Executive Director
Dr. Tshaka Cunningham, PhD
Executive Director
Dr. Cunningham is co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of TruGenomix Health Inc., an emerging precision genomics biotechnology company that is harnessing the power of genomics to improve risk prediction and diagnosis of PTSD.
He recently served as the Associate Director of Scientific Collaboration for DIA where he coordinated the DIA Communities Program which provides a neutral forum and online platform where experts from across the spectrum of diverse disciplines within the healthcare ecosystem can convene to discuss prominent issues and solutions. Prior to his time at DIA, he served as the Scientific Program Manager for the Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases Rehabilitation Research Program within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs/Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Research & Development.
He earned a BA degree in molecular biology from Princeton University in New Jersey, and his doctoral degree in molecular biology from Rockefeller University in New York. He completed his postdoctoral training in immunology and tumor immunotherapy at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, and at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.
Dr. Cunningham was a subject matter expert (SME) in Genomics and Precision Medicine for the VHA ORD Genomic Medicine Implementation Program (GMIP) and convened the MVP-Diversity Working Group, which presented recommendations to the VA Genomic Medicine Program Advisory Committee (GMPAC) on patient recruitment strategies to ensure that minority Veteran participation in the VA’s Million Veteran Program is maximized. He also created the VA’s Historically Black College and University Research Scientist Training Program (VA HBCU-RSTP), the major diversity outreach initiative sponsored by VHA ORD.
He is a founding member of the non-profit Minority Coalition for Precision Medicine (MCPM) and the Faith-Based Genomic Research Institute where he serves as a scientific advisor and community health advocate.
Dr. Cunningham also serves as a consultant on the Harvard/MIT Broad Institute’s PeopleSeq Consortium, an NIH-funded effort to study the attitudes of healthy people on genetic sequencing and precision medicine.