Skip to main content

Laura V. Milko, PhD

Assistant Professor, Genetics

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

Laura Milko