Cancer Genetics

Faye Eggerding, M.D., Ph.D. is the Director of the Huntington Medical Research Institutes Cancer Genetics Laboratory, a position she has held since 1996 when the laboratory opened. The laboratory provides patients with genetic testing for accurate cancer diagnosis, identification of inherited cancer predisposition and cancer risk assessment.

The laboratory receives over 400 referrals each year from university medical centers, cancer genetics centers and managed healthcare organizations throughout the United States and internationally. The laboratory is CLIA certified and participates in the College of American Pathologists inter-laboratory proficiency-testing program. The laboratory also maintains a program in diagnostic technology development as well as a basic research program to identify genetic and other factors that influence the development of cancer.

Dr. Eggerding has had a long interest in cancer research. As a faculty member of the Pathology Department at the UCLA School of Medicine, she had grants from the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute to study gene expression during viral carcinogenesis. Prior to joining HMRI, Dr. Eggerding worked as a Research Scientist in Genetic Analysis at Applied Biosystems where she developed molecular diagnostic tests for cystic fibrosis (CF) and oncogene mutations. Her CF genetic test is used by Quest Diagnostics for CF carrier detection. She holds a patent for the development of a new molecular diagnostic procedure for gene analysis based on coupled amplification and oligonucleotide ligation. She has published research articles in molecular biology, genetics and molecular diagnostics. Dr. Eggerding received a B.A. degree in biology from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.D. degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in Pathology at Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis) where she also earned a Ph.D. degree in Molecular Biology. In 1992, she completed a Fellowship in Genetics at the University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, and is certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics in both Clinical Molecular Genetics and Clinical Cytogenetics. She is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics.