Keck researcher receives grant to study genetic factors in prostate cancer
Photo by Mark Berndt
The GEI awarded grants, estimated to be up to $5.5 million, for studies aimed at finding genetic factors that influence the risks for stroke, glaucoma, high blood pressure, prostate cancer and other common disorders. The grantees will use a genome-wide association study to rapidly scan markers across the complete sets of DNA, or genomes, of large groups of people to find genetic variants associated with a particular disease, condition or trait.
“Prostate cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among men,” Haiman said. “We know that common genetic variation contributes to racial and ethnic differences in prostate cancer risk. The grant funding will go towards research to identify a more complete spectrum of genetic factors that contribute to prostate cancer in the population.”
This work will be carried out by performing a well-powered genome-wide association study among multiple populations, he said.
“Genome-wide association studies are helping us take major strides towards identifying the genetic variants associated with common diseases,” said National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) Acting Director Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., who is co-chair of the GEI coordinating committee. “This initiative will yield valuable information about the biological pathways that lead to health and disease and about how genetic variants, environmental factors and behavioral choices interact to influence disease risk. Such information is vital to our efforts to develop more personalized approaches to health care.”
GEI is collaboration between genetic researchers and environmental scientists. Six GEI-supported genome-wide association studies, overseen by NHGRI, are already under way. Two additional GEI studies, supported and managed by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, have also begun. In addition, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is overseeing GEI-supported research that seeks to develop wearable sensors and other technologies to accurately measure personal exposures to environmental agents.
Funding for the latest round of studies was contributed by all of NIH’s 27 institutes and centers. The principal investigators, their approximate funding for fiscal years 2008 and 2009, and their research projects are:
Kathleen Barnes, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore; $1.2 million. Genome-Wide Associations: Environmental Interactions in the Lung Health Study.
Myriam Fornage, Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston; $1.1 million. Genome-Wide Association Study of Longitudinal Blood Pressure Profiles from Young Adulthood to Middle-Age.
Christopher Haiman, Sc.D., University of Southern California, Los Angeles; $210,000. A Multiethnic Genome-Wide Scan of Prostate Cancer.
John Heit, M.D., Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; $1.1 million. Genome-Wide Association of Venous Thrombosis (Blood Clots in Veins).
Braxton Mitchell, Ph.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore; $1.1 million. Genetic Risk to Stroke in Smokers and Nonsmokers in Two Ethnic Groups.
Louis Pasquale, M.D., Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, $850,000. Genes and Environment Initiative in Glaucoma.
Data from the genome-wide association studies will be deposited in the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP), at the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a part of the National Library of Medicine at NIH, which will manage the vast amount of genetic, medical and environmental information that emerges from GEI. To encourage rapid research advances, and in keeping with the principles pioneered by the Human Genome Project, all data generated through these initiatives will be made available to researchers, consistent with NIH’s data-sharing policy for NIH-supported, genome-wide association studies, which is available on NIH’s Office of Extramural Research Genome-Wide Association Studies Web page.
For researchers who want to view genome-wide association data produced by GEI, dbGaP offers two levels of access. The first is open-access, which means the information will be available without restriction on the Internet, and the second is controlled-access, which requires preauthorization for the individual researcher seeking to view it. The open-access section will allow users to view study documents, such as protocols, questionnaires and summaries of phenotype data. The second is the controlled-access portion of the database, which allows approved researchers to download individual-level genotype and phenotype data from which the study participants’ personal identifiers, such as names, have been removed.
More information on genome-wide association studies can be found at the National Human Genome Research Institute Web site. Learn about the institute's environmental impacts on health information here.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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