INTERVIEW
December 31, 2025
Lara Winterkorn
A behind-the-scenes look at how genomics research actually gets done from the Director of Project Management at the New York Genome Center.
I was delighted to interview Lara Winterkorn, the Director of Project Management for the New York Genome Center. We talked about her work, what she’s learned from it, the evolution of her field in just the past few years, her best advice for students, and like always, her favorite snack hack.
Could you tell me a bit about yourself, what you majored in, and what you do for work?
I got my undergraduate degree and Master's degree in Biology both from New York University, and I currently work as the Director of Project Management at the New York Genome Center, an independent non-profit that does genomic research. Our team of Project Managers coordinates between the investigators leading our projects, the laboratory scientists completing the bench work to generate data, the computational biologists doing the downstream analysis, and all the other internal teams at NYGC required to complete our collaborative genomics projects.
What led you to choosing this field, and how has it impacted you or the way you think about health?
I was always interested in science, and in high school I saw genetics as the forefront of scientific research. Next-generation sequencing was just beginning to ramp up when I started studying biology in college, which led to rapid acceleration in the understanding of genetics. But we've also realized how much we don't know. It has led to an interest, for me, in checking sources. If there's new health advice advertised in the news, for instance, I usually want to skim the publication it came from, look into the clinical trial if there was one, and understand who funded the research.
How has the genetics and genomics field changed since you were an undergrad?
It has changed tremendously! The first sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) technologies were just coming out when I was an undergrad, and now we can generate a human genome in under a day, for a fraction of the cost. This means the scale of the field has changed significantly, with people looking to generate more data, which allows more complex and controlled analyses than ever before.
Of course, the understanding and utilization of the CRISPR-Cas9 editing system has also revolutionized the field in recent years, allowing us to edit genes in research organisms with an ease and precision that was previously unimaginable.
I know you manage a variety of projects. Could you share a few examples of projects you’re currently managing and describe the other roles or team members typically involved?
The Genome Center specializes in three disease areas — cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and neuropsychiatric disease. In the cancer space, we recently completed the Polyethnic-1000 project, which aimed to generate data on individuals from non-European ancestries from various cancer types that show disparities between ancestry groups (for example, some cancers are more prevalent in individuals of African ancestry). The data currently available for cancer research is overwhelmingly from European ancestry individuals, and study results do not always translate well across ancestry groups, so it is important to diversify the available data to remedy this problem.
What’s one of the most fascinating or unexpected things you’ve learned working as project manager at NYGC?
I think a huge takeaway for me, from a variety of different projects, has been the importance of the interaction between genes and the environment. Of course there are some diseases that are more straightforward — if you have X gene, you will get Y disease. But most diseases are much more complex than that, with many genes interacting with each other and many environmental factors — such as diet, lifestyle, etc, to cause disease.
If you could peek 10 years into the future, what genetics related knowledge/ability do you think we might be able to do that we can’t do today?
I'm hopeful that personalized medicine will be much more advanced — cancer treatments will be more individualized and targeted based on the tumor's characteristics, the path to diagnosis will be shorter with quick genetic results, and overall people will be empowered with the genetic information to make lifestyle changes that will keep them healthier (for example, a quick genetic test could tell someone they are sensitive to certain foods or drugs so they could avoid them).
What advice would you give to a high schooler who’s curious about combining science with real-world things like food and nutrition?
I think there is a clear interplay between nutrition and genetics, so it's a wonderful time to be exploring that space. We know obesity is a factor in many diseases, but the mechanism of that relationship is not clearly understood and will surely be the focus of a lot of research in the coming years. There are also so many different angles one could take on the matter — the dietician's lens, the policy maker's lens, the clinician's lens, the researcher's lens. My advice would be to continue to follow your passions and interests as they come!
And of course, the most important question of all: what’s your favorite snack or snack hack, and why?
I'm constantly trying to get more protein in my diet, so I love cottage cheese on apples or with avocado for a filling snack!