostrer currently directs the largest study of Jewish genetics to date, the ‘’Genetic Analysis of Jewish Populations.’’ The goal of this study is to assess the relatedness of Jewish populations across the world. Additionally, Ostrer has begun to generate a Jewish version of the popular HapMap Project. He is working on a book summarizing the genetic history of Jewish populations for a popular audience.
, and the New York Academy of Science.
(4, 5) and Amy Harmon
, (6) and op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof (7, 8). Ostrer has written two books on genetics, Essentials of Medical Genomics (2002) and Non-Mendelian Genetics in Humans (1998).
Interviewed in 2003 he said: "There are meaningful distinctions among groups that may have implications for disease susceptibility. The right-wing version of this is 'The Bell Curve
,' and that's pseudoscience -- that's not real. But there can be a middle ground between left-wing political correctness and right-wing meanness."
3. The carrier frequency of the BRCA2 6174delT mutation among Ashkenazi Jewish individuals is approximately 1%. ‘’Nature Genetics.’’ 14, 188 - 190 (1996).
4. In DNA, New Clues to Jewish Roots. Wade, Nicholas. New York Times. May 14, 2002.
5. Gene Mutation Tied To Colon Cancers In Ashkenazi Jews. Wade, Nicholas. New York Times. August 26, 1997.
6. As Gene Test Menu Grows, Who Gets to Choose?. Harmon, Amy. New York Times. July 21, 2004.
8. Staying Alive, Staying Human. Kristof, Nicholas D. New York Times. February 11, 2003.
Geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a researcher or lecturer. Some geneticists perform experiments and analyze data to interpret the inheritance of skills. A geneticist is also a Consultant or...
known for his study, writings, and lectures about the origins of the Jewish people. He is a Professor of Pathology and Genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. It is a not-for-profit, private, nonsectarian medical school located on the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Morris Park neighborhood of the borough of the Bronx of New York City...
at Yeshiva University and Director of Genetic and Genomic Testing at Montefiore Medical Center
Montefiore Medical Center
Montefiore Medical Center, in the Bronx, New York, is the University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The hospital, named for Moses Montefiore, is one of the 50 largest employers in New York State . In 2011, Montefiore Medical Center was ranked as #6 of the 180 New York City...
. For the prior 21 years he was Professor of Pediatrics, Pathology and Medicine and Director of the Human Genetics Program at New York University School of Medicine.
Education
Dr. Harry Ostrer graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(Physics, Course 8) and received his M.D. degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
. He did a pediatrics residency and a medical genetics fellowship at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and trained in molecular genetics at the National Institutes of Health. Prior to his position at NYU, Dr. Ostrer was a member of the faculty of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
Medical School in Gainsville, Florida.
Research
Ostrer contends that the Jewish people descend from a Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern tribe that coalesced approximately 2500 years ago, a time in accordance with biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
accounts of Jewish origins. This tribe fragmented and spread throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but remained endogamous
Endogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting others on such basis as being unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. A Greek Orthodox Christian endogamist, for example, would require that a marriage be only with another...
. Dr. Ostrer’s laboratory studies the disease allele
Allele
An allele is one of two or more forms of a gene or a genetic locus . "Allel" is an abbreviation of allelomorph. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation...
markers present in these different Jewish populations. He summarizes the field in a 2001 Nature Reviews Genetics
Nature Reviews Genetics
Nature Reviews Genetics is a monthly review journal in genetics and covers the full breadth of modern genetics. The journal publishes review and perspective articles written by experts in the field subject to peer review and copy editing to provide authoritative coverage of topics...
article. Specifically, Ostrer’s lab explains migrations of Jewish populations by the genetic diseases each population carries.
Ostrer’s research has demonstrated the principles of genetic epidemiology
Genetic epidemiology
Genetic epidemiology is the study of the role of genetic factors in determining health and disease in families and in populations, and the interplay of such genetic factors with environmental factors...
on a very large scale. According to Ostrer:
- If a mutation occurred before or during the Temple period, when all Jews represented one population, such a mutation should be present in all DiasporaDiasporaA diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
Jews (Ostrer has characterize the mutations purportedly present in Roman era Jews. - If a mutation occurred more recently, then that mutation should only occur in Jewish populations including descendants of the original mutant individual (for example, BRCA2 mutations in Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
). - Seeming exceptions to this principle can be explained by admixture with local non-Jewish populations or with distant Jewish populations.
Ostrer currently directs the largest study of Jewish genetics to date, the ‘’Genetic Analysis of Jewish Populations.’’ The goal of this study is to assess the relatedness of Jewish populations across the world. Additionally, Ostrer has begun to generate a Jewish version of the popular HapMap Project. He is working on a book summarizing the genetic history of Jewish populations for a popular audience.
Lectures
Ostrer has lectured on four continents about Jewish genetics. Recently, he has addressed the Jewish Genealogical Society, the New York Academy of MedicineNew York Academy of Medicine
The New York Academy of Medicine was founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York City metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health reform...
, and the New York Academy of Science.
Press
In addition to his research article publications, Ostrer is frequently consulted by New York Times science reporters Nicholas WadeNicholas Wade
Nicholas Wade is a British-born scientific reporter, editor and author who currently writes for the Science Times section of The New York Times.-Biography:Wade was born in Aylesbury, England and educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge...
(4, 5) and Amy Harmon
Amy Harmon
Amy Harmon is a Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent for The New York Times. After receiving a B.A. degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan, she began her career in journalism as the Opinion page editor of the Michigan Daily, the university's student newspaper...
, (6) and op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof (7, 8). Ostrer has written two books on genetics, Essentials of Medical Genomics (2002) and Non-Mendelian Genetics in Humans (1998).
Interviewed in 2003 he said: "There are meaningful distinctions among groups that may have implications for disease susceptibility. The right-wing version of this is 'The Bell Curve
The Bell Curve
The Bell Curve is a best-selling and controversial 1994 book by the Harvard psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein and political scientist Charles Murray...
,' and that's pseudoscience -- that's not real. But there can be a middle ground between left-wing political correctness and right-wing meanness."
Awards
Dr. Ostrer has received awards from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, Skin Cancer Foundation and Weizmann Institute of Science. In October, 2010, he was named to the Forward 50 list of “people who have made an imprint in the past year on the ways in which American Jews view the world and relate to each other.”Journal Citations
2. Mendelian Diseases Among Roman Jews: Implications for the Origins of Disease Alleles. ‘’Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.’’ Vol. 84, No. 12 4405-4409 (1999).3. The carrier frequency of the BRCA2 6174delT mutation among Ashkenazi Jewish individuals is approximately 1%. ‘’Nature Genetics.’’ 14, 188 - 190 (1996).
4. In DNA, New Clues to Jewish Roots. Wade, Nicholas. New York Times. May 14, 2002.
5. Gene Mutation Tied To Colon Cancers In Ashkenazi Jews. Wade, Nicholas. New York Times. August 26, 1997.
6. As Gene Test Menu Grows, Who Gets to Choose?. Harmon, Amy. New York Times. July 21, 2004.
8. Staying Alive, Staying Human. Kristof, Nicholas D. New York Times. February 11, 2003.