Yury Verlinsky
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Yury Verlinsky (1 September 1943 – 16 July 2009) was a
Russian-American Russian Americans are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as to those that settled in the 19th-century Russian possessions in what is now Alaska. Russia ...
medical researcher specializing in
embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
nic and cellular
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...
(genetic
cytology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...
). He is best known as a pioneer in
prenatal diagnosis Prenatal testing is a tool that can be used to detect some birth defects at various stages prior to birth. Prenatal testing consists of prenatal screening and prenatal diagnosis, which are aspects of prenatal care that focus on detecting problem ...
for detecting genetic and chromosomal disorders six weeks earlier than standard
amniocentesis Amniocentesis is a medical procedure used primarily in the prenatal diagnosis of genetic conditions. It has other uses such as in the assessment of infection and fetal lung maturity. Prenatal diagnostic testing, which includes amniocentesis, is ...
. The founding father of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and embryo analysis prior to
in-vitro fertilization In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from t ...
(IVF), Verlinsky used his polar body biopsy technique to detect potential birth defects in offspring. It is now accepted worldwide as the standard for the most efficient and effective means of analyzing the chromosomal status of an embryo. With the help of his research, PGD can be used to prevent more than 200 different genetic disorders and diseases.


Early years and education

Verlinsky was born in
Ishim, Tyumen Oblast Ishim () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the south of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Korkina Sloboda'' (until 1782). History It was founded in 1670 as the village of Korkina Sloboda (settl ...
,
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
, in the former
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, one of two sons of Simon Verlinsky and Dora Verlinskaya. His mother was an accountant and his father was a disabled veteran of the Soviet Army. Yury received his Ph.D. in
embryology Embryology (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logy, -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the Prenatal development (biology), prenatal development of gametes (sex ...
and
cytogenetics Cytogenetics is essentially a branch of genetics, but is also a part of cell biology/cytology (a subdivision of human anatomy), that is concerned with how the chromosomes relate to cell behaviour, particularly to their behaviour during mitosis an ...
from
Kharkiv University The V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (), also known as Kharkiv National University or Karazin University, is a public university in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 1804 through the efforts of Vasily Karazin, becoming the second old ...
, in the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
, in 1973. While there, he met his wife Luba, a biologist. They married in 1967."Yury Verlinsky, Expert in Embryonic Screening, Is Dead at 65"
''New York Times'', July 22, 2009


Emigrating to the United States

After graduating with his Ph.D., he submitted research proposals which were all rejected by government committees. He chose to emigrate to the United States when the Soviet government continued to refuse his requests to fund further research into PGD, a field in which he was an early practitioner. This became difficult as he was forced to pay back the cost of his education before receiving his exit visa (" diploma tax"), which required that he borrow money from friends. He eventually left for the United States with his wife, their nine-year-old son, and just "two suitcases."Gessen, Masha. ''Blood Matters'', Harcourt, 2008 He arrived in 1979, one of the many thousands of other Soviet Jews that were allowed to leave that same year, including a young
Sergey Brin Sergey Mikhailovich Brin (; born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and businessman who co-founded Google with Larry Page. He was the president of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., until stepping down from the role on D ...
, who later co-founded
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
, Inc.


Genetics researcher

Soon after arriving, he was offered a research position with the Michael Reese Hospital in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Illinois, where he ran the
cytogenetics Cytogenetics is essentially a branch of genetics, but is also a part of cell biology/cytology (a subdivision of human anatomy), that is concerned with how the chromosomes relate to cell behaviour, particularly to their behaviour during mitosis an ...
laboratory. When asked how he so easily obtained the position, he replied "of my previous experience and because a chromosome in any language is a chromosome and a microscope is a microscope." He took time outside of his job to work at identifying
chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...
polymorphisms in Down syndrome families and also to analyze
chorionic villus Chorionic villi are villi that sprout from the chorion to provide maximal contact area with maternal blood. They are an essential element in pregnancy from a histomorphologic perspective, and are, by definition, a product of conception. Branch ...
sampling. His goal was to develop a modified technique for performing chromosomal analysis. His research was even more difficult since, like all Soviet emigres, he was not allowed to have contact with colleagues back home. One such friend and colleague that he lost contact with was Anver Kuliev, with whom he had done research when he was still in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. They had worked together developing a prenatal test that could be administered earlier than
amniocentesis Amniocentesis is a medical procedure used primarily in the prenatal diagnosis of genetic conditions. It has other uses such as in the assessment of infection and fetal lung maturity. Prenatal diagnostic testing, which includes amniocentesis, is ...
, with the goal of allowing a woman to avoid a second- trimester abortion. Years later, after Verlinsky had settled in the U.S., he was in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
for a scientific meeting and discovered that Kuliev was working in the Soviet Union as head of genetics for the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
(WHO). Verlinsky contacted him, they met in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
in 1982, and soon after they began working together, again doing embryonic and genetic research. Kuriev would later become director of the Reproductive Genetics Institute that Verlinsky established in 1990. Verlinsky was an expert in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, which is the
genetic testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
and chromosome analysis of
embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
s before they are transferred to a woman's
uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...
with
in-vitro fertilization In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from t ...
(IVF.) His research expanded the applications of earlier prenatal and embryonic testing methods to allow doctors to understand the health and future of
fetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...
es."Yury Verlinsky dies at 65; pioneered genetic testing method"
''Los Angeles Times'', July 22, 2009
His diagnostic techniques have become widely accepted and are routinely used by prospective parents, especially couples with a history of genetic abnormalities or where the woman is over the age of 35, when the risk of genetically related disorders is higher. As the tests could be performed up to six weeks earlier than
amniocentesis Amniocentesis is a medical procedure used primarily in the prenatal diagnosis of genetic conditions. It has other uses such as in the assessment of infection and fetal lung maturity. Prenatal diagnostic testing, which includes amniocentesis, is ...
, which uses a technique called chorionic villus sampling, the prospective parents were often more comfortable considering an
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
if any major abnormalities or risk factors were discovered. In addition, by allowing parents to select an embryo without known genetic disorders, they also had the potential of saving the lives of siblings that already had similar disorders and diseases."Dr. Yury Verlinsky, 1943–2009: Expert in reproductive technology"
''Chicago Tribune'', July 20, 2009


Establishing a clinic

In 1990, he established the private Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago to provide prenatal testing. According to his colleague, Dr. Norman Ginsberg, he was "a hard-working scientist, . . . . the first in the lab in the morning and the last out at night." Profits from his work were plowed back into research. "Rather than just make himself rich, he used this money to do a whole range of testing," Ginsberg added.


Utilizing "polar bodies"

Verlinsky developed his ideas for genetic screening before doing in-vitro fertilization, he says, "while viewing a 1935
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...
painting in a Jerusalem art gallery." He observed that the painting showed "two disks, one red and one yellow, floating in space, with a small, round black object under the red one." The disks reminded him of human eggs, with one changing into the other by ejecting the black object. "In a flash of insight," he took out a business card and wrote "polar bodies" on the back of it. A polar body is a cell structure found inside an ovum, which includes the package of chromosomes ejected by the egg before fertilization by sperm. Verlinsky's "insight" was that he could analyze the polar body to look for certain genetic defects in the resulting egg. This approach was useful when both parents were carriers of a genetic defect. He found that by using only eggs with the healthy version of the gene, "the child would be protected even if the father passed on the mutated version," and as a result, his approach produced many healthy pregnancies. He later found that a single cell could be removed from an early fertilized egg without disturbing subsequent development, and it can then be used for genetic diagnosis. In 2000, his technique became notable when it helped the parents of Molly Nash, a child who suffered from life-threatening Fanconi anemia, conceive a son without the disease and whose cells were later used to save Molly's life. In 2002, his method also helped a mother, whose genetic diagnosis showed a likelihood of getting Alzheimer's disease, conceive a daughter who was free of the gene."PBS NewsHour Interview with Dr. Yury Verlinsky"
August 9, 2004
The case was declared a "medical milestone" as the first use of genetic testing to prevent an early onset form of Alzheimer's disease.


Significance of research

As a result of Verlinsky's pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) methods, experts today are able to more easily test for over 200 different genetic disorders and diseases, including
hemophilia Haemophilia (British English), or hemophilia (American English) (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a long ...
,
sickle cell anemia Sickle cell disease (SCD), also simply called sickle cell, is a group of inherited haemoglobin-related blood disorders. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying ...
,
Fanconi anemia Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare, autosomal recessive genetic disease characterized by aplastic anemia, congenital defects, endocrinological abnormalities, and an increased incidence of developing cancer. The study of Fanconi anemia has improve ...
,
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
,
cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...
,
thalassemia Thalassemias are a group of Genetic disorder, inherited blood disorders that manifest as the production of reduced hemoglobin. Symptoms depend on the type of thalassemia and can vary from none to severe, including death. Often there is mild to ...
, Down syndrome,
Tay–Sachs disease Tay–Sachs disease is an Genetic disorder, inherited fatal lysosomal storage disease that results in the destruction of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The most common form is infantile Tay–Sachs disease, which becomes apparent arou ...
,
muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...
, and
Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that is mostly Genetic disorder#Autosomal dominant, inherited. It typically presents as a triad of progressive psychiatric, cognitive, and ...
. Experts have credited him with "some of the firsts" in applying PGD, such as tissue typing to determine genetic defect risks and to allow the use of stem cells from newborns to treat other diseased family members. Dr. Andrew La Barbera, the scientific director for the
American Society for Reproductive Medicine The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization for advancement of the science and practice of reproductive medicine. The society has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and its administrat ...
, said that Verlinsky's research had a "far-reaching impact on reproductive medicine" and he was a "giant in the field" by enabling couples to have children free of genetic diseases and making his methods "available to clinics around the world." "If it wasn't for Yury," said Dr. Jamie Grifo, program director at the New York University Fertility Center, "who knows how far this field would have come?"


Death

Verlinsky died in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
of
colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...
on July 16, 2009, at the age of 65. He is survived by his wife, Luba, a son, Oleg, his brother, Vitaly, and three grandchildren.


References


Other sources

*Verlinsky, Yury, and Kuliev, Anver. ''Textbook of Assisted Reproductive Techniques'', "Clinical Application of Polar Body Biopsy", Chapter 31, Informa Healthcare (2004) *Verlinsky, Yury, and Kuliev, Anver. ''Textbook of In-vitro Fertilization and Assisted Reproduction'', "Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and its Rold in Assisted Reproduction Technology", Bourn Hall Clinic, 2005 *Kuliev A, and Verlinsky Y
"Preimplantation genetic diagnosis: technological advances to improve accuracy and range of applications"
Reproductive Genetics Institute, 2825 North Halsted Street, Chicago, IL., April 16, 2008 ´ {{DEFAULTSORT:Verlinsky, Yury 1943 births 2009 deaths People from Ishim, Tyumen Oblast Russian Jews Soviet emigrants to the United States American people of Russian-Jewish descent Russian geneticists Russian embryologists Stem cell researchers National University of Kharkiv alumni Deaths from colorectal cancer in Illinois American embryologists