V. Anne Westbrook, Ph.D.

Program Specialist

Dr. Westbrook holds a B.S. from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Vanderbilt University. During her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, she identified and characterized an X-linked gene family expressed exclusively in spermatids and spermatozoa in a normal testis, an immune privileged site. SPANX was subsequently identified in cancer and, therefore, designated a Cancer-Testis Antigen. Anne has since served as a Science Officer for the RefSeq program at NCBI and a Program Manager for the Cell Migration Consortium Knowledgebase based at UVA. Subsequently, at the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) at Ft. Detrick, Anne served as a Program Manager and Contracting Officer Representative (COR) of new portfolios specific to Infectious Disease/Vaccines and to Genomics/Proteomics Congressional programs. Genomics and Proteomics efforts focused on cancer diagnosis as well as personalized treatment and care for warfighters. This disease model created an international infrastructure providing a specific capability that could be applied to future medical threats. The Proteomic/Genomics portfolio consisted of approximately 50 programs and centers, including the National Functional Genomics Center, the Clinical Breast Care Project, and the Gynecologic Cancer Center.