Read about Gary Churchill, Ph.D., in the March 2010 issue.
Bar Harbor, ME
Gary Churchill tried experimenting with mouse genetics in high school, but his mom didn't like the idea of so many rodents in the house.
Now he's the leader of an international mouse-breeding project designed to create a population of mice with as much genetic diversity as humans. Using his background in math, Churchill studies how minor changes in genetic code can make a major impact on health and disease. Understanding these complex connections in mice helps scientists make similar genetic predictions in people.