Dennis Drayna, Ph.D.

SECTION ON GENETICS OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

NIHBC 35A - PNRC II BG RM 1F-127 35A CONVENT DR BETHESDA MD 20892

MSC:

3745

Email:

drayna@mail.nih.gov

Scientist Emeritus (Laboratory of Communication Disorders and
Section on Genetics of Communication Disorders)

Dr. Drayna received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1976, and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1981, followed by postdoctoral training at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Utah. He joined the NIDCD in 1997, focusing on applying the tools of human genetics and genomics to a range of topics that spanned the mission of the institute, including disorders of auditory pitch perception, variation in human taste perception, and disorders of voice and speech. Dr. Drayna’s work had a major focus on the genetics and neuroscience of stuttering.

Dr. Drayna retired in June 2019.

Laboratory:

Laboratory of Communication Disorders

Scientific Areas:

Genetic linkage and positional cloning in human communication disorders.

Selected Publications

Stuttering

Frigerio-Domingues C, Drayna D. Genetic contributions to stuttering: The current evidence. Mol Genet Genomic Med. 2017 Feb 19;5(2):95-102. eCollection 2017 Mar.
Barnes TD, Wozniak DF, Gutierrez J, Han TU, Drayna D, Holy TE. A mutation associated with stuttering alters mouse pup ultrasonic vocalizations. Curr Biol. 2016 Apr 13. pii: S0960-9822(16)30179-8.
Brewer CC, Zalewski CK, King KA, Zobay O, Riley A, Ferguson MA, Bird JE, McCabe MM, Hood LJ, Drayna D, Griffith AJ, Morell RJ, Friedman TB, Moore DR. Heritability of non-speech auditory processing skills. Eur J Hum Genet. 2016 Aug;24(8):1137-44. Epub 2016 Feb 17.
Raza MH, Mattera R, Morell R, Sainz E, Rahn R, Gutierrez J, Paris E, Root J, Solomon B, Brewer C, Basra MAR, Khan S, Riazuddin S, Braun A, Bonifacino J, Drayna D. Association between rare variants in AP4E1, a component of intracellular trafficking, and persistent stuttering. American Journal of Human Genetics 2015; 97:715-725.
Raza M, Domingues C, Webster R, Sainz E, Paris E, Rahn, R, Gutierrez J, Chow HM, Mundorff J, Kang C, Riaz N, Basra M, Khan S, Riazuddin S, Moretti-Ferreira D, Braun A, and Drayna D. Mucolipidosis Type II/III alpha and non-syndromic stuttering are associated with different variants in the same genes. European Journal of Human Genetics advance online publication 1 July 2015; doi: 10.1038/ejhg. 2015.154.
Han T-U, Park J, Domingues C, Moretti-Ferreira D, Paris E, Sainz E, Gutierrez J., and Drayna D. A study of the role of the FOXP2 and CNTNAP2 genes in persistent developmental stuttering. Neurobiology of Disease 2014; 69:23-31.
Domingues CE, Olivera CMC, Oliveira BV, Juste FS, Andrade CF, Giacheti CM, Moretti-Fereira D, Drayna D. A genetic linkage study in Brazil identifies a new locus for persistent developmental stuttering on chromosome 10. Genetics and Molecular Research 2014; 13:2094-2101.
Raza MH, Gertz EM, Mundorff J, Lukong J, Kuster J, Schäffer A, Drayna D. Linkage analysis of a large African family segregating stuttering suggests polygenic inheritance and assortative mating. Human Genetics 2013; 132:385-396.
Raza, MH, Ali RA, Riazuddin S, Drayna D. Studies in a consanguineous family reveal a novel locus for stuttering on chromosome 16q. Human Genetics 2012; 131:311-313.
Lee W-S, Kang C, Drayna D, Kornfeld S. Analysis of Mannose 6-Phosphate uncovering enzyme mutations associated with persistent stuttering. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2011; 286:39786-39793.
Raza MH, Riazuddin S, Drayna D. Identification of an autosomal recessive stuttering locus on chromosome 3q13.2-3q13.33. Human Genetics 2010; 128:461-463.
Kang C, Riazuddin S, Mundorff J, Krasnewich D, Friedman P, Mullikin JC, Drayna D. Mutations in the lysosomal enzyme-targeting pathway and persistent stuttering. N Engl J Med. 2010 Feb 25;362(8):677-85. Epub 2010 Feb 10.
Riaz N, Steinberg S, Ahmad J, Pluzhnikov A, Raizuddin S, Cox N, Drayna D. Genomewide significant linkage to stuttering on chromosome 12. American Journal of Human Genetics 2015; 76:647-651.

Taste Perception

Kozlitina J, Risso D, Lansu K, Olsen RHJ, Sainz E, Luiselli D, Barik A, Frigerio-Domingues C, Pagani L, Wooding S, Kirchner T, Niaura R, Roth B, Drayna D. An African-specific haplotype in MRGPRX4 is associated with menthol cigarette smoking. PLoS Genet 15(2): e1007916.
Risso D, Sainz E, Morini G, Tofanelli S, Drayna D. Taste perception of Antidesma bunius fruit and its relationships to bitter taste receptor gene haplotypes. Chem Senses. 2018 Aug 24;43(7):463-468.
Risso D, Behrens M, Sainz E, Meyerhof W, Drayna D. Probing the evolutionary history of human bitter taste receptor pseudogenes by restoring their function. Mol Biol Evol. 2017 Jul 1;34(7):1587-1595.
Risso D, Sainz E, Gutierrez J, Kirchner T, Niaura R, Drayna D. Association of TAS2R38 haplotypes and menthol cigarette preference in an African American cohort. Nicotine Tob Res. 2017 Apr 1;19(4):493-494.
Risso DS, Kozlitina J, Sainz E, Gutierrez J, Wooding S, Getachew B, Luiselli D, Berg CJ, Drayna D. Genetic variation in the TAS2R38 bitter taste receptor and smoking behaviors. PLoS One. 2016 Oct 6;11(10):e0164157.
Risso DS, Mezzavilla M, Pagani L, Robino A, Morini G, Tofanelli S, Carrai M, Campa D, Barale R, Caradonna F, Gasparini P, Luiselli D, Wooding S, Drayna D. Corrigendum: Global diversity in the TAS2R38 bitter taste receptor: Revisiting a classic evolutionary PROPosal. Sci Rep. 2016 Jun 27;6:28406.
Roudnitzky N, Risso D, Drayna D, Behrens M, Meyerhof W, Wooding SP. Copy number variation in TAS2R bitter taste receptor genes: Structure, origin, and population genetics. Chem Senses. 2016 Oct;41(8):649-59. Epub 2016 Jun 23.
Risso DS, Mezzavilla M, Pagani L, Robino A, Morini G, Tofanelli S, Carrai M, Campa D, Barale R, Caradonna F, Gasparini P, Luiselli D, Wooding S, Drayna D. Global diversity in the TAS2R38 bitter taste receptor: Revisiting a classic evolutionary PROPosal. Sci Rep. 2016 May 3;6:25506. Erratum in: Sci Rep. 2016 Jun 27;6:28406.

Last Updated Date:

September 6, 2019