A consortium of health care, technology and research leaders have joined forces in a first-of-its-kind research study to assess the behavioral impact of personal genetic testing on people who choose to receive such screenings to identify their potential risk for developing certain diseases.

For Scripps employees, family members and friends participation in the study, visit: Navigenics

Featured in the Associated Press (10/8/08)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gFGBNXc5wMpaNK5BMK7Dvvp6LgzwD93MO62G3
Featured in Wall Street Journal (10/09/08)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122351910873018129.html
Featured in San Diego Union Tribune (10/09/08)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/biotech/20081009-9999-1n9genes.html

Scripps Genomic Health Initiative Saliva Collection Events

SGHI Frequently Asked Questions

For more information, please contact:
Scripps Translational Science Institute
3344 North Torrey Pines Court, Suite 300
La Jolla, CA 92037
Tele: (858) 554-5736
Fax: (858) 546-9272
sghi@scrippshealth.org

Scientists Hope to Crack the Genetic Code of Those Who Live the Longest (Sept 19 2008 Publication)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122176857706253591.html

Neuroblastoma — a cancer of the nervous system — accounts for 15 percent of childhood cancer deaths and has bleak survival probabilities of less than 40 percent. There is a strong familial association and it was predicted more than 30 years ago that there is a genetic element to the disease.

The genetic discovery stems from a global research collaboration headed by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The study involved screening the genomes of 20 affected families (a total of 176 people), looking for single letter changes in the DNA code, which are mutations known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs.

STSI was sought to participate in the study based on its expertise in conducting structural studies of SNPs identified in genes and proteins. Researchers at STSI looked at the mutations identified through the genetic screening and determined precisely where on the protein structure those mutations resided, enabling them to predict whether the mutations are likely to have meaningful biological effects.

Researchers identified inherited mutations in the gene encoding ALK, a tyrosine kinase receptor, as being responsible for causing the disease known as neuroblastoma in the majority of families. SNP mutations in this gene were also found in sporadic cases of neuroblastoma. The mutations mapped to a part of the ALK gene that cause it to be constantly active in promoting cell proliferation, explaining its ability to contribute to the cancer.

“This is a significant finding because it means we can screen for people who carry mutations to see if they are at risk for neuroblastoma,” said Nicholas Schork, Ph.D., director of biostatistics for STSI.
Schork and STSI researcher and Dickinson scholar Ali Torkamani, Ph.D. are among the authors of the article in Nature online. The research opens the door for a long-sought-after molecular diagnostic test for predisposition to neuroblastoma, as well as identifying ALK as a promising drug target.

Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) is an initiative of Scripps Health, in collaboration with The Scripps Research Institute. Scripps Health is a $2 billion nonprofit community health system based in San Diego, Calif.

Websites: Scripps Health The Scripps Research Institute

]]> http://www.stsiweb.org/2008/08/stsi-featured-in-nature-magazine/feed/ http://www.stsiweb.org/2008/06/nih-expands-national-consortium-dedicated-to-transforming-clinical-and-translational-research/ http://www.stsiweb.org/2008/06/nih-expands-national-consortium-dedicated-to-transforming-clinical-and-translational-research/#comments Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:46:53 +0000 admin https://www.stsiweb.org/wordpress/?p=163 Fourteen Institutions Will Receive $533 Million Over 5 Years to Help Researchers Turn Laboratory Discoveries into Treatments for Patients

Fourteen academic health centers in 11 states are the latest members of the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium. Creating a unique network of medical research institutions across the nation, the consortium is working to reduce the time it takes for laboratory discoveries to become treatments for patients and to engage communities in clinical research efforts. It also is fulfilling the critical need to train the next generation of clinical and translational researchers. The consortium is led by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a part of the NIH.

“With more than half of NIH’s funding allocated for basic research, the CTSA consortium is perfectly poised to help move discoveries in the laboratory to improved patient care. The consortium serves as the bridge in this process that allows researchers to perfect and refine existing treatments through interdisciplinary teams that extend to the clinic and community,” said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. “Through the consortium, we are better able to leverage expertise and resources across the CTSA institutions, and ultimately maximize NIH’s investment in basic research, which should remain a top priority.”

The institutions receiving new CTSA funding include (view descriptions of the CTSA awardees at www.ncrr.nih.gov/ctsa2008):

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University (New York City)

Boston University (Boston)

Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.)

Indiana University School of Medicine (Indianapolis)

Northwestern University (Chicago and Evanston, Ill.)

The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)

The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, Calif.)

Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.)

Tufts University (Boston)

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (Birmingham, Ala.)

University of Colorado Denver (Aurora, Colo.)

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (San Antonio)

The University of Utah (Salt Lake City)

These 14 academic health centers join 24 others announced in 2006 and 2007. Total funding for these new awards is $533 million over five years. The 2008 CTSA grants expand state representation in the consortium to Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Utah. They also support pediatric research at 13 dedicated children’s hospitals; expand research in genetics and genomics; enhance research in behavioral immunology and infection risk; and increase outreach into local communities.

“As the CTSA consortium expands across the nation, the NIH is elevating clinical and translational research from a single research enterprise to a network of exceptional collaborations that will translate new knowledge into tangible benefits for the American people by bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise leading to new prevention strategies and clinical treatments,” said NCRR Director Barbara M. Alving, M.D.

Since its launch in 2006, the consortium has been:

• training researchers in the complexities of clinical and translational research through nationally recognized degree-granting programs;
• leveraging CTSA resources to expand research and training opportunities in underserved states and communities;
• assembling interdisciplinary teams that include but are not limited to basic scientists, biologists, clinical researchers, dentists, veterinarians, nurses, pharmacists, biomedical engineers, and geneticists;
• partnering with researchers at minority institutions to enhance outreach to underserved populations, local community and advocacy organizations, and health care providers;
• creating best practices to improve clinical research informatics tools to analyze research data and manage clinical trials;
• designating technologies for marketing and licensing purposes that will increase global access to research tools;
• forging new partnerships with private and public health care organizations, including pharmaceutical companies, the Veterans Administration hospitals, health maintenance organizations, as well as state health agencies.

The CTSA initiative grew out of the NIH commitment to re-engineer the clinical research enterprise, one of the key objectives of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Most of the funding will come from terminating grants to General Clinical Research Centers, supplemented by NIH Roadmap funds. In 2012, when the program is fully implemented, approximately 60 CTSAs will be connected with an annual budget of $500 million.

A fourth funding opportunity announcement for CTSAs is available, calling for the next round of applications to be submitted by June 17, 2008, with the awards expected in March 2009. More information about this funding announcement can be found at www.ncrr.nih.gov/crfunding. For more information about the CTSA program, visit www.ncrr.nih.gov/crctsa.

The CTSA consortium Web site which provides information on the current members and the new grantees can be accessed at CTSAweb.org.

NCRR provides laboratory scientists and clinical researchers with the resources and training they need to understand, detect, treat, and prevent a wide range of diseases. Through the CTSA consortium and other collaborations, NCRR supports all aspects of translational and clinical research, connecting researchers with one another and with patients and communities across the nation. For more information, visit www.ncrr.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation’s Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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FEE:
Member: register-prepay=$95.00 Pre register only
Non-member: register-prepay=$145.00 Pre register only

DATE:
October 25, 2007

PLACE:
Del Mar Marriott
11966 El Camino Real

TIME: 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m
Continental Breakfast & Lunch included

DESCRIPTION:
Forum on ANALYTICS
From Data to Decision

Predictive Analytics is driving the software industry. San Diego is driving predictive analytics.

Analytics is the next wave –
mining data, predicting trends, optimizing performance and improving
decision making.

For an inside look at the future of information technology, a half-day conference plus workshop

Panelists Representing*

• Fair Isaac
• Teradata
• Visual Sciences
• Oracle
• SAIC
• ID Analytics
• Salford Systems
• Veoh Networks
• RealAge
• Mission Ventures
• JMI Equity
• Morgan Stanley

Lead Sponsors

• Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe
• Ernst & Young
• Wilson Sonsini,Goodrich, Rosati
• JHG Townsend
• Teradata
• Visual Sciences

Contributing Sponsor

• Oracle
• Science Track Sponsor
• Knobbe Martens, Olson & Bear
• Contributing Sponsor
• Silicon Valley Bank

Media Sponsors

• Red Herring
• Sign On San Diego

Who should attend: Those interested in understanding the broad applications of this technology and its impact on how we use data. In addition to the panel discussions, there will be an afternoon discussion of current scientific trends.

*Subject to Change

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Date: November 2nd, 2007

Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Calit2 Building, Room 3008, UC Irvine

DESCRIPTION/ABSTRACT:

This talk concerns regulation of transmit power while reliably disseminating time-critical patient information over wireless channels for in-hospital and remote patient monitoring.  We present theoretical results in the price/utility framework and show how control theoretic Zames-Falb multiplier techniques can be applied to derive stabilizing nonlinear dynamic controllers in the face of set-point variations and channel variations.

Probably the two most distinguishing features of a telemedicine application are the sensors and the data analysis algorithms used to monitor and control.

We consider the specific application of closed-loop insulin delivery to diabetic Type I patients.  After characterizing the sensor noise and process disturbances, we present an H-infinity controller to administer the insulin using insulin pumps.

We comment on the relevance of this application to telemedicine systems.

SPEAKER BIO:

Dr. Vishwesh Kulkarni is the president of Sentina Systems Ltd. and a visiting assistant professor in the electrical engineering department at IIT, Bombay . He received a PhD (EE) from the University of Southern California in 2002.

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End Date:
Friday, March 28 2008

Address:
Marriott Marquis Hotel
Atlanta, GA

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End Date:
Wednesday, February 06 2008

Address:
The Westin Casuarina Las Vegas Hotel
Las Vegas, NV

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