May 2010

The IGSP would like to congratulate all of our graduating seniors, with special recognition for those who will finish with a Genome Sciences & Policy Certificate. They are Samantha Pearlman, Swathi Padmanabhan, Connie Chai, Jared Blau and Xander Nuttle.

As an IGSP undergrad, Samantha conducted research under Bob Cook-Deegan's mentorship on the regulation of personal genomic services and the efforts of 23andMe to introduce a new regulatory framework in California. Swathi worked with Cook-Deegan and Subha Chandrasekharan on the intellectual property landscape for the HPV vaccine, with the aim to determine whether existing patents effectively block the development of a cheaper generic version of the vaccine in India. Connie conducted research in David Goldstein's lab focused on the pharmacogenomics of epilepsy, including genome-wide scans for antiepileptic drug doses and responses. Jared has spent four years in Hunt Willard's lab examining how some parts of the genome get packaged into a special chemical form called heterochromatin. Xander's research in Greg Wray's lab focused on differential expression of a noncoding RNA in the brains of humans versus chimpanzees.

We'd also like to extend congratulations to junior Nick Altemose in the Willard lab, one of two Duke students named Goldwater Scholars this year. Nick is also interested in the heterochromatic regions of human genomes, which he calls "one of the final frontiers." Kudos also go to former IGSP Summer Fellow Kristen Altenburger from Ohio University, who won a Goldwater Scholarship with support from Physics Professor Josh Socolar in the IGSP Center for Systems Biology.

On another note, the final GenomeLIFE issue for academic year 2009-2010 is on stands now as promised. Be sure to pick one up or download the pdf version here. The issue features the remarkable diversity of projects now underway in the IGSP's Genome Sequencing & Analysis Core Facility run by Lisa Bukovnik. In it, you'll find ferns, parakeets, chlamydia, worms, lemurs, preemie poop and more.

Two Duke Profs Named to National Academy of Sciences
Philip Benfey and Vann Bennett were among 72 distinguished researchers elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Benfey's election "recognizes Phil's role as a pioneer scientist in plant development," Dan Kiehart, chair of biology, told The Chronicle. "He has been a real catalyst in bringing systems biology to Duke."

Uwe Ohler: The Promoter Coder
IGSP Investigator Uwe Ohler brought unique skills to the table when bioinformaticians were struggling with genetic data, The Scientist reports. "In the field of computational biology, there are a lot of computer scientists who come in and dabble but they don’t make a practical contribution," said Chris Burge, who was Ohler's postdoctoral advisor at MIT. "But Uwe developed something really useful. That’s why he stood out."

End of Gene Patents Will Help Patients, Force Companies to Change
Bob Cook-Deegan told Wired.com that Judge Sweet's decision on gene patents "does threaten some business models, but it opens the gate for others." Cook-Deegan also discussed the decision and lessons learned from case studies his group published in a special issue of Genetics in Medicine on NPR's Science Friday and in articles in the Los Angeles Times, The Economist and other media outlets. Read a news release summarizing the case studies here.

Q&A: Philip Benfey on Cell-to-Cell Movement of microRNA
Inspired by Philip Benfey's recent discovery that microRNA in plants can move, GenomeWeb published an interview with him about his lab and the new finding. Read a news release about the research findings here.

Hope for Targeted Lung-Cancer Treatment
Anil Potti told the Wall Street Journal that the unexpected discovery of a potential benefit of Nexavar for patients with lung cancer reflects the potential of adaptive trials to find new drug candidates that might be missed in more conventional trials.

Developing Test to Warn Smokers of Cancer Danger
"Even for people who have stopped smoking, there is a significant risk of cancer down the road," Neal Ready told the Associated Press. "To have some sort of molecular test that would identify those patients [most at risk] would be very useful."

Cell Signaling by MicroRNA165/6 Directs Gene Dose-Dependent Root Cell Fate
Philip Benfey and colleagues show in Nature that developmental patterning in plant roots occurs through crosstalk between the vascular cylinder and the surrounding endodermis mediated by cell-to-cell movement of a transcription factor in one direction and microRNAs in another.

Contrasts Between Adaptive Coding and Noncoding Changes During Human Evolution
Greg Wray and colleagues report in PNAS new evidence that underscores the probable importance of noncoding changes in the evolution of human traits, particularly cognitive ones. The work was featured by GenomeWeb.

Refocusing the War on Cancer: The Critical Role of Personalized Treatment
In a Science Translational Medicine commentary, Joe Nevins, Anil Potti and Richard Schilsky say that it's now imperative that future clinical trials in cancer be designed with a plan to incorporate biomarker development. The commentary was featured by Scientific American.

Ethical Challenges in Genotype-Driven Research Recruitment
In a Genome Research commentary, Laura Beskow and colleagues highlight the complexities in genotype-driven research recruitment, in which study participants are recontacted about follow-up studies involving in-depth phenotyping to understand the relationship between observable traits and the gene variant of interest.

Conserved Nucleosome Positioning Defines Replication Origins
In Genes & Development, Dave MacAlpine and colleagues report evidence that replication origins in yeast are characterized by an asymmetric pattern of positioned nucleosomes flanking consensus sequences.

Complex Trait Analysis in Plants
In a Genome Biology research highlight, Tom Mitchell-Olds says two recent studies in Arabidopsis have identified quantitative trait loci, providing further data on the genetic architecture of complex-trait variation in plants.

The IGSP welcomes Alison Hill as its newest member. Hill is an instructor in the Department of Biology and a professor in Biology 48/Genome 48, one of the core courses for the Genome Sciences & Policy Certificate.

The IGSP's Bob Cook-Deegan and Geoff Ginsburg were two of about 200 experts from around the world to participate in the first-ever Sage Commons Congress. The goal is a novel information partnership to define the molecular basis of disease and guide the development of effective human therapeutics and diagnostics.

For full details and the latest updates on IGSP seminars and events, see the Events Calendar

A selection of upcoming events:

Tuesday, May 4th
Genome Biology
Praveen Cherukuri from the National Human Genome Research Institute will present.

Wednesday, May 5th
Systems Biology Seminar
Andrew Goryachev from the University of Edinburgh will present "Biophysical mechanisms of protein cluster assembly on biological membranes."

Thursday, May 6th
Genomic Medicine Forum
Bob Terbrueggen from DxTerity Diagnostics will present "Simplified Genomic Testing: Pathway or Gene Signature Validation and Commercialization."

Thursday, May 13th
Genomic Medicine Forum
The IGSP's Susanne Haga presents "Physicians and Genomic Medicine."

Thursday, May 20th
Genomic Medicine Forum
Scott Joy, medical director for Duke's Pickett Road Clinic, presents "Genomic Medicine at the Front Lines of Clinical Practice."

Thursday, May 27th
Genomic Medicine Forum
Howard Eisenson, director for the Duke Diet & Fitness Center, will speak.

Wednesday, May 12th
Personal Genomics Working Group

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will fund research projects of up to five years for research and the development of technologies that can be used to study major histocompatibility complex genes in non-human primates.

The National Institutes of Health will fund grants to researchers aiming to identify novel targets within the mTOR signaling network, which might be used to promote healthy aging and extend health into old age.

Autism Speaks has announced $5.2 million in funding for genomic and proteomic studies for the development of early biomarker diagnostics for autism.