About Speakers:
Melanie Gillingham is a professor in Molecular and Medical Genetics at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR. She completed her PhD in Nutrition Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a post-doctoral fellowship in Genetics at OHSU. As a metabolic dietitianRegistered dietitian, she has been investigating nutrition interventions in patients with fatty acid oxidation disordersA group of genetic conditions that affect how the body breaks down fats to make energy. for 25 years.
Dr. Koeberl attended Carleton College, and then Mayo Medical School and Graduate School, before moving to UCSF for his pediatrics residency. He then completed fellowship training in Clinical and Biochemical Genetics at the University of Washington, before joining the Division of Medical Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University in 1999. He serves as Medical Director for the Pediatrics Biochemical Genetics Laboratory and sees patients in the Metabolic Clinic. His research has focused on the development of new therapy for inherited metabolic disorders, including glycogen storage disease type Ia and Pompe diseaseThe disease happens when your body can't make a protein that breaks down a complex sugar called glycogen for energy.. He initiated a clinical trial of AAV8 gene therapy for Pompe disease that is ongoing. His laboratory is currently developing genetic therapies for trifunctional protein deficiency and LCHAD deficiency.
Dr. Vockley received his undergraduate degree at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and received his MD and PhD degrees in Medicine and Genetics from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed his pediatric residency at the Denver Children’s Hospital, Denver, Colorado, and his postdoctoral fellowship in Human Genetic and Pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. Before assuming his current position in Pittsburgh, Dr. Vockley was Chair of Medical Genetics in the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine.
Dr. Vockley is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of inborn errors of metabolism. His current research focuses on mitochondrialRelated to the mitochondria. energy metabolism, novel therapies for disorders of fatty acid oxidation and amino acid metabolism, and population genetics of the Plain communities in the United States. He has published over 400 peer reviewed scholarly articles and is the principal or Co-investigator on multiple NIH grants. Dr. Vockley also has an active clinical research program and participates in and consults on multiple gene therapy trials. Dr. Vockley has served on numerous national and international scientific boards including the Advisory Committee (to the Secretary of Health and Human Services) on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children where he was chair of the technology committee. He has been elected as a Fellow/Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Dr. Vockley is a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, and currently serves on its board of directors. He is co-founder and co-chair of the International Network on Fatty Acid Oxidation Research and Therapy (INFORM). He has served as chair of the Pennsylvania State Newborn Screening Advisory Committee and is a past president of the Society for the Inherited Metabolic Disorders (SIMD). He is co-founder and editor of the SIMD North American Metabolic Academy. He provides support for numerous family advocacy groups including MitoAction, the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, the National PKU Association, and the Organic AcidemiaA term used to classify a group of metabolic disorders which disrupt normal amino acid metabolism, like branched-chain amino acids, causing a build up of acids that are not usually present. Association. He has received the National Organization of Rare Diseases Scientific and Medical Trailblazer Rare Impact Award (2025) The Organic Acidemia Association Award of Excellence (2021), and the March of Dimes Champion for Babies Award (2015).
