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Hilary J. Vernon

Hilary J. Vernon, MD, PhD

Clinical Biochemical Genetics

Medical Genetics

Accepting New Patients
Johns Hopkins Affiliations:
  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty

Languages

  • Spanish
  • English

14 Insurances Accepted

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Gender

Female

About Hilary J. Vernon

Primary Academic Title

Professor of Genetic Medicine

Background

Dr. Hilary Vernon is a Professor of Genetic Medicine and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is also an attending physician at Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Hilary Vernon has expertise in treating inborn errors of metabolism and mitochondrial disorders. She is the director of the Mitochondrial Care Center at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Barth Syndrome Interdisciplinary Clinic at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Her research interests include understanding intermediary metabolism in Barth syndrome and in disorders of branch chain amino acid metabolism. Dr. Vernon also co-directs the Department of Genetic Medicine Clinical Trials Unit, and is the principal investigator on multiple clinical trials for rare diseases.

Dr. Vernon received her medical degree and doctorate from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. She completed residencies in genetics and pediatrics at The Johns Hopkins University, and a fellowship in clinical laboratory biochemical genetics at The Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Vernon was recognized with the 2010 Francis F. Schwentker Award for Excellence in Research at Johns Hopkins University and the 2011 James B. Sidbury Jr. Fellowship in Biochemical Genetics at Johns Hopkins University.

Additional Academic Titles

Professor of Pediatrics

Contact for Research Inquiries

733 North Broadway
MRB 529
Baltimore, MD 21036

Research Interests

Clinical laboratory biochemical diagnosis, Molecular and metabolic pathogenesis of Barth Syndrome, Molecular and metabolic pathogenesis of organic acidemias

Lab Website

The Vernon Lab for Translational Mitochondrial Medicine - Lab Website

  • Dr. Vernon's Laboratory at the Department of Genetic Medicine develops and studies cellular models of mitochondrial disorders to understand their biological basis and to find new targets for therapeutic intervention.

Research Summary

Dr. Vernon's current area of study is in inborn errors of metabolism, which cause disturbances of mitochondrial function, including several different organic acidemias and Barth Syndrome. These are rare disorders, each with an approximate incidence of 1/50,000 - 1/250,000. They have an onset in childhood and a devastating effect on health and quality of life.

Dr. Vernon's lab uses a mass spectrometry-based metabolomics approach to create metabolic profiles of these disorders and select promising analytes from these profiles as potential treatment targets for further study. She is also using cell culture and animal-based models in identifying molecular and metabolic markers.

Selected Publications

  • Vernon H, Cohen J, De Nittis P, Fatemi A, McClellan R, Goldstein A, Malerba N, Guex N, Reymond A, Merla G. Intellectual developmental disorder with cardiac arrhythmia syndrome in a child with compound heterozygous GNB5 variants. Clin Genet. 2018 Jun;93(6):1254-1256.

  • Vernon HJ, Sandlers Y, McClellan R, Kelley RI. Clinical laboratory studies in Barth Syndrome. Mol Genet Metab. 2014 Jun;112(2):143-7

  • Ferreira CR, Goorden SMI, Soldatos A, Byers HM, Ghauharali-van der Vlugt JMM, Beers-Stet FS, Groden C, van Karnebeek CD, Gahl WA, Vaz FM, Jiang X, Vernon HJ. Deoxysphingolipid precursors indicate abnormal sphingolipid metabolism in individuals with primary and secondary disturbances of serine availability. Mol Genet Metab. 2018 Jul;124(3):204-209.

  • Sandlers Y, Mercier K, Pathmasiri W, Carlson J, McRitchie S, Sumner S, Vernon HJ. Metabolomics Reveals New Mechanisms for Pathogenesis in Barth Syndrome and Introduces Novel Roles for Cardiolipin in Cellular Function. PLoS One. 2016 Mar 25;11(3):e0151802

  • Thompson WR, DeCroes B, McClellan R, Rubens J, Vaz FM, Kristaponis K, Avramopoulos D, Vernon HJ. New targets for monitoring and therapy in Barth syndrome. Genet Med. 2016 Oct;18(10):1001-10.

Honors

  • James B. Sidbury, Jr. Fellowship in Biochemical Genetics, Johns Hopkins University, 1/1/11
  • Francis F. Schwentker Award for Excellence in Research, Johns Hopkins University, 1/1/10
  • Chief resident of medical genetics, Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 1/1/10
  • Margaret Nielsen Fellowship in Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins Institute of Genetic Medicine, 1/1/07

Memberships

  • Diplomate, American Board of Pediatrics
  • Member, The American Society for Human Genetics

Locations

  1. Rubenstein Child Health Building
    • 200 North Wolfe Street, Rubenstein BLDG Lower Level, Baltimore, MD 21287

    Expertise

    Education

    Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

    Fellowship, Biochemical Genetics, 2011

    Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

    Residency, Pediatric Genetics, 2010

    Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

    Medical Education, MD, 2004

    Rutgers The State University of New Jersey

    Graduate School, Molecular Genetics, PhD, 2004

    Board Certifications

    Clinical Genetics (MD)

    American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics, 2022

    Clinical Biochemical Genetics

    American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics, 2011

    Pediatrics

    American Board of Pediatrics, 2009

    Insurance

    Johns Hopkins providers accept various commercial health insurance plans. However, they may not be included in all of an insurance company's plans or offerings. This may include Exchange, Medicaid, Medicare, and specific limited benefit plans. Exceptions to participation also exist based on your employer’s benefits package and the provider's location or specialty. Please contact your insurer directly to make sure your doctor is covered by your plan. For more details, please review our Insurance Information.
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    • Veteran Affairs Community Care Network (Optum-VACCN)