NHGRI's Oral History Collection: Interview with Eric Lander

Eric Lander, Ph.D., is president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Lander was one of the principal leaders of the international Human Genome Project from 1990 to 2003. Dr. Lander is a professor of biology at MIT and professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Lander is interested in every aspect of the human genome and its application to medicine. He has been instrumental in developing tools to elucidate the molecular basis of human disease as well as several methodologies to determine the contribution of genetics to human health. This oral history will focus on Dr. Lander’s involvement in the Human Genome Project. He also answers questions about genomic technology development, how to think about “big science,” and the role of innovation, collaboration and ethics in science.

Credits:
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Executive Producer/Interviewer/Historian: Christopher Donohue, Ph.D.
Assistant Producers: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S., Mukul Nerurkar
Producer/Videographer/Editor: Alvaro Encinas
Voiceover (Interview Questions): Zachary Utz, M.A.

00:17 - How did you first get involved in the Human Genome Project?
05:04 - Why was sequencing the whole human genome important?
08:32 - What was your perspective on NIH directing the HGP?