Hereditary Disease Foundation

[1] In 1968, after experiencing Huntington's disease (HD) in his wife's family, Milton Wexler was inspired to start the Hereditary Disease Foundation, with the aim of curing genetic illnesses by co-ordinating and supporting research.

[1] At a workshop held by the HDF in 1979, participants proposed to map the human genome and find a marker for the gene which causes HD.

The HDF, together with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Wexler's daughter, Nancy Wexler, organized the US–Venezuela Huntington's Disease Collaborative Research Project.

This project studied a kindred with an unusually high prevalence of HD.

Many techniques developed in finding the Huntingtin gene were used to advance the Human Genome Project.