Research Interests
Keywords: genomic sequencing newborn population screening precision public health clinical utility actionability stakeholder engagement equity accessibility
Laura Milko earned her B.S. in Biology from Howard University in 2000, and her Ph.D. from the University of New Orleans in Conservation Biology in 2007. Her postdoctoral research in molecular ecology and population genetics in the lab of Nick Haddad at North Carolina State University ultimately led to an interest in human molecular genetics and her current research interests in applied and translational genomics. Currently, Dr. Milko is the Executive Director of the UNC/Kaiser grant (PI: Jonathan Berg, MD/PhD) of the Clinical Genome (‘ClinGen’) Resource and the Associate Director of the UNC School of Medicine’s Program for Precision Medicine in Health Care (PPMH). Her research interests are focused on developing and utilizing standardized, evidence-based frameworks for implementation and expert assessment of genomic evidence to improve clinical care and public health. She is collaborating with PPMH members on The Precision Health Genetic Screen (PHGS), a pilot clinical implementation of genomic screening in 1000 otherwise healthy adults in primary care practices in the UNC Health System and with community stakeholders to support health equity in precision and genomic medicine as part of a proposed augmentation of newborn screening with genomic information. Dr. Milko is currently launching a Dissemination & Implementation Research Core of the PPMH with Dr. Megan Roberts (UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy) that will be responsive to the needs of clinicians, researchers, and students on campus who are interested in the science and practice of implementation.
Mentor Training:
- BRIDGES Academic Leadership for Women
- Racial Equity Institute (REI): Phase I Training
Publications
Laura Milko in UNC Genetics News

December 1, 2022
Genetics Faculty Awarded New Subcontracts and Service Agreements
Multiple faculty in the Department of Genetics have been awarded new subcontracts from other universities or a new service agreement with a company.

November 20, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications for November 6th – 19th, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 11 papers during November 6th – 19th, 2022.

September 19, 2022
Drs. Jonathan Berg and Laura Milko Awarded New R01 from NHGRI
Jonathan Berg, MD, PhD (Distinguished Professor) and Laura Milko, PhD (Assistant Professor) received a new R01 grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) for their proposal titled “Age-based genomic screening in newborns, infants and children: a novel paradigm in public health genomics”.

August 16, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications for July 31st – August 13th, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 7 papers during July 31st – August 13th, 2022. A multi-layer functional genomic analysis to understand noncoding genetic variation in lipids. Ramdas S, Judd J, Graham SE, Kanoni S, Wang Y, Surakka I, Wenz B, Clarke SL, Chesi A, Wells A, Bhatti KF, Vedantam S, …

August 1, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications for July 17th – 30th, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 11 papers during July 17th – 30th, 2022.

June 6, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications May 22nd – June 4th, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 10 papers during May 22nd – June 4th, 2022.

April 25, 2022
Department of Genetics Publications April 10th – 23rd, 2022
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 18 papers during April 10th – 23rd, 2022.

June 28, 2021
Department of Genetics Publications for June 13-26, 2021
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published twenty one papers during June 13-26, 2021.

April 5, 2021
Department of Genetics Publications for March 21-April 3, 2021
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published fifteen papers during March 21-April 3, 2021.

December 14, 2020
Department of Genetics Publications for Nov. 29 – Dec. 12, 2020
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published ten papers during November 29 – December 12, 2020.