Nancy Wexler

Nancy Wexler (born 19 July 1945) FRCP MEASA is an American geneticist and the Higgins Professor of Neuropsychology in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, best known for her involvement in the discovery of the location of the gene that causes Huntington's disease. She earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology but instead chose to work in the field of genetics.

The daughter of someone exhibiting Huntington's, she led a research team into a remote part of Venezuela where the disease is prevalent. She visited the villages of Laguneta, San Luis, and Barranquitas. She obtained samples of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from a large family with a majority of the members having Huntington's disease. The samples her team collected were instrumental in allowing a global collaborative research group to locate the gene that causes the disease. Wexler participated in the successful effort to create a chromosomal test to identify carriers of Huntington's disease. Provided by Wikipedia