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Chen Gets NIH Grant to Help Find Genes Linked to Disease
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Nov. 5, 2004--The newly mapped human genome is providing scientists vast amounts of data to mine for the genetic causes of complex diseases ranging from cancer to cystic fibrosis. Associate Professor Huann-Sheng Chen (Mathematical Sciences) has received a $142,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, to help search for disease-causing genes.
To track the genetic causes of disease, researchers study the DNA of individuals in families or relatively homogenous populations and identify which genes pop up among those individuals who develop a certain disease. Scientists then use that information to determine the likelihood that those carrying that gene will actually get the disease.
It's a tricky business. Most complex diseases aren't inherited as simply as brown eyes, Chen notes. Many genes may come into play before an individual actually becomes sick. Plus, environmental factors ranging from what you eat to the quality of the air you breathe can also influence the course of disease development.
To add to the confusion, many healthy individuals are carriers of a gene predisposing them to the disease, Chen says, making it that much harder to narrow down which genes may be the culprits. For example, a perfectly healthy child may have a gene predisposing them to come down with Alzheimer's disease in 70 years.
With the support of the NIH grant, Chen aims to develop a statistical model that will take a major factor in disease, its age of onset, into account.
"For example, some people may have the gene for a disease but die before they develop it," he says. "So, if we incorporate information on age-of-onset in our analysis, we should be able to better identify which genetic markers are linked to a given disease."
Once the statistical model is validated, it can be applied to DNA analysis in larger populations, allowing researchers to better understand the genetic underpinnings of many age-related conditions, from heart disease to prostate cancer.
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