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Innovative Genomic Technology Research at YCGA Is Focus of Dean’s Workshop

May 07, 2010

Cutting-edge genomic technologies such as high-throughput DNA sequencing — will be the focus of the next Dean's Workshop at the School of ­Medicine.

The event will take place on Friday, May 21, at 1:30 p.m. in the Anlyan Center auditorium, 300 Cedar St. Five faculty members will contribute to the discussion on "Next Generation Genomics: The Impact of High-Throughput DNA Sequencing on Genetic Research." The faculty and their areas of discussion are:

Dr. Richard P. Lifton, chair and Sterling Professor of Genetics — the scope and future of genomics;

Shikrant Mane, director of the new Yale Center for Genome Analysis (YCGA) — an overview of currently available sequencing technologies offered by the center and their applications in biomedical research;

Dr. Murat Günel, professor of neurosurgery — the advantages of the Illumina BeadArray SNP genotyping technology, which he has used to identify susceptibility loci for intracranial aneurysms;

James Noonan, assistant professor of genetics — the use of sequencing technology to study gene regulation in primate development; and

Dr. Arthur Horwich, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Genetics and Pediatrics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator — the role of transcriptome sequencing in profiling a transgenic mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

YCGA is a state-of-the-art DNA sequencing center launched in late 2009 on Yale's West Campus. The center brings the latest, most sophisticated genomic technologies within reach of hundreds of Yale and non-Yale investigators, and adds further depth to Yale's strengths in genomics. The ultimate biomedical goal of genomics is personalized medicine — using information about an individual's genetic makeup to tailor strategies for the detection, treatment or prevention of disease.