Ellen Wright Clayton is an American academic specializing in law and medicine. She is the

Rosalind E. Franklin Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer. Her work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, coa ...

Professor of Genetics at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

and chairwoman of the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

Board at the Population Health and Public Health Practice. She was the 2013 recipient of the

David Rall Medal The David Rall Medal is an award given annually by the National Academy of Medicine of the United States to one of its members who "...has demonstrated distinguished leadership as chair of a study committee or other such activity, showing commitment ...

Early life

Wright Clayton was born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, where she attended school. She graduated from

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

with a degree in

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

and then obtained master's degree in

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. Some years later she got her degree in law from Yale, and medical degree from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

respectively.

Career

From 1988, Wright Clayton served as

faculty member and since that time has published two books and over 150

peer-review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

ed articles relating to law,

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

. She serves on the advisory board panel of both the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

and

Human Genome Organisation The Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) is a non-profit organization founded in 1988. HUGO represents an international coordinating scientific body in response to initiatives such as the Human Genome Project. HUGO has four active committees, includi ...

. In 2006, she was elected to

and three years later became its council member. In 2012, she began her three-year term as the

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

chairwoman at

. Since November 6, 2013, she has served as ''

Nashville Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

'' editor. Currently she teaches in both

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

s and is a director of Vanderbilt's Center for Genetics and Health Policy. Clayton is a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

and

American Pediatric Society The American Pediatric Society (APS) is the first pediatric society established in North America. Created in 1887, the APS pursues a vision of an engaged, inclusive, and impactful community of pediatric thought leaders. The APS mission is to shape t ...

. She was elected a fellow of the

American College of Medical Informatics The American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) is a college of elected fellows from the United States and abroad who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of medical informatics. Initially incorporated in 1984, the o ...

in 2023.

Personal life

On Sundays she sang in a choir.

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Ellen Wright Clayton
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright Clayton, Ellen Living people American geneticists Duke University alumni Harvard Medical School alumni Yale Law School alumni Scientists from Houston Year of birth missing (living people) Vanderbilt University Law School faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine Fellows of the American College of Medical Informatics