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Developing Roots at CHOP: Q&A with Latrice Landry, PhD, Bridge to Faculty Trainee

Published on January 17, 2025 in Cornerstone Blog · Last updated 2 weeks 6 days ago
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Latrice Landry, PhD
Dr. Landry is developing an evaluation tool for clinical genomics implementation in diverse populations.

By Nancy McCann

Editor's Note: The Bridge to Faculty Program — created and facilitated by the Office of Academic Training and Outreach Programs — prepares diverse postdoc fellows and early-stage scientists for a tenure-track faculty position.

In this Q&A, meet one of our newest Bridge to Faculty Trainees, Latrice Landry, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Human Genetics under the mentorship of Hakon Hakonarson, MD, PhD, and Marylyn Ritchie, PhD. Dr. Landry’s research focuses on developing systems-based approaches to evaluate clinical genomic tests and providing clinical decision support for the use of developed tests in diverse populations.

Tell us about your background and what inspired you to choose a career in research and academia.

While part of the story of how my career evolved is about a spark of interest and excitement that developed into a passion, the other part is about the people who educated, supported, mentored, sponsored, and shared my academic journey with me, as well as the classrooms, research labs, and conferences that fostered belonging. The combination of passion and welcoming people and places inspired me to choose a career in research and academia.

One of my earliest curiosities in science and medicine was the balance between “nature and nurture” in health outcomes. In my senior year of undergraduate studies in community health at Tufts University, I was introduced to the nutrition school through a class on international nutrition programs taught by an infectious disease physician. The class was the spark for my pursuit of a master’s degree in nutrition policy and a doctorate degree in nutritional epidemiology.

My PhD, also from Tufts, is in the field of nutrigenomics, a specialization within personalized medicine, which I thought perfectly captured human genetics as “nature” and dietary intake or nutrition as “nurture.” I developed my own career training program with clinical genetics and biomedical informatics. Clinical laboratory genetics provide tools that allow me to evaluate and develop genetic tools to improve health outcomes.

It's a competitive and rigorous path to professorship. How will the Bridge to Faculty Program help you navigate it?

Research training provides great opportunities to master your scientific skillset. However, navigating the academic career path requires additional skills, training, and support that aren't always clear. The Bridge to Faculty Program provides both the support and the insight for that “hidden curriculum,” which is required for success.

I had the most impactful experience at orientation. It was exciting to meet other Program fellows. There is a real sense of peer support, collective work, and common interest in building community within academia that is exciting. It is different from the mentoring support, but complementary in every way.

My mentors Hakon Hakonarson and Marylyn Ritchie and I are well aligned. It's a great combination: Dr. Hakonarson complements my clinical and genetic implementation science identity, while Dr. Ritchie complements my molecular epidemiology, statistics, and informatics identity. I am able to navigate institutional and scientific landscapes more efficiently by asking questions, presenting challenges, and seeking advice.

What led you to choose a research focus in human genetics and nutrition? And what do you aim to achieve with your research?

My primary goal is to ensure precision and genomic medicine is available to all. By understanding the performance of our collective tests and therapeutics over time, we can ensure high quality and accessibility to these services for all patients.

My research focuses on developing systems-based approaches to evaluating clinical genomic tests and providing clinical decision support for the use of developed tests in diverse populations. The core of this research integrates my training in clinical genetics and diagnosis of rare, complex, and somatic diseases with my training in biomedical informatics.

I am leveraging the established practices of the clinical genetics field and optimizing performance using artificial intelligence, epidemiologic study design, and computational analysis. This provides clinical decision support for gene and variant curation of novel and inconclusive genetic entities. My current pilot project focuses on cystic fibrosis and asthma, and includes software and algorithm development.

What have you enjoyed most from your experience so far in the Bridge to Faculty Program?

Meeting other Program fellows and learning about their journeys and research has been the most rewarding so far. Sometimes in research you can become siloed in a field or department, but programs that bring people together from across the campus for collective learning help to lessen the silo effect. This is important when first starting out. From peer mentorship, networking, and feeling like you belong, the Bridge to Faculty Program has helped me and my research develop roots at CHOP.

Where do you see yourself professionally in the next five years and in the long term?

I aim to be settled into a tenure track position with a research program that is largely regarded as propelling the field of precision medicine forward with tools that my lab created and are used globally.

How do you recharge after you leave campus?

My answer may sound boring, but I find good sleep is essential for recharging. I also try my best to invest in people. Quality family time can be a complete reset; something like a karaoke session with the kids can do the trick. When the kids are not with me, it's gospel music and movies filled with hope and joy. I would say doing good and being your best at the end of every day is the best reset.