Members include James Fowler, Ph.D., professor of medical genetics at UCSD School of Medicine, Christoph Lange, Ph.D., associate professor of biostatistics at Harvard University School of Public Health, and Nicholas Schork, Ph.D., director of bioinformatics and biostatistics at the Scripps Translational Science Institute
Pathway Genomics Corporation, a genetic testing laboratory specializing in nutrition and exercise response, inherited disease, prescription drug response and health condition risks, has established a world-leading scientific advisory board. Among the board members are James Fowler, Ph.D., professor of medical genetics at UCSD School of Medicine, Christoph Lange, Ph.D., associate professor of biostatistics at Harvard University School of Public Health, and Nicholas Schork, Ph.D., director of bioinformatics and biostatistics at the Scripps Translational Science Institute.
Additionally, the company’s internal computational and bioinformatics team is led by Lixin Zhou, Ph.D., former senior scientist at Illumina and former collaborative bioinformatics investigator at The Institute for Genomic Research, an organization of The J. Craig Venter Institute.
“Working with innovators in specific and technical fields helps Pathway bring highly accurate, useful and actionable information to physicians and their patients,” said Michael Nova, M.D., Pathway Genomics’ chief medical officer. “We’re committed to seeking out this actionable genetic information through computational biology methods, and cloud-based bioinformatics.””
An acclaimed behavioral geneticist, James Fowler, Ph.D., is currently a professor of medical genetics at UCSD School of Medicine, and is world-renowned for his breakthrough discoveries in genetics and social networking, behavioral economics, cooperation, and political behavior.
Christoph Lange, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate professor of biostatistics at Harvard School of Public Health. Lange’s current research interests fall into the broad areas of statistical genetics and generalized linear models.
Nicholas J. Schork, Ph.D., is a professor at The Scripps Research Institute in the department of molecular and experimental medicine and director of bioinformatics and biostatistics at the Scripps Translational Science Institute. Schork’s research focuses are in quantitative human genetics and integrated approaches to complex biological and medical problems. He has published over 350 scientific articles and book chapters analyzing complex, multifactorial traits and diseases.
Pathway’s scientific advisory board consists of 10 leaders in various fields including behavioral genetics, bioinformatics, biostatistics, endocrinology, human epigenetics, metabolism, nutrigenomics, nutrition, obesity and exercise genetics, oncology, and weight management. To view the company’s full scientific advisory board, visit www.pathway.com/sab.
Today is National DNA Day, and around the nation, educational and research organizations, as well as companies in the field of genomics, recognize this day in April as a pivotal day in genomics innovation. National DNA Day commemorates the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003, and it recognizes the breakthrough discovery of the double helix of DNA in 1953.
As part of the celebration, there are some fun activities taking place honoring the day.
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is hosting an annual DNA Day Online Chatroom. Open from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the virtual discussion is facilitated by NHGRI experts, as well as genetic counselors, clinicians, and genetic experts from across the nation. Visitors are able to chat in real time with world-leading authorities in genomics research.
The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) is honoring the day by hosting its 7th Annual DNA Day Essay Contest. Open to students in ninth through 12th grades, according to ASHG, the essay contest “aims to challenge students to examine, question, and reflect on the important concepts of genetics.” The contest offers monetary prizes for first, second and third places, as well as 10 Honarable Mention prizes.
Pathway’s First Annual DNA Day Quiz
Pathway Genomics is recognizing this important day by hosting our first annual DNA Day Quiz and contest! Open to the public, Pathway’s DNA Day Quiz will test your knowledge of genetics, and give you the chance to win an iPad2. The process is easy. Simply “Like” our Facebook page, answer seven short questions, and you could win an iPad2! The winner will be announced on our Facebook page on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, so make sure to bookmark our page and check back regularly.
Boston, MA — As genetic risk information plays an increasingly important role in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, private companies have made personal genomic testing for these risk factors widely available to the public. However, very little data has been gathered to understand the motivations and expectations of consumers of personal genomic services, the psychological and behavioral impact of these services, and the associated ethical, legal and social issues—until now. The Impact of Personal Genomics (PGen) Study, one of the first major studies to prospectively examine the impact of consumer genomics, is prepared to launch its data collection phase.
With funding from the National Human Genome Research Institute, joint Principal Investigators Robert C. Green, MD, MPH of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and J. Scott Roberts, PhD of the University of Michigan School of Public Health teamed up with leading personal genome testing companies 23andMe and Pathway Genomics Corporation to launch PGen.
“The goal is to produce results that can be translated into recommendations to guide policy and practice in this rapidly emerging area,” said Green.
The group leading PGen will survey consumers of personal genome testing to identify their motivations, expectations, and attitudes, as well as their responses to learning their genetic disease risk, carrier status, and drug response results.
PGen is set to launch with the distribution of surveys to new consumers of personal genomic services. PGen will enroll 1,000 participants in all: 500 customers of Pathway Genomics and 500 customers of 23andMe. Researchers will then be able to compare survey responses to the genetic results, providing unique insight into the risks and benefits of personal genomic services.
“There has been considerable speculation, but not a lot of data, to inform the debate about the possible benefits and harms of personal genomics services,” says Roberts. “We hope that our study will help to bridge this evidence gap.”
To carry out the research, Green and Roberts assembled an interdisciplinary team of experts with backgrounds in medicine, genetics, genetic testing policy and practice, health communication, genetic counseling, health psychology, health law, bioethics and web survey design, many of whom have worked together on related prior research.
At the end of the project, the PGen team expects to understand: (1) who seeks personal genomic testing and why; (2) the impact of test results on psychological response, risk perception and comprehension, and personal utility; and (3) what consumers do with their genetic information (i.e. make health behavior or insurance changes, seek further information or communicate with family and health care providers).
Excerpt from “Diabetes: Looking under the hood: Salk scientists are teaming up to unravel the complex metabolism behind diabetes”
Think of the most futuristic, intricate hybrid car possible, one that effortlessly and efficiently balances battery and fuel use to whisk you to your destination. It won’t be one fraction as complicated as human metabolism—the production and use of energy that provides our motion, our life.
Now think of all the things under the hood that can go wrong in the fantastically involved electronics that match fuel use with need, and you get an idea of what could be happening when diabetes, a disease of energy utilization, develops.
“Now think of all the things under the hood that can go wrong in the fantastically involved electronics that match fuel use with need, and you get an idea of what could be happening when diabetes, a disease of energy utilization, develops.”
Salk researchers are trying to understand the human “hybrid car” of metabolism and what happens when this biological system breaks down. The problem is attracting a growing number of scientists worldwide, given the increasing burden that diabetes and other metabolic dysfunctions have on human health and society.
Excerpt from “Mobile Health, Genomics Change Doctors’ Role” by Kelly Quigley, San Diego Business Journal:
Dr. Samir Damani doesn’t want patients to dread visiting his office. He wants them to look forward to it as much as they’d look forward to a trip to an Apple store at the mall.
So Damani designed the lobby of his medical practice, MD Revolution Inc., located in La Jolla’s XiMed Medical Center, with colorful modern décor and a storelike display of the mobile health tools his patients use to monitor key biometric data such as heart rate and exercise levels.
“My goal is to make people excited to come here and learn about their health,” said Damani, who works on a team with co-founder Dr. Sunil Bhoyrul and Chief Technology Officer Vincent Valentino. “I want medicine to be fun and cool. We’re giving people the toys and tools to help them reach their goals.”
Pathway Genomics, a genetic testing laboratory specializing in genetic testing for nutrition and exercise response, inherited disease, prescription drug response and health condition risks, has received membership in the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA). As the nation’s leading industry group to advocate lab interests with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Congress, ACLA was created in 1971 and is committed to promoting public awareness about the value of laboratory services in preventing illness, diagnosing disease, and monitoring medical treatment.
“ACLA is proud to welcome Pathway Genomics as its newest member,” said Alan Mertz, president of ACLA. “Pathway Genomics is another example of our nation’s laboratories that are at the forefront of genetic testing and personalized medicine.”
“ACLA is proud to welcome Pathway Genomics as its newest member,” said Alan Mertz, president of ACLA. “Pathway Genomics is another example of our nation’s laboratories that are at the forefront of genetic testing and personalized medicine.”
In addition to Pathway’s ACLA membership, the San Diego-based company was recently accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and the recipient of a Certificate of Accreditation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988.
“ACLA is an essential organization within the laboratory community,” said Jim Plante, Pathway’s founder and CEO. “The approval of our membership is representative of the importance of genetic testing, and the promise and value of personalized health care.”
“ACLA is an essential organization within the laboratory community,” said Jim Plante, Pathway’s founder and CEO. “The approval of our membership is representative of the importance of genetic testing, and the promise and value of personalized health care.”
Using saliva samples collected from patients, Pathway provides genetic tests for drug responses, nutrition and exercise response, inherited genetic conditions, and risk of many diseases. Pathway consists of more than 40 scientific and medical professionals, including medical doctors, molecular geneticists, and genetic counselors, as well as an expert scientific advisory board.
According to a recent press release by the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA), a new report has shown that “genetic and genomic testing is having a major impact on the economy — creating 116,000 jobs and $16.5 billion in annual economic output — and that sustained US leadership in this sector could provide ‘significant future economic and societal benefits.’” The report, titled The Economic and Functional Impacts of Genetic and Genomic Clinical Laboratory Testing in the United States, was prepared for the ACLA by Battelle, the world’s largest non-profit independent research and development organization.
Read the press release…
Read the full report…
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a gene that plays a critical role in the development of multiple cilia, microscopic hair-like structures that propel fluids through the brain and lungs. “Cells with multiple cilia play a number of important roles, including moving fluids through the respiratory tract, brain and spinal cord,” said lead researcher and Salk professor Christopher R. Kintner.
Kintner and his colleague, Pathway Genomics scientist Jennifer Stubbs, made the discovery by analyzing the embryos of Xenopus laevis, commonly known as the African clawed frog, while Stubbs was a postdoctoral fellow in Kintner’s lab. Read more about this exciting discovery…
Nutrition and wellness coach Kristen Michaelis, writer and editor of the popular blog Food Renegade, had the opportunity to discuss the topic of genetics, and its relation to nutritional science. In specific, she addresses the topic of epigenetics, which she describes as “the study of how inherited genes are turned on and turned off.” In her article, Michaelis interviews Catherine Shanahan, M.D., author of Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food, which dives deeply into the subject.
“I started writing when I became overwhelmed by the amount of medical research that did nothing to explain chronic illnesses, or what to do to actually cure them. I wanted the world to know that there was research to support eating a traditional diet, tons of it,” Dr. Shanahan explains. “…I wanted to incorporate all the amazing things about the inner workings of the human body that could be brought together to tell the story of health and disease simply by understanding how food affects our body at a cellular, even molecular, level.” Read more about this story…
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