Joyce Murata-Collins, Ph.D., joined City of Hope as director of cytogenetics on Aug. 10. The move marks a return to the institution for Murata-Collins, who formerly was associate director of cytogenetics.

Murata-Collins first joined City of Hope in 1996, performing clinical cytogenetic diagnostics and translational research, and helping guide the laboratory’s operations under former director Marilyn Slovak, Ph.D.

Joyce Murata-Collins (Photo of Thomas Brown)

Slovak left City of Hope in June to pursue career opportunities in Spokane, Wash.

“While we wish Marilyn the best and will miss her, we are very fortunate to have found someone as qualified and experienced as Joyce to take the reins,” said Dale Adams, Pharm.D., chief pharmacy officer.

In 2002, Murata-Collins left City of Hope to join Genzyme Genetics, in Santa Fe, N.M., where she was a cytogenetics laboratory director and technical director for the Santa Fe cancer section. Genzyme Genetics provides reproductive and cancer diagnostic testing to clients worldwide.

“I am thrilled to be returning to City of Hope,” said Murata-Collins. “My previous experience at City of Hope and subsequent time at Genzyme have created a good foundation for building on the cytogenetics group’s strengths. I’m looking forward to working with this great team to advance the core facility even farther than it’s already come.”

Before her first stint at City of Hope, she worked at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where she also completed a clinical genetics fellowship. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in biological sciences from the University of Denver.

Murata-Collins is a diplomate of the American Board of Medical Genetics and a fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, and she has published peer-reviewed research in numerous scientific journals, including Cancer Research, the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the American Journal of Medical Genetics.