Richard A Gibbs, Ph.D.

Wofford Cain Chair and Professor

(713) 798-6539

Email

agibbs@bcm.edu

Positions

Wofford Cain Chair and Professor: Molecular and Human Genetics
Baylor College of Medicine

Director: Human Genome Sequencing Center
Baylor College of Medicine

Professor: Program in Translational Biology & Molecular Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine

Professor: Program in Integrative Molecular and Biomedical Sciences
Baylor College of Medicine

Professor: HGSC:Faculty-General/Basic
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX, US

Member: Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, United States

Addresses

BCM-Alkek Graduate School (Office): Room: BCMN-N1619
Houston, TX, 77030
United States

Education

BS from University Of Melbourne: 01/1978 - Melbourne, Australia

PhD from University Of Melbourne: 01/1986 - Melbourne, Australia

Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Baylor College Of Medicine: 01/1986 - Houston, TX, United States

Honors & Awards

Elected to the Institute of Medicine: 2011

LSU Chancellor's Distinguished Lectureship: 2001

Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Excellence in Research Award: 2000

George R. Sampson Distinguished Research Fellowship: 1998-1989; Muscular Dystrophy Association

Postdoctoral Fellowship: 1987; American Arthritis Foundation

Postdoctoral Fellowship: 1986; Muscular Dystrophy Association of America

Wofford Cain Chair in Molecular and Human Genetics

Professional Interests

Genome science, human molecular evolution, and molecular basis of inherited disease

Professional Statement

Richard Gibbs is the Founder and Director of the Human Genome Sequencing Center (HGSC), established at Baylor in 1996. The HGSC has a core mission of advancing medical care through research and translation of genomics. The group was one of the five worldwide sites to undertake and complete the Human Genome Project, culminating in the contribution of approximately 10% of the sequence in 2003. The group subsequently collaborated to sequence many key species (Drosophila melanogaster, Brown Norway rat, rhesus macaque, bovine, Dictyostelium discoideum, sea urchin and honey bee genomes), to generate the first comprehensive map of human genetic variation (the HapMap project) and to generate the Cancer Genome Atlas. The HGSC next pioneered whole exome capture methods and published the first whole genome diploid sequence of a human (James Watson). Next, we demonstrated the utility of whole genome sequencing for genetic disease discovery and for guiding effective clinical treatments, enabling deployment of these methods into routine clinical practice.

The HGSC is now focused on three areas including: technical development of genomics methods in the laboratory and via bioinformatics; clinical translation of genomics to large patient populations; and the discovery of the genetic basis of disease. The latter includes programs for the systematic discovery of the cause of human single gene (mendelian) defects. We also are investigating the role of somatic variation as a driver of non-malignant human disease as part of the NIH Somatic Mutation across Human Tissues (SMaHT) program. Additional efforts are in the role of genetics on the effects of space and other extreme environments and the role of family groups in advancing research and the care of children with rare disease.

Websites

VIICTR Publications List

Molecular and Human Genetics

Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center

Selected Publications

Krishnavajhala A, Gingras MC, Urquieta E, Chao H, Bandaranaike D, Chen Y, Bhamidipati S, Korchina V, Griffin SM, Masternak MM, Moreno H, Mohammed J, Murugan M, Posey JE, Wu JH, Muzny D, Gibbs RA, Doddapaneni H. " The GENESTAR manual for biospecimen collection biobanking and omics data generation from commercial space missions. " NPJ Microgravity. 2025 May 14; 11 : 16.
Pubmed PMID: 40368955.
Murdock DR, Venner E, Muzny DM, Metcalf GA, Murugan M, (…), Wehrens XHT, Ballantyne CM, Gibbs RA. " Genetic testing in ambulatory cardiology clinics reveals high rate of findings with clinical management implications. " Genet Med. 2021 Dec ; 23 (12) : 2404-2414.
Pubmed PMID: 34363016.
Gibbs RA. " The Human Genome Project changed everything " Nat Rev Genet. 2020 Oct ; 21 : 575-576.
Pubmed PMID: 32770171.
Jiang Y, Wangler MF, McGuire AL, Lupski JR, Posey JE, Khayat MM, Murdock DR, Sanchez-Pulido L, Ponting CP, Xia F, Hunter JV,Meng Q, Murugan M, Gibbs RA. " The phenotypic spectrum of Xia-Gibbs syndrome. " Am J Med Genet A.. 2018 ; 176 : 1315-1326.
Pubmed PMID: 29696776.
Xia F, Bainbridge MN, Tan TY, Wangler MF, Scheuerle AE, Zackai EH, Harr MH, Sutton VR, Nalam RL, Zhu W, Nash M, Ryan MM, Yaplito-Lee J, Hunter JV, Deardorff MA, Penney SJ, Beaudet AL, Plon SE, Boerwinkle EA, Lupski JR, Eng CM, Muzny DM, Yang Y, Gibbs RA. " De novo truncating mutations in AHDC1 in individuals with syndromic expressive language delay, hypotonia, and sleep apnea.. " Am J Hum Genet.. 2014 ; 94 : 784-9.
Reid JG, Carroll A, Veeraraghavan N, Dahdouli M, Sundquist A, English A, Bainbridge M, White S, Salerno W, Buhay C, Yu F, Muzny D, Daly R, Duyk G, Gibbs RA, Boerwinkle E. " Launching genomics into the cloud: deployment of Mercury, a next generation sequence analysis pipeline.. " BMC Bioinformatics.. 2014 ; 15 : 30.
Crowley JJ, Hilliard CE, Kim Y, Morgan MB, Lewis LR, Muzny DM, Hawes AC, Sabo A, Wheeler DA, Lieberman JA, Sullivan PF, Gibbs RA. " Deep resequencing and association analysis of schizophrenia candidate genes. " Mol. Psychiatry. 2013 Feb ; 18 (2) : 138-40.
Pubmed PMID: 22472875.
Bainbridge MN, Wiszniewski W, Murdock DR, Friedman J, Gonzaga-Jauregui C, Newsham I, Reid JG, Fink JK, Morgan MB, Gingras MC, Muzny DM, Hoang LD, Yousaf S, Lupski JR, Gibbs RA. " Whole-genome sequencing for optimized patient management. " Sci Transl Med. 2011 Jun 15; 3 (87) : 87re3.
Pubmed PMID: 21677200.
Lupski JR, Reid JG, Gonzaga-Jauregui C, Rio Deiros D, Chen DC, Nazareth L, Bainbridge M, Dinh H, Jing C, Wheeler DA, McGuire AL, Zhang F, Stankiewicz P, Halperin JJ, Yang C, Gehman C, Guo D, Irikat RK, Tom W, Fantin NJ, Muzny DM, Gibbs RA. " Whole-genome sequencing in a patient with Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy. " N. Engl. J. Med.. 2010 Apr 1; 362 (13) : 1181-91.
Pubmed PMID: 20220177.
Wheeler DA, Srinivasan M, Egholm M, Shen Y, Chen L, McGuire A, He W, Chen YJ, Makhijani V, Roth GT, Gomes X, Tartaro K, Niazi F, Turcotte CL, Irzyk GP, Lupski JR, Chinault C, Song XZ, Liu Y, Yuan Y, Nazareth L, Qin X, Muzny DM, Margulies M, Weinstock GM, . " The complete genome of an individual by massively parallel DNA sequencing. " Nature. 2008 Apr 17; 452 (7189) : 872-6.
Pubmed PMID: 18421352.
McGuire AL, Gibbs RA. " Genetics. No longer de-identified. " Science. 2006 Apr 21; 312 (5772) : 370-1.
Pubmed PMID: 16627725.
Yang Y, Muzny DM, Reid JG, Bainbridge MN, Willis A, Ward PA, Braxton A, Beuten J, Xia F, Niu Z, Hardison M, Person R, Bekheirnia MR, Leduc MS, Kirby A, Pham P, Scull J, Wang M, Ding Y, Plon SE, Lupski JR, Beaudet AL, Gibbs RA, Eng CM. " Clinical Whole-Exome Sequencing for the Diagnosis of Mendelian Disorders. " N Engl J Med.. 2013 17; 369 (16) : 1502-11.
Pubmed PMID: 24088041.
Tribolium Genome Sequencing Consortium. " The genome of the model beetle and pest Tribolium castaneum. " Nature. 2008 Apr 24; 452 (7190) : 949-55.
Pubmed PMID: 18362917.
Rhesus Macaque Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium. " Evolutionary and biomedical insights from the rhesus macaque genome. " Science. 2007 Apr 13; 316 (5822) : 222-34.
Pubmed PMID: 17431167.