May 2011

The IGSP congratulates all seniors graduating this month and gives special recognition to the three students enrolled in the Spring 2011 Genome Sciences & Policy Capstone course. Joyce Kim and Marni Siegel will graduate with a certificate in Genome Sciences & Policy, and Danny Mammo with a Program II major entitled "Social & Policy Foundations of Personal Genomics."

The Capstone course encourages students to analyze current issues in genome sciences and policy and to consider the issues from scientific, social, and ethical perspectives. This semester, students heard from specialists on different aspects of familial searching, surveyed the current policies and future policy options for familial searching, and explored the ethical, social, and legal implications that need to be considered for a new policy. The course culminated in a trip to Washington, DC where the students presented their research on Capitol Hill, speaking with Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) about policy options that must be considered if a national policy regarding familial searching was to be implemented in the United States. "The trip was a great experience," says Danny Mammo. "I learned how to be concise and efficient while conveying information about a broad topic with lots of nuances."

All three Capstone students have been involved with the IGSP for a number of years. Marni was in the Genome Focus Program her freshman year, and has since worked closely with Bob Cook-Deegan. Her senior thesis involved research characterizing heterogeneity in non-small lung cancer in the lab of Joe Nevins. She will be attending UNC's MD/PhD program in the fall. Joyce Kim completed an independent study with Misha Angrist in the fall of her junior year on the development of China's biotechnology policies toward gene therapy and is currently working with Katie Garman, helping the lab study and develop a way to recognize cancer precursors of the gastrointestinal tract. Joyce plans to attend law school after graduation and concentrate on the use of genes in criminal cases. Danny has worked with Alex Cho and Geoff Ginsburg and wrote his senior thesis on the attitudes and concerns of African Americans with respect to genomic research in order to inform researchers and policy makers. Danny plans on pursuing a MD/MPH after taking a gap year.

When asked how her affiliation with the IGSP has impacted her undergraduate experience at Duke, Marni says it's been "extremely enriching." She says her decision to pursue an MD/PhD is largely due to her interactions in IGSP labs and experiences with IGSP programming and faculty. Danny agrees. "Getting involved with the IGSP was the best decision I've made at Duke," he says. "The close faculty-student interaction the IGSP provides cannot be found with other departments, and the interdisciplinary focus has had a broad impact on my education and future goals."

Best of luck to all our graduates!

Defending the Body Corporate: Appeals Court Puts Gene Patents on the Stand
Bob Cook-Deegan is referenced in a Scientific American article about Myriad Genetics’ move to retain its patents for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in federal appeals courts, suggesting Myriad’s hold on “exclusive patent rights continues to be a way for the company to eliminate its competition.”

New Fusion Gene Plays Role in Some Stomach Cancers
"This is an extremely exciting area, as it opens up a potential role for fusion genes in solid cancer diagnostics and treatment, similar to the fundamental role they have played in the blood cancers," says Dr. Patrick Tan about the newly discovered hybrid gene. The original findings were reported in Science Translational Medicine.

Nick Buchler on Active Learning (YouTube)
Nick Buchler talks about the challenges of incorporating active learning in the classroom in this video interview conducted by the Duke Center for Information Technology.

Do-it-yourself DNA testing: A risk or a right?
In a Los Angeles Times article presenting dueling perspectives on whether the “unfiltered, unregulated genetic test results” of do-it-yourself genetic tests cause consumers “to make bad decisions about their healthcare,” Misha Angrist suggests “most people understand that they are not buying a crystal ball but, rather, just a snapshot of what we think we know today, the interpretation of which is subject to change.”

Genomics, Biobanks, and the Trade-Secret Model
In Science, Robert Mitchell and colleagues propose a system based on principles similar to those underlying the concept of a trade secret in response to the need for different approaches to the ethics of genetic sample collections.

High-Throughput Phenotyping of Multicellular Organisms: Finding the Link Between Genotype and Phenotype
In Genome Biology, Philip Benfey and Rosangela Sozzani highlight promising technologies for 'phenome-scale' analyses in multicellular organisms.

Parallel On-Chip Gene Synthesis and Application to Optimization of Protein Expression
In Nature Biotechnology, Jingdong Tian and collaborators report findings that may facilitate systematic investigation of the molecular mechanisms of protein translation and the design, construction and evolution of macromolecular machines, metabolic networks and synthetic cells.

Quantitative Label-Free Phosphoproteomics Strategy for Multifaceted Experimental Designs
Arthur Moseley and colleagues describe a general proteomic strategy capable of directly analyzing relatively small amounts of virtually any biological matrix, including human tissue and biological fluids in Analytical Chemistry

Genomic Size of CENP-A Domain is Proportional to Total Alpha Satellite Array Size at Human Centromeres and Expands in Cancer Cells
Beth Sullivan is a collaborator on a paper in Chromosome Research whose findings suggest alpha satellite array size may be a more prominent predictor of CENP-A incorporation than chromosome size.

Sensitive and Precise Quantification of Insulin-Like mRNA Expression in Caenorhabditis elegans
Ryan Baugh and collaborators present results in PloS ONE demonstrating that the nCounter platform provides a powerful approach to analyzing insulin-like gene expression dynamics, and suggest hypotheses about the function of individual insulin-like genes.

Comparative Analysis of the Primate X-Inactivation Center Region and Reconstruction of the Ancestral Primate XIST Locus
In Genome Research, Julie Horvath, Hunt Willard, and colleagues provide a detailed comparative analysis across the candidate X-Inactivation Center (XIC) region and the XIST locus in the genomes of six primate species.

UPGG graduate student Terry Jackson is a recipient of the 2011 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring, presented each year to graduate faculty and students who consistently demonstrate best practices in mentoring at Duke. Terry’s nominators cite his collaborative nature and ability to connect with others as his strongest assets as a mentor to students and colleagues.

Duke Junior Daphne Ezer has been given an honorable mention for the 2011 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering ().  A member of Alex Hartemink’s lab, Daphne is pursuing a Genome Sciences & Policy Certificate and is a double major in computer science and biology.

The National Institute of Mental Health will fund research that solves the complex data dimension and discovery problems encountered in studies of mental disorders.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute plan to commit $31.8 million to research that utilizes existing family studies to identify and characterize rare variants and common variants of small effect contributing to complex disease.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will fund the development of a comprehensive understanding of innate or adaptive immune responses to infection with vaccination against one or more pathogenic microbes using a systems biology approach.

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

A selection of upcoming events:

Tuesday, May 3rd
Tuesday Seminar Series

Andrew Neish, Emory University, will present "Microbiota and Gut Interactions: Linking Immunity and Homeostasis."

Wednesday, May 4th
Systems Biology Seminar

Chao Tang, Professor & Chair of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF, will present “Design Principles of Cell Cycle Switches.”

Thursday, May 5th
Genomic and Personalized Medicine Forum

Isaac Lipkus, PhD, Associate Research Professor, Cancer Prevention, Detection & Control Research Program, Duke University Medical Center, will present "Challenges to the Communication of Health Risks.”

Tuesday, May 10th
Tuesday Seminar Series

Chi Dang, Johns Hopkins, will present "Oncogenic Re-programming of Cancer Cell Metabolism and Therapeutic Targets."

Thursday, May 12th
Genomic and Personalized Medicine Forum

Scott Joy, MD, FACP, CDE, Associate Professor of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Medical Director, Duke Primary Care at Pickett Road, Member, Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, will present “Genomic Medicine at the Front Lines of Clinical Practice.”

Tuesday, May 17th
Tuesday Seminar Series

Lena Hileman, University of Kansas, will present "Developmental Evolution of Floral Diversification: New Insights from Snapdragon and Relatives."

Friday, May 20th
Science & Society Journal Club

Lauren Dame will lead the discussion. Stay tuned for details.

Thursday, May 26th
Genomic and Personalized Medicine Forum

Ken Kawamoto, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Community and Family Medicine, Department of Community and Family Medicine and Division of Medical Informatics, will present “Clinical Decision Support for Genomic Medicine.”