Our laboratory uses genetic approaches to identify the mechanistic bases of human disease pathology to develop effective strategies for intervention in human disease. Our efforts are focused in three major disease areas: trinucleotide repeat disorders particularly Huntington's disease (HD), cancer and cardiovascular disease. In the field of cancer, our research has included Wilms tumor, glioblastoma and melanoma, in which analysis of genetic alterations in germline DNA or in specific tumors identify pathways of particular significance to tumorigenesis.

Dr. Housman is a Ludwig Professor of Biology at MIT. He received both his B.A. and Ph.D. from Brandeis University in 1966 and 1971, respectively. Dr. Housman received the MIT Science Council Teaching Prize in 1992 and has been honored with the National Biotechnology Award from the National Conference on Biotechnology Ventures. He has also been Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1988 and the American Academy of Microbiology since 1994. Dr. Housman is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a co-founder of Genzyme Genetics and former Somatix Therapy Corp; co-founded Kenna Technologies in 2000 and serves as its Adviser; and founded Integrated Genetics in 1980, which was acquired by Genzyme in 1989. He has served as Chairman, Scientific Founder, and Principal Scientific Advisor of Variagenics Inc. since 1993.