Gene-disease association data could improve drug development
Drug development is a risky business. More than half of candidate drugs that look promising in the research lab will ultimately fail. More than a quarter of drugs that reach the clinical trial stage will be rejected as ineffective. June's Genome Advance of the Month focuses on how drug development success rates could be improved by using known genetic associations to help choose research targets. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - July 29, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
Studying cancer from the inside out: What the epigenetic code can tell doctors about disease
How tumors differ from each other - either in different organs or within the same organ - can yield useful clues about cancer prognosis and treatment. Ultimately, that knowledge may lead to precision medicine, where a doctor is not just treating a tumor, but tailoring treatment to the patient's specific tumor. A massive new analysis of tumors, published online April 17 in Epigenetics & Chromatin, is leading medicine closer to these goals. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - July 24, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
Opportunities and Challenges for Health Disparities Research in the Personal Genome Era
On May 27, Dr. Carlos Bustamante, professor of genetics
at Stanford University School of Medicine and co-founding director of the Stanford Center for Computational, Human, and Evolutionary Genomics, was the inaugural speaker for the Genomics and Health Disparities Lecture Series. The NHGRI co-sponsored series seeks to enhance dialogue about how innovations in genomics research and technology can impact health disparities. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - July 10, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
The Johns Hopkins University/National Human Genome Research Institute Genetic Counseling Training Program
In this month's The Genomics Landscape, Dr. Green features a well-established joint program with Johns Hopkins University that trains genetic counselors, a recent report to the NIH Director on the future of the National Library of Medicine, and news from NHGRI activities related to coordinating provider education in genomics and international genomic medicine efforts, along with other information items that I hope will be of interest to you. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - July 7, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
GM8: Looking across genomic medicine's gaps and opportunities
On June 8-9, international experts discussed the gaps, challenges and opportunities in genomics at Genomic Medicine Meeting VIII: NHGRI's Genomic Medicine Portfolio, sponsored by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in Rockville, Maryland. Speakers discussed topics ranging from interpreting genomic variants and handling genomic data, to diversity in research populations. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - July 1, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
LabGenius: The next step toward a digital laboratory
The HHS Ignite Accelerator program, inspired by Silicon Valley start-up methods, nurtures innovative ideas that might improve government operations. Now this seed funding and mentorship program could help create a digital "LabGenius" and, according to NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., "has the potential to streamline our labs ... which could have a big impact." (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 29, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
Genomics holds promise of treatments for inherited blindness
Millions of people worldwide suffer from diseases of the retina that cause partial or complete blindness. While there is no cure for retinal degenerative disease, there are several promising areas of research that aim to, at least, partially restore vision. May's Genome Advance of the Month focuses on two experimental therapeutic approaches - gene replacement therapy and optogenetics. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 26, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
New NHGRI brochure highlights major genomics research areas
A new brochure from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spotlights the Institute's past, present and future roles in the field of genomics. In the Director's Message, NHGRI Director Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D., frames the field as "one of the most vibrant, compelling and relevant scientific disciplines of the 21st century." The document traces NHGRI's history from serving as the leader of the U.S. component of the Human Genome Project to its current focus on advancing human health through genomics research. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 24, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
Peering at brain and skin cancers through a genomic lens
A pair of studies from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network has provided new insight into the genomic workings of the deadly types of brain and skin cancer. The findings point to new ways of classifying these cancers based on genomics, which should lead to smarter ways to predict disease behavior and better decisions about treatment. The results were reported in the June 18, online edition of Cell and the June 10 online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 24, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
Happy Father's Day from NHGRI
From NHGRI to you: Have a happy Father's Day and learn about the Y chromosome - the chromosome of all living men that is related through a single male ancestor who lived over 100,000 years ago! Learn 11 neat facts about the Y chromosome from our special infographic. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 19, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
The Cancer Genome Atlas Fourth Annual Scientific Symposium
In May, the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) held its fourth annual scientific symposium at Natcher Conference Center, NIH, in Bethesda, Md. The symposium was an open scientific meeting with collaborative workshops, poster sessions and plenary presentations where investigators from around the world shared their novel biological discoveries, analytical methods and translational approaches using TCGA data. Video and accompanying slides are now available. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 12, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
Stanford researchers suss out cancer mutations in genome's dark spots
Stanford University researchers combined genome sequence data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) with data from regulatory regions from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) to identify mutations affecting gene activity in cancer. The NHGRI-supported research, published in the June 8th issue of Nature Genetics, suggests that mutations in genome regions that control gene activity may play a significant role in cancer. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 9, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
Genomic Medicine Meeting VIII: NHGRI's Genomic Medicine Portfolio
On June 8-9, 2015, NHGRI will sponsor its eighth Genomic Medicine meeting - Genomic Medicine Meeting VIII: NHGRI's Genomic Medicine Portfolio - at the Hilton Washington D.C./Rockville Hotel & Executive Meeting Center in Rockville, Md. The meeting will convene leadership from NHGRI's genomic medicine programs and representatives from other NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) and external groups. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 5, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
NIH researchers pilot predictive medicine in study of healthy people's DNA
An NIH study has turned genomics research on its head. Instead of searching for a mutation in the genomic sequence of a person with a genetic disease, researchers sequenced the genomes of healthy participants and analyzed the data to find presumed mutations that would almost certainly lead to a genetic condition. Results were published today in the American Journal of Human Genetics. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 4, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
International collaboration aims to speed development of genomic medicine
Translational genomic medicine research - the effort to turn genomic discoveries into tools and therapies - is going global. After an international symposium last year called "Global Leaders in Genomic Medicine," top genome scientists from over 20 countries have now joined forces to improve cooperation and coordination of genomic medicine research worldwide. A summary of the symposium is now available in the June 3, 2015, issue of Science Translational Medicine. (Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights)
Source: NHGRI Homepage Highlights - June 3, 2015 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: news
