John Belmont, MD, PhD

Founder of Genetics & Genomics Services Consultant, Belmont Genetics

Professor (Adjunct), Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, and Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

Dr. Belmont is a physician-scientist with extensive experience in medical practice, academic research, and the biotechnology industry. Dr. Belmont was formerly Senior Principal Medical Scientist on the Medical Genomics Research team at Illumina, Inc. where  he consulted on diverse programs including studies of the clinical utility of genome analysis, and standards for clinical genome sequencing. Importantly, Dr. Belmont was (is?) a founding member of the Medical Genome Initiative and has graciously offered to  consult and offer expert guidance when requested.

Dr. Belmont continues to collaborate in research on cardiovascular disorders and infectious diseases. He has published numerous papers on the genetic causes of congenital heart defects and other cardiovascular diseases.  In addition to his research, Dr. Belmont is a Pediatrician and Medical Geneticist.  He was a co-founder of the Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital (1997-2015).

Dr. Belmont is also an advocate for children’s health and biomedical research. A current focus of advocacy is Project Baby Dillo, an effort to introduce whole genome sequencing into Texas NICUs.

Dr. Belmont grew up in San Antonio, Texas and received a B.A. degree from the University of Texas, Austin in 1974. He attended Baylor College of Medicine where he graduated with M.D. and PhD. Degrees in 1981. After Pediatrics training at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center, Washington, D.C. he returned to Baylor for post-doctoral research in genetics. He is a member of the American Society of Human Genetics, American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, and an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians.