Sharon Savage, MD

Dr. Savage joined the Clinical Genetics Branch, DCEG, NCI in 2006 as a tenure-track investigator. She was awarded scientific tenure by the NIH and appointed senior investigator in 2012. In 2013, she was promoted to Branch Chief, and in 2018, she became the Clinical Director for DCEG. Dr. Savage received her M.D. from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, completed residency training in Pediatrics at Children’s National Medical Center, in Washington DC, and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the NCI Pediatric Oncology Branch and Johns Hopkins University. She is board-certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. 

Dr. Savage is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Her current research is focused on the genetic and molecular epidemiology epidemiology: The study of patterns and causes of disease in groups of people. Epidemiology researchers study how many people have a disease, how many new cases are diagnosed each year, where patients are located, and environmental or other factors that influence disease. of telomere telomere: A telomere is the end of a chromosome. Telomeres are made of repetitive sequences of non-coding DNA that protect the chromosome from damage. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres become shorter. EVvntually, the telomeres become so short that the cell can no longer divide. biology, pediatric cancer etiology etiology: The cause or origin of a disease. , and inherited cancer predisposition syndromes.