Kenneth Kay Kidd PhD
Professor of Genetics, of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and of Psychiatry

Departments & Organizations
Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS): Computational Biology and Bioinformatics | Neuroscience | Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics and Development: Genetics and GenomicsInterdepartmental Neuroscience Program
Albert J. Solnit Integrated Training Program
Global Health Initiative
Ethnicity, Race and Migration
NIMH Research Training Program in Childhood-onset Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Genetics
Psychiatry
Biography
Kenneth K. Kidd received his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin in 1969. His early training included Drosophila genetics, classical immunogenetics, and population genetics. During his post-doctoral studies in Italy and at Stanford University, he established his reputation in human population genetics. He joined the Genetics faculty at Yale University School of Medicine in 1973 where he has remained and is currently Professor of Genetics, Psychiatry, and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. At Yale he has pursued research in many areas of human genetics, including medical genetics (studies of neuropsychiatric disorders and simple Mendelian disorders), gene mapping (both physical and genetic), database design for modern genetic data, and a variety of molecular methodologies. More recently, his long-standing interest in human population genetics has been combined with his laboratory's expertise in molecular technology to examine human genome diversity at the DNA level. He is also responsible for ALFRED, the ALlele FREquency Database, a web accessible compilation of allele frequency data for DNA polymorphisms on anthropologically defined human population.
During his career, Dr. Kidd has published more than 450 scientific articles in a broad range of subjects including population genetics, cancer and neuropsychiatric genetics, gene mapping, molecular methodology, genetic databases, and human diversity. He is one of the co-authors of a paper selected as the best biomedical paper of the year by The Lancet, a leading British medical journal. This and other publication by Dr. Kidd can be found on his website http://info.med.yale.edu/genetics/kkidd. He is a certified Medical Geneticist by the American Board of Medical Genetics. He has served on several U.S. Government Review and Advisory Committees/Panels, on several editorial boards, and helped organize several international conferences. He is a member of several professional societies and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Among his other awards, he has been recognized by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Institute of Justice for his contributions toward acceptance of DNA methodologies in the courts. He recently served on national advisory panels for DNA identification of victims of the World Trade Center attack and victims of Katrina.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Wisconsin , 1969
Selected Publication
- Luo H-R, G-S. Wu, A.J. Pakstis, L. Tong, H. Oota, K. K. Kidd, Y-P Zhang. 2009. Origin and dispersal of atypical aldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH2*487Lys. Gene 435:96-103.
Latest Honor and Recognition
- Biomedical paper of the Year award(2004) , The Lancet for Rosenberg et al. 2002
Articles

Autumn 2012
Seeking a continent’s history in its DNA
Sarah Tishkoff, Ph.D. ’96, has lost count of the trips she’s made to Africa since 2001 to study the continent’s genetic...

Autumn 2005
Reunion 2005
Although the reunion in June officially kicks off with a Friday evening dean’s reception followed by the clambake on...

Spring 2003
Summer 1989
“Approximately 700 of the world’s leading geneticists gathered at the University during the week of June 11 to fit...
Summer 1999
National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) has announced the recipients of its 1999...
Summer 2000
Bringing science into focus
In an office two levels below the reference room in the Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, Matthew Weed is reading a copy...



