Andrew Singleton
{{short description|British neurogeneticist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Andrew Singleton
| image = Andrew Singleton.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| birth_name = Andrew B. Singleton
| birth_date = 1972
| birth_place = Guernsey, the Channel Islands
| death_date =
| fields = Neuroscience
| workplaces =
| alma_mater =
| known_for = Parkinson's disease research
| author_abbrev_bot =
| author_abbrev_zoo =
| awards =
| website =
}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
Andrew B. Singleton is a British neurogeneticist currently working in the USA. He was born in Guernsey, the Channel Islands in 1972, where he lived until he was 18 years old. His secondary education was conducted at the Guernsey Grammar School. He earned a first class degree in Applied Physiology from Sunderland University and his PhD in neuroscience from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where he studied the genetics of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Neurochemical Pathology Unit. He moved to the United States in 1999, where he began working at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida studying the genetic basis of Parkinson's disease, ataxia, and dystonia. He moved to the National Institutes of Health in 2001 to head the newly formed Molecular Genetics unit within the Laboratory of Neurogenetics. In 2006 he took over as Chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and became an NIH Distinguished Investigator in the intramural program at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in 2017. In 2020 he stepped down as the Chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and became the Acting Director of the newly formed Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias at the NIA (CARD https://card.nih.gov/). In 2021 he became the Director of CARD.
Accomplishments
Dr. Singleton is best known for his work aimed at understanding the genetic etiology of Parkinson's disease. His first well-known work described the discovery of a triplication mutation of the alpha-synuclein gene that causes a severe, early-onset form of Parkinson's disease.{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.1090278 |title=α-Synuclein Locus Triplication Causes Parkinson's Disease |year=2003 |last1=Singleton |first1=A. B. |journal=Science |volume=302 |issue=5646 |pages=841 |pmid=14593171 |last2=Farrer |first2=M |last3=Johnson |first3=J |last4=Singleton |first4=A |last5=Hague |first5=S |last6=Kachergus |first6=J |last7=Hulihan |first7=M |last8=Peuralinna |first8=T |last9=Dutra |first9=A|s2cid=85938327 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230840 |display-authors=8}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2011}} One year later he led the group that was the first to identify mutations in the LRRK2 gene as a cause of familial Parkinson's disease, as well as the more common, sporadic Parkinson's disease.{{cite journal |pages=595–600 |doi=10.1016/j.neuron.2004.10.023 |title=Cloning of the Gene Containing Mutations that Cause PARK8-Linked Parkinson's Disease |year=2004 |last1=Paisán-Ruı́z |first1=Coro |last2=Jain |first2=Shushant |last3=Evans |first3=E.Whitney |last4=Gilks |first4=William P. |last5=Simón |first5=Javier |last6=Van Der Brug |first6=Marcel |last7=De Munain |first7=Adolfo López |last8=Aparicio |first8=Silvia |last9=Gil |first9=Angel Martı́nez |display-authors=8|journal=Neuron |volume=44 |issue=4 |pmid=15541308|s2cid=16688488 |doi-access=free }}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2011}} Since then, his laboratory has focused more on the complex genetics of Parkinson's disease, describing more than 90 common genetic risk factors for this disease.{{cite journal |pages=1308–12 |doi=10.1038/ng.487 |pmc=2787725 |title=Genome-wide association study reveals genetic risk underlying Parkinson's disease |year=2009 |last1=Simón-Sánchez |first1=Javier |last2=Schulte |first2=Claudia |last3=Bras |first3=Jose M |last4=Sharma |first4=Manu |last5=Gibbs |first5=J Raphael |last6=Berg |first6=Daniela |last7=Paisan-Ruiz |first7=Coro |last8=Lichtner |first8=Peter |last9=Scholz |first9=Sonja W |display-authors=8|journal=Nature Genetics |volume=41 |issue=12 |pmid=19915575}}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2011}}{{cite journal |pages=641–9 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62345-8 |title=Imputation of sequence variants for identification of genetic risks for Parkinson's disease: A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies |year=2011 |journal=The Lancet |volume=377 |issue=9766 |pmid=21292315 |pmc=3696507|author1=International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium |last2=Nalls |first2=M. A. |last3=Plagnol |first3=V. |last4=Hernandez |first4=D. G. |last5=Sharma |first5=M. |last6=Sheerin |first6=U. M. |last7=Saad |first7=M. |last8=Simón-Sánchez |first8=J. |last9=Schulte |first9=C. |last10=Lesage |first10=S. |last11=Sveinbjörnsdóttir |first11=S. |last12=Stefánsson |first12=K. |last13=Martinez |first13=M. |last14=Hardy |first14=J. |last15=Heutink |first15=P. |last16=Brice |first16=A. |last17=Gasser |first17=T. |last18=Singleton |first18=A. B. |last19=Wood |first19=N. W. }}{{cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1002142 |pmc=3128098 |title=A Two-Stage Meta-Analysis Identifies Several New Loci for Parkinson's Disease |year=2011 |editor1-last=Gibson |editor1-first=Greg |journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=7 |issue=6 |pages=e1002142 |pmid=21738488 |author1=International Parkinson's Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC) |author2=Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2) |doi-access=free }} In addition to working on Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders, his laboratory has active research programs investigating genetic diversity and the consequences of genetic alterations, particularly in the context of the brain and ageing, using systems biology-based approaches.{{cite journal |pages=998–1003 |doi=10.1038/nature06742 |title=Genotype, haplotype and copy-number variation in worldwide human populations |year=2008 |last1=Jakobsson |first1=Mattias |last2=Scholz |first2=Sonja W. |last3=Scheet |first3=Paul |last4=Gibbs |first4=J. Raphael |last5=Vanliere |first5=Jenna M. |last6=Fung |first6=Hon-Chung |last7=Szpiech |first7=Zachary A. |last8=Degnan |first8=James H. |last9=Wang |first9=Kai |display-authors=8|journal=Nature |volume=451 |issue=7181 |pmid=18288195|bibcode=2008Natur.451..998J |hdl=2027.42/62552 |s2cid=11074384 |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62552/1/nature06742.pdf |hdl-access=free }}{{Primary source inline|date=September 2011}}{{cite journal |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1000952 |pmc=2869317 |title=Abundant Quantitative Trait Loci Exist for DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in Human Brain |year=2010 |editor1-last=Flint |editor1-first=Jonathan |last1=Gibbs |first1=J. Raphael |last2=Van Der Brug |first2=Marcel P. |last3=Hernandez |first3=Dena G. |last4=Traynor |first4=Bryan J. |last5=Nalls |first5=Michael A. |last6=Lai |first6=Shiao-Lin |last7=Arepalli |first7=Sampath |last8=Dillman |first8=Allissa |last9=Rafferty |first9=Ian P. |display-authors=8|journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=e1000952 |pmid=20485568 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |pages=1164–72 |doi=10.1093/hmg/ddq561 |pmc=3043665 |title=Distinct DNA methylation changes highly correlated with chronological age in the human brain |year=2011 |last1=Hernandez |first1=D. G. |last2=Nalls |first2=M. A. |last3=Gibbs |first3=J. R. |last4=Arepalli |first4=S. |last5=Van Der Brug |first5=M. |last6=Chong |first6=S. |last7=Moore |first7=M. |last8=Longo |first8=D. L. |last9=Cookson |first9=M. R. |display-authors=8|journal=Human Molecular Genetics |volume=20 |issue=6 |pmid=21216877}} To date he has published more than 700 scientific articles.{{Cite web |title=Andrew B. Singleton, Ph.D. {{!}} Principal Investigators {{!}} NIH Intramural Research Program |url=https://irp.nih.gov/pi/andrew-singleton |access-date=2024-01-18 |website=irp.nih.gov}}
Awards and honours
- Boehringer Mannheim Research Award in 2005
- Annemarie Opprecht Award in 2008
- NIH Directors Award in 2008 and 2016
- First Recipient of the Jay van Andel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Parkinson's Disease Research, presented at the Van Andel Institute in 2012
- Named as an NIH Distinguished Investigator in 2017
- [http://tools.aan.com/science/awards/?fuseaction=home.info&id=9 American Academy of Neurology Movement Disorders Award] for Lifetime Achievement in 2017
- Honorary Doctorate of Sciences from the University of Sunderland in 2017
- NIA Directors Award for Mentoring in 2019
- Robert A. Pritzker Prize for Leadership in Parkinson's Disease Research
- He serves on the editorial boards of the journals Brain, Lancet Neurology, Neurogenetics, Journal of Parkinson's Disease, Journal of Huntington's Disease, npj Parkinson's Disease, and Neurodegenerative Diseases
- He is Associate Editor for Genetics at the journals npj Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders
- Scientific Advisory Board of the Lewy Body Dementia Association
- Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences in 2024{{Cite web |date=September 14, 2023 |title=BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE ANNOUNCES 2024 LAUREATES IN LIFE SCIENCES, FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS, AND MATHEMATICS |url=https://breakthroughprize.org/News/83 |access-date=September 14, 2023 |website=BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE}}
- Elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2025{{Cite web |date=2025-05-20 |title=Exceptional scientists elected as Fellows of the Royal Society |url=https://royalsociety.org/news/2025/05/new-fellows/ |access-date=2025-05-22 |website=Royal Society |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singleton, Andrew}}
Category:British neuroscientists
Category:British expatriate academics in the United States
Category:Alumni of the University of Sunderland
Category:People from the Bailiwick of Guernsey