GSI Next Generation Sequencing Mini Symposium
The Next Generation Sequencing Mini-Symposium held on Thursday, November 29, 2012 was...
Longevity Linked to Genes
GSI members along with other faculty at Boston University have collaborated to identify genes that can predict longevity. “The scientists, lead by Paola Sebastiani at the School of Public Health and Thomas Perls at the School of Medicine, have found 150 genetic markers that predict with 77 percent accuracy whether people will live extremely long lives” writes Boston University’s Rich Barlow and Lisa Chedekel.
For the full story, please visit BU Today here.
GSI Faculty Meeting
Held last Tuesday, June 15th, in the Evans Biomedical Research Center, the GSI Faculty Meeting was quite a success. For those of you who were unable to attend and share your thoughts on the future evolution of genetics and genomics at BU with us, you can find the slides from the presentation here. Any comments or suggestions can be directed to gsi@bu.edu.
Robert Green to Speak at World Science Festival and Consumer Genetics Conference
GSI Member, Robert Green will be a guest speaker at two prominent events this June: The World Science Festival in New York and the Consumer Genetics Conference at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. Below is the description of Dr. Green’s discussion at the World Science Festival.
Our Genome Ourselves – World Science Festival
Thursday, June 3, 2010, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM
“There is a revolution underway in the world of medicine. As researchers identify the genetic variants responsible for cancer, schizophrenia and diabetes, and doctors tailor medications and diagnostic tests specifically for your genomic makeup, we inch closer to personalized medicine. But what does this mean for you today? And how will it impact your health care ten, 20 or 30 years in the future? Join scientists standing on the leading edge of genomics to learn the promise, pitfalls, and realities barreling toward us.” – WSF Website
GSI member Avi Spira helps further lung cancer prevention and treatment
Led by GSI member Avi Spira, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) in collaboration with investigators at the University of Utah, have discovered a new approach for identifying smokers at the highest risk for developing lung cancer. The findings, which appear in the April 7th issue of Science Translational Medicine, will allow the researchers to use a genomic approach to prevent lung cancer in these individuals and to personalize cancer chemoprophylaxis and therapy. To read more about Spira’s discovery click here, or you can view the full published article: Gustafson, AM et al “Airway PI3K Pathway Activation Is an Early and Reversible Event in Lung Cancer Development” Sci Transl Med 7 April 2010: Vol. 2, Issue 26, p. 26ra25
Richard Goldstein, a GSI Member, has been awarded a Hartwell Foundation Grant
BU Today: For decades, Richard Goldstein has been trying to unlock a genetic puzzle that holds the secret to a more effective vaccine for a pneumonia strain that kills more than a million children a year worldwide. For his work, the BU School of Medicine professor of pediatrics was recently awarded a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Hartwell Foundation, which funds biomedical applied research with the potential to benefit children. [Read Full Article]
GSI faculty member, Sam Thiagalingam, along with GPGG alumni, Panos Papageorgis, discover pathway responsible for epigenetic memory during breast cancer progression.
GSI faculty member, Sam Thiagalingam and GPGG alumni, Panos Papageorgis, from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have determined how the TGFβ-Smad signaling pathway, is responsible for the “epigenetic memory” that maintains unique patterns of regulatory DNA hypermethylation, causing silencing of critical genes that facilitate breast cancer progression. The findings, which appear online in Cancer Research, may lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies for late stage breast and other cancers. For more details click here. Or to view the journal abstract, “Smad signaling is required to maintain epigenetic silencing during breast cancer progression,” online at PubMed click here.
Josee Dupuis lead investigator in study identifying genes that influence insulin and glucose regulation
Josee Dupuis, GSI faculty, BUSPH biostatistician and an international consortium (MAGIC) has identified new genetic variants that influence blood glucose regulation, insulin resistance, and the function of insulin-secreting beta cells in populations of European descent. Five of the 13 newly discovered variants increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes. The results provide important clues about the role of beta cells in the development of type 2 diabetes. For more information click here. Or view the publication abstract, “New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk” online at PubMed.
GSI faculty participating in a panel discussion at the Boston premiere of I Remember Better When I Paint, an Alzheimer’s disease documentary on the impact of art on patients
GSI faculty member, Robert Green, MD, MPH, BUSM, professor of neurology, genetics and epidemiology participated in a panel discussion following the Boston premiere of “I Remember Better When I Paint,” an Alzheimer’s disease documentary on January 12th. Click here for more information.
Mutant CTRC gene has a new way to trigger pancreatitis
GSI faculty member Miklos Sahin-Toth and colleague (Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, GSDM) have demonstrated that misfolding of mutant digestive enzymes also kills acinar cells —those that make and give out digestive enzymes. Click here for details. Szmola R, Sahin-Toth M. Pancreatitis-associated chymotrypsinogen C (CTRC) mutant elicits endoplasmic reticulum stress in pancreatic acinar cells. Gut. 2009 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 19951900
BUSM Researchers discover gene therapy to help prevent progression of emphysema
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered a new gene therapy that may prevent the progression of emphysema. The study, which appears on-line in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, describes a method to express therapeutic genes in lung tissue for a lifetime after only a single treatment. Click here for details. Wilson AA, Murphy GJ, Hamakawa H, Kwok LW, Srinivasan S, Hovav AH, Mulligan RC, Amar S, Suki B, Kotton DN. Amelioration of emphysema in mice through lentiviral transduction of long-lived pulmonary alveolar macrophages. J ClinInvest. 2010 Jan;120(1):379-89. doi: 10.1172/JCI36666. Epub 2009 Dec 21. PubMed PMID: 20038801; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2798672.
