October 2011

The Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy has released a new website that has not only been redesigned, but has also undergone significant restructuring and content expansion. To get the full experience of the site, we recommend you upgrade your browser to the latest version.

The site includes many new sections and features, including a Media & Publications page, a new software section, and an updated IGSP Publications page, which we encourage you to explore. We welcome feedback.

If you have not already done so, we ask that all IGSP faculty and staff go to the directory. Once there, please find your name by typing in the search box and check to see that the information and contact details we have for you are correct. Any changes can be sent to Karim Ali.

Please also note that a new issue of GenomeLIFE is available on our publication stands or for download. The cover story features the increasingly blurry lines between what used to be considered distinct disciplines, as exemplified by many of the IGSP's newest and youngest faculty members. You will also learn about a gene synthesizer, humans' supersized brains, the genetics of crime, and more. Ideas for future stories are always welcome.

Four Duke Researchers Win NIH New Innovator Awards
Nick Buchler and Charlie Gersbach are among four Duke researchers selected by the National Institutes of Health for awards to young scientists in support of highly inventive research. GenomeWeb reported that $144 million in the NIH director's funds will back "'omics studies" in a story that highlights both Buchler and Gersbach.

GrassRoots Biotech and Monsanto Company Extend Collaboration
GrassRoots Biotech co-founder Philip Benfey says, "Monsanto's decision to extend the alliance underscores the importance of enhanced promoters for new biotechnology crops and also validates the research that GrassRoots is conducting in this area."

Patent Trolls Target Biotech Firms
In Scientific American, Bob Cook-Deegan says if people get away with patent troll behavior, it sets up an incentive for others to behave in the same way.

Obama Bill to Overhaul Patent System
A Duke Chronicle article about the recently approved America Invents Act features comment by Arti Rai and Philip Benfey.

Kimberly Jenkins: The Innovation Ecosystem
In a Faith & Leadership Q&A, Duke's Kimberly Jenkins used the DARPA-funded IGSP effort to predict infectious diseases before symptoms start as an example of Duke innovation.

School Shooting Study Shows Genetic Links to PTSD
Avshalom Caspi and Terrie Moffitt comment in a WebMD story on a study of college students before and after a campus shooting.

High-resolution experimental and computational profiling of tissue-specific known and novel miRNAs in Arabidopsis
In Genome Research, Uwe Ohler and Philip Benfey present small RNA datasets comprising over 200 million aligned Illumina sequence reads covering all major cell types of the root as well as four distinct developmental zones.

Integrating genetic and gene expression evidence into genome-wide association analysis of gene sets
In Genome Research, Sayan Mukherjee is a collaborator on a paper describing a single statistical framework, Gene Set Association Analysis (GSAA), that simultaneously measures genome-wide patterns of genetic variation and gene expression variation to identify sets of genes enriched for differential expression and/or trait-associated genetic markers.

Genome-Wide Association Analysis of Clinical vs. Nonclinical Origin Provides Insights into Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pathogenesis
In Molecular Ecology, Joe Lucas is a collaborator on a study exploring the pathogenesis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Academic Medical Centers: Ripe for Rapid-Learning Personalized Health Care
In Science Translational Medicine, Geoff Ginsburg and Amy Abernethy say academic medical centers can play a central role in the transformation of health care through the development of rapid learning environments, evidence generation, implementation research, and education of health professionals and the public.

Personalized Medicine: Progress and Promise
In The Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics, Isaac Chan and Geoff Ginsburg focus on providing a comprehensive understanding of personalized medicine, from scientific discovery at the laboratory bench to integration of these novel ways of understanding human biology at the bedside.

Network Calisthenics: Control of E2F Dynamics in Cell Cycle Entry
In Cell Cycle, Lingchong You and colleagues discuss how network modules contribute to 'shaping' E2F dynamics in the context of mammalian cell cycle entry.

A Diverse Population of Cryptococcus gattii Molecular Type VGIII in Southern Californian HIV/AIDS Patients
In PLoS Pathogens, Fred Dietrich is a collaborator on a study that examined the molecular epidemiology, population structure, and virulence attributes of Cryptococcus gattii isolates collected from HIV/AIDS patients in Los Angeles County, California.

Public Health: Boosting Health Services Research
In Science, Bob Cook-Deegan writes, "It is no secret that U.S. health care is expensive, unfairly distributed, and highly inefficient compared with that of other developed economies," the question is "how to address this problem without gutting the parts of the U.S. health-research infrastructure that are working well."

A group led by Geoff Ginsburg has received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue a non-human primate model of pneumonia, an infection that kills millions of kids under the age of 5 each year, and to develop novel diagnostic biomarkers.

Susanne Haga has been appointed as the new Director, Education & Training, in the IGSP.

Terrie Moffitt has written the foreword for a book by Victoria Costello exploring three generations of mental illness entitled A Lethal Inheritance.

Bob Cook-Deegan and Arti Rai participated in a recent Congressional Briefing about the Myriad/BRCA case and issues related to gene patents. For those of us on campus who missed it, a video and briefing page is available online.

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

A selection of upcoming events:

Monday, October 3rd
Computational Biology Seminar
Philip Bradley on "Molecular Modeling of Protein-DNA and Protein-Peptide Interactions"

Tuesday, October 4th
Genome Academy
Peyton Vaughn presents an Introduction to Unix, the first in a series of four tutorials. Registration Required.

Tuesday, October 4th
Tuesday Seminar Series
Don Fox speaks on "Polyploidy and aneuploidy during Drosophila tissue remodeling"

Wednesday, October 5th
Systems Biology Seminar
Geoff Ginsburg, IGSP Director of Genomic Medicine, presents.

Friday, October 7th
Special PacBio Seminar
Featuring Jonas Korlach of PacBio on single-molecule, real-time monitoring of biomolecules and Erich Jarvis on de-novo vertebrate genome assembly using PacBio and hybrids.

Thursday, October 13th
Genomic and Personalized Medicine Forum
Nobel Prize Winner Sir Richard J. Roberts presents a special seminar on why he loves bacteria. The event will be webcast live and recorded to Duke USTREAM.

Tuesday, October18th
Trent Center Lecture
Bob Cook-Deegan on "Sequencing People's Genomes: Legal and Ethical Issues"

Friday, October 21st
Science & Society Journal Club
Robert Mitchell will lead the discussion. Stay tuned for details.

Wednesday, October 26th
Duke Epigenetics & Epigenomics Colloquia
Inaugural event co-directed by Beth Sullivan to explore and facilitate epigenetics and epigenomics research. RSVP and poster abstract submissions to Glenda Smith.

Monday, November 14th
IGSP Distinguished Lecture
Nobel Prize Winner John Sulston and Robert Waterston will speak at 4 p.m. on "The Common Wealth of Science" in The Sanford School's Fleishman Commons.