Uta Francke, MD, a Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, has made a great impact on the knowledge of the genetic basis for several inherited disorders. Well known in her field, Franke completed a term in 1999 as President of the 6,000-member American Society of Human Genetics.

Franke's research has focused on a number of disorders. In 1992, Franke and Eric Shooter demonstrated that the "trembler" gene in mice is the cause of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), the most common nerve disorder in humans. The disorder, affecting some 150,000 Americans, is found worldwide in all races. Three physicians, Jean-Marie-Charcot, Pierre Marie, and Howard Henry Tooth documented the disease in 1886. CMT patients slowly lose normal use of their feet and legs and their hands and arms, as the nerves to these extremities degenerate. There is also a loss of sensory nerve function. Unlike muscular dystrophy, in which the defect is in the muscles...