TABLE OF CONTENTS |
FRONT PAGE
| NEXT ARTICLE |
PREVIOUS ARTICLE |
UNC HOMEPAGE
The internationally renowned mouse geneticist, Terry R. Magnuson, will head a
new genetics department and genomics initiative at Carolina's School of
Medicine.
Magnuson, one of the most sought-after scientists in mammalian genetics,
officially began work July 1. Coming from Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland, Magnuson brought with him his entire 15-member laboratory group.
In his tenured appointment as Sarah Graham Kenan professor and chair of
genetics, Magnuson becomes founding head of the medical school's newest
department. The program will be housed in a 100,000-square-foot human biology
research building currently under construction with a combination of public and
private funds.
"Terry chose UNC over many other opportunities, some of which offered
substantially larger resources than we currently have," said Jeffrey Houpt, MD,
dean of the School of Medicine. "He was influenced by the exceptional science
programs here, the careful planning of our needs and strategies and the
collegial atmosphere of the entire research community."
During visits to Chapel Hill, Magnuson took particular note of the reality
behind Carolina's reputation for interdisciplinary research.
"It's a very collegial place, and that's what struck me when I came through,
versus other institutions I visited," he said. "If one wants to put together a
university-wide center, it seems more likely to happen at UNC because of the
culture. And I find that very exciting."
Funding also was an important factor in Magnuson's decision to come to Chapel
Hill. The School of Medicine will receive $2.6 million over four years from the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute to help develop and staff its new genetics
center.
"The genetics center will complement existing research strengths at UNC in the
study of mouse models of diseases, genetics of model organisms, cancer research
and clinical genetics," said William F. Marzluff, executive associate dean for
research at the School of Medicine. "The money will establish the genomic core
technologies we need on campus and a chromosome imaging facility for detecting
alterations in cancer as well as abnormalities in genetic diseases."
Of 105 U.S. medical schools competing for the Hughes grants, Carolina was among
41 winners. Awards ranged from $1.6 million to $4 million.
According to Hughes officials, the successful proposals emphasized
collaborations between researchers in basic sciences, clinical research and
bioinformatics, a field that marries computer science with molecular biology to
analyze the massive data being generated by the U.S. Human Genome Project. The
project by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health
is designed to identify more than 100,000 genes in human DNA, determine the
sequences of the three-billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA and
store this information in databases.
"We're going to build a major genomics program here at UNC," Marzluff said.
"Ten new School of Medicine faculty will be added in this area, with a focus on
the genetics of complex diseases. In addition, the School of Medicine and the
College of Arts and Sciences will recruit at least five new faculty in
bioinformatics."
A portion of the Hughes grant will be used to recruit four junior faculty
working in mammalian genetics by offering start-up packages for equipping their
laboratories and providing support for technical personnel and supplies.
Magnuson already has signed-on several of the nation's top assistant professors
to Carolina. They include David Threadgill from Vanderbilt University; Fernando
de Villena of Temple University and the Fels Institute for Cancer Research; and
Stanford's Charles Perou, a young leader in cancer genetics and micro-array
analysis of multiple genes. Perou's recruitment was done jointly with
Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"In looking at genetics and genomics at UNC-Chapel Hill, I see an incredibly
strong medical genetics effort spread across obstetrics and gynecology,
pediatrics and medicine," Magnuson said. "The cystic fibrosis center is
entering into a national consortium to look for modifiers of CF. Molecular
diagnostics is important within the clinical departments, and the Lineberger
Comprehensive Cancer Center has begun an important research program in this
area, as well. There's genetic epidemiology, biostatistical genetics and
nutrition in the School of Public Health, all of which are important to the
success of a genomics program."
According to Magnuson, the ongoing public and commercial genome projects are
generating an unprecedented amount of information leading to a comprehensive
catalog of all known human genes.
"And from this we're seeing emerging technologies, new data on gene sequencing
and this is leading to greater exploration of gene function," he said. "More
than learning the function of individual genes, what is really important here
is looking at the function of genes collectively, as interacting networks of
genes within the entire genome -- this means complex genetics and complex
disorders. And that's where the genome project is allowing us to go."
Given the inevitable explosion of genetic and genomic information at the
molecular, organismal and population levels, the entire biomedical research
enterprise is undergoing a paradigm shift away from hypothesis-driven research,
Magnuson said.
"Now, having these vast amounts of catalogued information, we have
discovery-driven research; that is, we're analyzing this information," he
explained. "And this will lead back to better hypothesis-driven research. After
analyzing gene sequences, you can predict functional relationships based on
sequence and then test these functional relationships. This is leading to
incredible information on genetic variances associated with disease
predisposition and the prediction of therapeutic responses to drugs, [the field
of] pharmacogenetics."
In Magnuson's vision, a genomics center contains key components in addition to
the science.
"We must deal not only with the science and scientific discoveries but with
health-care issues, the business enterprise, including technology development
and transfer, bioethics, and the legal and social impacts of genomics
discoveries on public policy," he said.
"I envision biomedical engineering as another key component to bring us further
into imaging technology, microfabrication of sensors, molecular diagnostics,
and array technology," he added. "And then there are the educational and
training programs at all levels -- undergraduate, graduate, medical, social,
business. I think a genomics center at UNC must encompass all these different
components."
Why the genetics initiative at Chapel Hill now? Houpt summed it up
succinctly.
"Unless you have an excellent program in genetics, you'll be incapable of
aspiring to be a leading medical school or a leading university in this
country," he said. "This is one dance you can't sit out."
Human Genome Project has Carolina connection
A Carolina alumnus is heading the project that observers say will revolutionize
how diseases are treated in the 21st century.
Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project in the National
Institutes of Health, graduated from the Carolina medical school in 1981 with a
degree in internal medicine. He was commencement speaker here in 1994 and
received an honorary University degree that year.
Recently in Washington, D.C., Collins and other Human Genome Project
researchers announced that they were close to deciphering the entire human
genome, the chemical instructions in genes that govern life. Scientists say
figuring out the genome will pay huge dividends in how doctors treat diseases.
Collins already has collaborated on efforts finding the genes that cause cystic
fibrosis, neuroblastoma and Huntington's disease.
TABLE OF CONTENTS |
FRONT PAGE
| NEXT ARTICLE |
PREVIOUS ARTICLE |
UNC HOMEPAGE