The Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health has announced the appointment of Col. Craig David Shriver, M.D., to the institute’s Scientific Advisory Board. Shriver, who is chief of general surgery and of the Breast Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., represents the interests of the U.S. Department of Defense in the Brewer-based genetics institute’s development of a cancer tissue repository and a geographic information system for studying interactions between human genes and environmental exposures that affect cancer risks. The institute’s Scientific Advisory Board is made up of nationally recognized scientists and professors with expertise in laboratory and clinical research in human cancer and the uses of new genetic technologies. The board is responsible for advising the Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health’s research program. The Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health, a subsidiary of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, aims to decrease the risks of disease and improve the health of Maine residents through clinical and laboratory-based research and education. The institute collaborates with The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, the University of Maine and other research institutes to bring scientists and physicians together to work in multidisciplinary teams. The institute’s founding programs focus on research in the areas of cancer, neurological disorders, psychiatric conditions and skeletal diseases.