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Dr. Eng is also living her dream of being an active clinician and directing a team of clinically trained genetic counselors as founding director of The Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare, the Genomic Medicine Institute's clinical arm. As medical director of Cancer Genetics Services as well, she practices and leads what she has been uniquely trained in — clinical cancer genetics. "I always tell my patients that genetic knowledge is power," she says. "It is not about good news or bad news; it is about understanding the underlying cause of disease and using it to tailor a roadmap of prevention." Dr. Eng's high impact patient-oriented cancer research and her skill as a mentor earned her an appointment as American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor in 2009, a distinction held by only 15 clinical researchers at any one time. That same year, she was appointed to the U.S. Health and Human Services' Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society, and in 2010 she became one of 65 new members elected to the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academies. Among Dr. Eng's other accomplishments are election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians, winning the Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award, and being recognized as a 'Local Legend from Ohio' by the American Medical Women's Association. A Serendipitous Childhood Although she has worked hard for her many achievements, Dr. Eng cites many examples of what she calls 'serendipity' in her early years. Born and raised in Singapore, Dr. Eng was inspired by her three prominent uncles, including one who was professor of Medicine and personal physician to the Prime Minister. When she was in 7th grade, her family moved to Chicago where her father pur- sued a PhD in education. An only child, Dr. Eng was enrolled in the University of Chicago's renowned Laboratory School where her dreams of being a physician scientist began to take shape. As director of Cleveland Clinic's Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare, the Genomic Medicine Institute's clinical arm, Dr. Charis Eng directs a team of clinically trained genetic counselors who cover the entire spectrum of clinical practice from prenatal to adult genetic medicine. Shown here with Dr. Eng is a member of that team — Jessica Mester, MS, CGC. "Our Advanced Biology teacher at the Lab School ... was very interested in genetics and thus infected us with the genetics 'bug'," Dr. Eng wrote in a 2005 profi le article for Cancer Biology & Therapy. "In his off hours, he (the teacher) studied cancer education. These were the seeds which sparked my own quest to put genetics and cancer together, well before it was fashionable to do so." Serendipity struck again when Dr. Eng was just 16. Her father completed his PhD and was required to return to Singapore, but she did not want to leave her studies. Although she could not stay at the Lab School without her parents, Dr. Eng's academic success made it possible for her to gain early admission to the University of Chicago and remain in the U.S., despite her status as a minor. That decision brought her in contact with Dr. Ed Garber, a plant fungal geneticist who became her lifelong mentor. After completing her MD and PhD at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine, she studied internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and oncology at Harvard's Dana- Farber Cancer Institute. "I moved to Boston because I did not want to be too parochial," she says. Once again serendipity came in to play when a fellowship opportunity arose in the emerging fi eld of cancer genetics in Cambridge, England. For three years she was engaged in both clinical practice and research before returning to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as an assistant professor of Medicine. In 1999, she was recruited by Ohio State University where she became professor and director of the Division of Human Genetics. Six years later, she joined Cleveland Clinic. A Global Approach to Genomics Dr. Eng founded and directs the Genomic Medicine Institute as a single platform for research, academic clinical activities, and education in genomic medicine as it enables healthcare. She NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2011 MDNEWS.COM MD NEWS Cleveland-Akron-Canton | 9 PHOTOS © SMITHBERGER PHOTOGRAPHY, NORTH CANTON

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