Genes To Society: Where is the Genomic Revolution in Healthcare?

Science Writers' Boot Camp 
May 6, 2011

Videos and slides from the program:

Stephen Desiderio: Welcome and Introduction PowerPoint presentation

David Valle: "Training the next generation of physicians: The importance of genetics in medicine and the future of health care"

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV

Jef Boeke: "Talking the talk: Genomics and high throughput biology, how they work, what they reveal, and the importance of studying genomes"

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV

Aravinda Chakravarti: "What genomics can (and can't) tell us about sudden cardiac death"

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV

Janet Scheel: "Now that we have his genes, can my kid wear soccer shorts" PowerPoint presentation

Fredric Wondisford: "The latest from the Diabetes Research and Training Center: How genetics informs research, patient care and prevention" PowerPoint presentation

Leisha Emens: "Using genetic information to design better breast cancer treatments" PowerPoint presentation

Virginia Willour: "Mapping genetic risk of suicide" PowerPoint presentation

Ronni Cohn: "Muscle wasting diseases: From the clinic to the bench and back again"

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III

Ada Hamosh: "We are not diploid anymore: Challenges faced by geneticists and genetic counselors"

• Part I
• Part II

George Dover: "Genetics and pediatrics: Beyond genomics"

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III

Other Johns Hopkins Medicine genetics/genomics stories by topic:

Autism

• Gene Linked To Severity of Autism's Social Dysfunction
• Modern Views on the Genetics of Autism
• Understanding the Architecture of Autism

Cancer

• Genetic Code Deciphered for Form of Pancreatic Cancer
• Genome Code Cracked for Most Common Form of Pediatric Brain Cancer
• Nanoscale Gene "Ignition Switch" May Help Spot and Treat Cancer
• Missing Molecules Hold Promise of Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer
  --Lost microRNAs put brakes on tumors
• Computer Predicts Pancreatic Cancer
• A Personalized Genetic Profile for Brain Cancer
• Kimmel Cancer Center Genetic Code for Breast and Colon Cancers (podcast)
• Researchers ID Genes Tied To Deadliest Ovarian Cancers
• Personalized Blood Tests for Cancer Using Whole Genome Sequence

Cardiovascular Disease

• Altered Gene Protects Some African-Americans From Coronary Artery Disease
• Genome-Wide Hunt Reveals Links to Abnormal Rhythms Behind Sudden Death, Heart Damage
• Genetics and Heart Disease (podcast) includes a supplemental PowerPoint presentation
• Scientists Map Epigenetic Changes During Blood Cell Differentiation
  --Potential Application For Stem Cell Therapies
• Genetic Septet in Control of Blood Platelet Clotting
  --Findings offer new targets in developing diagnostic tests and treatments for arterial disease

Diabetes and Obesity

• DNA 'End-Caps' Length Linked to Diabetes Risk
  --New Role for Short Telomeres
• Johns Hopkins Scientists Find Genes Related to Body Mass

"Genes To Society" Medical Curriculum

• Exporting innovative education
  --For the first time in its history, the medical school takes its standard-setting model for teaching new doctors to another country
• New Medical School Curriculum (podcast)
• New medical school curriculum integrates science and medicine as never before

Genetics and Genomics

• Johns Hopkins Researchers Capture Jumping Genes
  --RIPs are alive and well — and moving — in the human genome
• Yeast Construction Zone
  --By building the first synthetic yeast genome, Hopkins researchers hope to create a versatile biotech tool for such tasks as producing drugs or new types of fuel
• OMIM Marks A Milestone: 20,000 Entries And Counting
  --A Hopkins Tradition Keeps Growing Strong
• The 1,000 Genomes Project
  --Published Pilot is Promising Prelude
• Scientists Identify DNA That May Contribute to Each Person's Uniqueness

Genetic Testing and Fertility

• Gene Variation Linked To Infertility In Women, Study Finds
  --Altered gene involved in both faulty cholesterol regulation and pregnancy hormone production
• New Genetic Testing Technology For IVF Embryos
  --Generates enough material for several tests, improving choice of implanted embryos

Immune System

• Subtle Mutations in Immune Gene May Increase Risk for Asthma
  --Finding could lead to new diagnostic tests or asthma treatments
• New Parkinson's Gene is Linked to Immune System

Kidney Disease

• Gene Variant Influences Chronic Kidney Disease Risk

Mental Illness

• Johns Hopkins Team Identifies Genetic Link To Attempted Suicide
  --Findings could lead to new avenues of treatment research
• Gene-Environment Interactions Could Influence Several Psychiatric Disorders
  --“Schizophrenia gene” may also trigger anxiety, depression, Johns Hopkins study shows
• Chronic Stress May Cause Long-Lasting Epigenetic Changes
  --Long-term exposure to stress hormone affects gene linked to depression, bipolar disorder
• Genetic 'Parts' List Now Available For Key Part of The Mammalian Brain
• Before or After Birth, Gene Linked To Mental Health Has Different Effects
  --Mouse study links timing of expression to various abnormalities

Muscle Wasting Disease

• Awakenings
  --Ronni Cohn’s "out there" ideas about squirrels and hibernation are turning out to have surprising muscle—promising new hope for patients inactivated by aging, hospitalization, or wasting disease

Neurodegenerative Disease

• New Study Suggests ALS Could Be Caused By A Retrovirus
  --Viruses that are natural part of human genome may be culprit
• Hopkins Team Discovers How DNA Changes
  --Newly revealed process has implications for understanding cancers, psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases
• Gene That Causes Some Cases of Familial ALS Discovered
  --Finding could lead to new insight in understanding, treating more common forms of this fatal neurological disease
• New Parkinson's Gene is Linked to Immune System

Uncommon Genetic Diseases

• Doctor, How Sick Will I Get? It's All In The Genes
  --Johns Hopkins researchers identify genes linked to worsening of cystic fibrosis 
• Screening for Down Syndrome (blog)
• Roger Reeves: Tackling Down Syndrome For A Quarter Century
• Gustavo Maegawa: Meeting the Challenge of Lysosomal Storage Diseases
• Double-Teaming a Whole-Genome Hunt
  --Scientists combine new and classic approaches to discover rare disease gene
• Causes Found For Stiff Skin Conditions

Vision and Blindness

• Fuch’s Corneal Dystrophy (blog)