Anna-Kaisa Niemi awarded 2011 Genzyme/ American College of Medical Genetics Foundation Fellowship

Anna-Kaisa Niemi, MD, Ph.D., a resident in Medical Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics at the Stanford University Medical Center, in Stanford Calif., was honored as the 2011-2012 recipient of the Genzyme/American College of Medical Genetics Foundation Clinical Genetics Fellowship in Biochemical Genetics at the ACMG 2011 Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

The objective of the Genzyme/ACMG Foundation Award is to support a national fellowship program to encourage the recruitment and training of clinicians in the field of clinical biochemical genetics and especially in the diagnosis, management and treatment of individuals with metabolic diseases.

"I feel very honored to get the award first of all," Niemi said. "It's given to only one person a year so I'm very honored and humbled and I will try my best to honor the award in my work next year."

This award grants $75,000 per year to a recipient selected by the ACMG Foundation through a competitive process and will provide for the sponsorship of a trainee's first year of fellowship following residency in a genetics fellowship on biochemical genetic diseases.

"The Genzyme/ACMG Foundation Clinical Genetics Fellowship in Biochemical Genetics is critical to the development of the genetics workforce and the education of those who work to advance research, and develop new standards of practice in medical genetics in the United States to improve health and save lives," said R. Rodney Howell, MD, FACMG, president of the ACMG Foundation.

Provided by American College of Medical Genetics