Dr. Jan Friedman is a clinician-scientist whose research bridges clinical genetics and more fundamental studies of genetics and genomics. In the past two decades, he has been a pioneer in the development and clinical application of genomics tools to understand the causes and improve the diagnosis of intellectual disability and other genetic conditions. He is also a recognized expert in clinical teratology, with a focus on determining the safety or risks of birth defects related to maternal medication use during pregnancy which provides critical information that is essential for the development of regulatory guidelines for these medications. Dr. Friedman has published more than 330 peer-reviewed papers and has written six books and edited two others.

Dr. Friedman is also an award-winning teacher and educator. He led the development of the UBC Medical Genetics Graduate Program and the UBC Genetic Counselling MSc Program, chaired the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Medical Genetics Examination Committee, and was founding president of the Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics.