After completing her medical studies, Miriam Elbracht started working as a doctor at the Institute of Human Genetics and Genomic medicine at RWTH Aachen University Hospital, where she has now been working for almost 20 years. Currently head of Clinical Genomics, she organises the clinical-genetic patient care for the entire spectrum of genetic diseases. With the increasing possibility of translating molecular findings into therapeutic and preventive strategies, human genetic counselling and diagnostics have gained greater clinical relevance. It is a challenge to make technical and scientific progress directly usable for improved care structures. Miriam is involved in interdisciplinary medical centres, such as the Centres for Rare Diseases and the Centres for Personalised Medicine, where this has been particularly successful. Miriam’s scientific interest lies in the identification of new genetic diseases, the special group of imprinting disorders, especially growth disorders such as Silver-Russell and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndromes and, for some years now, rare tumour predispositions.