Genetics
The latest genetics news from UNC Health Care and the UNC School of Medicine.
Tarantino, Valdar, and Pardo Manuel de Villena receive five-year R01 from the National Institute for Mental Health
Lisa Tarantino, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry, and William Valdar, PhD, assistant professor of genetics, are co-principal investigators, and Fernando Pardo Manuel de Villena, PhD, professor of genetics, is co-investigator on a grant entitled, "Role of maternal diet and allelic imbalance in behavior." The grant will fund estimated costs of $3,092,719 over a five-year period.
UNC genetics researcher helps open Smithsonian exhibit
Clinical geneticist James Evans, MD, PhD helped to open the exhibition, Genome: Unlocking Life's Code. The high-tech, high-intensity display celebrates the 10th anniversary of production of the first complete human genome sequence also known as the genetic blueprint of the human body.
Gene discovered for Native American myopathy
Cynthia Powell, MD, MS, professor of Pediatrics and Genetics, is part of a team of researchers from the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and the University of Michigan that identified the gene, STAC3, for a severe neurological condition that affects some members of the Native American Lumbee tribe in North Carolina.
International study confirms multiple genes contribute to schizophrenia risk
By better understanding the molecular and biological mechanisms involved with schizophrenia, scientists hope to use this new genetic information to one day develop and design drugs that are more efficacious and have fewer side effects.
Researchers identify genetic sequence that helps to coordinate synthesis of DNA-packaging proteins
Research conducted in fruit flies at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine has pinpointed a specific DNA sequence that both triggers the formation of the “histone locus body” and turns on all the histone genes in the entire block.
UNC’s Aravind Asokan to receive ASGCT 2013 Outstanding New Investigator Award
Aravind Asokan, PhD, assistant professor of genetics in the School of Medicine, was selected by the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy to receive a 2013 Outstanding New Investigator Award.
Art of Science Competition sponsored in conjunction with Carolina Biosciences Alumni Reunion and Symposium
Carolina Biosciences Alumni Reunion and Symposium is sponsoring an Art of Science Competition open to all UNC students, staff and faculty. Winners will get to have their art on display at the Ackland Art Museum.
Carolina Biosciences Alumni Reunion and Symposia slated for May 16 and 17
The School of Medicine Office of Graduate Education and the Biological Biomedical Sciences Program are sponsoring a reunion for biosciences graduate alumni from 14 member PhD programs from the School of Medicine, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Pharmacy, and School of Dentistry.
UNC and Wake Forest host "The Nexus of Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine" symposium
On Feb. 7, the UNC School of Medicine Gene Therapy Center and the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine collaborated to host a joint symposium for the first time. Jude Samulski, PhD, professor of pharmacology and director of the UNC Gene Therapy Center and Anthony Atala, MD, chair of the Department of Urology and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine served as keynote speakers.
Diabetes investigation in rats makes editor's pick in APS journal
An investigation into diabetes-related outcomes in a rat model, with senior author William Valdar, PhD, assistant professor of genetics at UNC, and first author Leah Solberg Woods, PhD, from the Medical College of Wisconsin, has made the editor's pick in this month's Physiological Genomics, a journal of the American Physiological Society.
Kim receives AACR and Kure It Kidney Cancer research grant
William Y. Kim, MD, assistant professor in the departments of medicine and genetics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, will receive $250,000 during the two-year grant term.
New findings in the search for genetic clues to insulin production
A cutting-edge genomic analysis method has helped researchers track new genetic contributors relevant to diabetes. The results provide a first example that the new tool can help decipher many complex diseases such as obesity and cancer.
UNC scientist serves as vice-chair of report on California stem cell research
Terry Magnuson served as vice-chair of the Institute of Medicine commission on the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), whose report was released on Dec. 6.
Sekelsky named Director of the Curriculum in Genetics & Molecular Biology
The School of Medicine has appointed Jeff Sekelsky, PhD, as the new Director for the Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology.
UNC’s Myron Cohen and Terry Magnuson elected to Institute of Medicine
Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
Li, Wang named 2012 recipients of Jefferson-Pilot Award
Yun Li, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics and the Department of Biostatistics, and Zefeng Wang, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, were selected to receive Jefferson-Pilot Awards this year.
Informatics approach helps doctors, patients make sense of genome data
Researchers from UNC unveil an analysis framework aimed at helping clinicians spot “medically actionable findings” from genetic tests in an efficient manner.
Baric and Heise receive $21.4M from NIAID to study life-threatening viral infections
Scientists at UNC’s schools of public health and medicine will lead a five-year, $21.4 million research study that could result in more effective treatments for life-threatening virus infections of the lung and central nervous system.
Autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may share common underlying factors
New research led by Patrick F. Sullivan, MD, FRANZCP, a psychiatric geneticist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, points to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders among individuals whose parents or siblings have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Research suggests new cause to blame for spinal muscular atrophy
UNC scientists have discovered that a commonly held assumption is wrong and that a separate role of the SMN gene – still not completely elucidated -- is likely responsible for the disease’s manifestations.
