The Genomic Medicine Institute (GMI) serves as the expert base for the principles and practice of genomic medicine as a single platform for scholarly activity (research), academic clinical care and outreach and education ultimately directed at genomics-based personalized healthcare. Thus, GMI research will focus on translational and clinical human genetics and genomics (also to include epigenomics and proteomics) which would be eminently applicable to the routine clinical arena. GMI is helping to coordinate genomics research across many disciplines such that inter-disciplinary research and healthcare are being enhanced.
GMI is a nascent institute directed by Charis Eng, MD, PhD, and is housed in the new Center for Genomics Research Building’s fifth floor, which has been specifically designed to enhance translational genomic medicine. Open design laboratory space is in proximity to the GMI’s clinical component, the Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare, as well as to its Genomic Medicine Biorepository and the Genomics Core Facility. A unique training program that will prepare the next generation to be facile in the investigation related to and evidence-based practice of cancer genomic medicine has been initiated.
The Lerner Research Institute’s Genomics Core, under the scientific direction of Charis Eng, MD, PhD, has been awarded a $600,000 NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant (Dr. Eng is the PI on the grant) to significantly upgrade its next generation sequencing capabilities.
Charis Eng, MD, PhD, Genomic Medicine Institute Chair, recently published a paper in the Journal of Clinical Oncology entitled “Second Malignant Neoplasms in Patients With Cowden Syndrome With Underlying Germline PTEN Mutations.”
Micheala Aldred, PhD, Genomic Medicine Institute, was invited to be the “featured speaker” and conclude the session on Epigenetics in Pulmonary Hypertension: Novel Mechanisms and Targets at the 2014 American Thoracic Society Conference. Dr. Aldred’s presentation was entitled “Epigenetics: A changeable landscape.”
Amanda Tilot, doctoral student in the Molecular Medicine program, was named the winner of the F. Merlin Bumpus Junior Investigator Award. This award highlights excellence in research by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in both basic science and clinical areas.
The Friends of the LRI event highlights discoveries and innovations in treating specific disease areas and provides a unique opportunity to engage one-on-one with some of the world’s leading scientists.
Charis Eng, MD, PhD, Chair of the Cleveland Clinic’s Genomic Medicine Institute and Thomas Frazier II, PHD, Director of the Children’s Hospital Center for Autism are working to investigate autism and genetic related factors. Dr. Eng has discovered a gene mutation that predisposes people to certain kinds of cancer that can also be linked with autism. To learn more about this exciting research, watch interview here.
Dr. Charis Eng has achieved much during her busy life. Being a woman in the field of medicine and medical research has not always been easy, especially when it comes to being mentored.
The American Association for Cancer Research awarded Dr. Charis Eng with the Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship. She was the 17th annual award recipient. The lecture is intended to give recognition to an outstanding female or male scientist who has made meritorious contributions to the field of cancer research along with furthering the advancement of women in science through leadership or by example. Dr. Eng gave this lecture at the 2014 AACR Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.
Charis Eng, MD, PhD, Chair of GMI, recently received the American Medical Women’s Association’s Exceptional Mentor award. The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is an organization of women physicians, medical students and other persons dedicated to serving as the unique voice for women’s health and the advancement of
women in medicine.
Dr. Eng was anonymously nominated by a past mentee. This award acknowledges mentors who have selflessly contributed to the professional development and growth of women in medicine. Dr. Eng was honored at an awards luncheon in Washington, DC.
The European Journal of Clinical Investigation named Charis Eng, MD, PhD, Chair, Lerner Research Institute’s Genomic Medicine Institute, and Jeffrey Cummings, MD, Director, Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, among the world’s most highly influential biomedical researchers. The article recognizes 407 biomedical researchers from around the world based on Scopus publication impact and citation data from 1996–2011.
The Genomic Medicine Institute (GMI) hosted the Charles R. Drew Saturday Academy high school students on February 1, 2014. This is the fourth consecutive year GMI’s researchers, clinicians, and laboratory technicians teamed up to provide a tour of GMI and an overview of GMI’s work in the areas of genomic research, patient care, and public education.
Congratulations to Kylie Drake, PhD, for being awarded a Gilead Sciences Research Scholarship AND a Proof-of-Concept grant from the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.
The Genomic Medicine Institute is collaborating with Case Western Reserve University, the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge and other geographically dispersed institutions to combat the spread of malaria. Genetic sequencing of the Plasmodium vivax malaria parasite, conducted by David Serre’s lab, sheds light on its mechanism of infecting humans. This research may prove critical for heading off the rapid spread of anadapted form of malaria throughout Africa.
Many thanks to Dawn Caraballo, captain of GMI’s team that participated in the American Heart Association 2013 Cleveland Heart Walk. That’s her, fourth from the left. Read more…
The Genomic Medicine Institute hosted a genetics education symposium, “Genetics and Genomics: Roadmap for Clinical Practice,” at the InterContinental Hotel in Cleveland. Read more...
Angela Ting, PhD Awarded Grant to Study Epigenetic Mechanisms in Colon CancerAngela Ting, PhD, Assistant Staff in the Genomic Medicine Institute, has been awarded a grant from the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research, entitled “Functional Delineation of Abnormal 3’ DNA Methylation in Colon Cancer,” will improve our mechanistic understanding of colon cancer development and progression. Read more...
Ting Laboratory, from left: Angela Ting, PhD, Nagarajavel Vivekananthan, PhD, and Thomas Sweet, PhD
Research connecting autism with the PTEN genetic mutation was recently featured in the New York Times Health section. “Autism’s Unexpected Link to Cancer Gene,” published on August 11th, highlighted recent research conducted by Charis Eng, MD, PhD, Chair of the Genomic Medicine Institute, in collaboration with Thomas Frazier, MD, Director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Autism. Read the full story. (New York Times subscription required.)
Many people with Cowden Syndrome, Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba Syndrome, and a few other genetic conditions have been found to have PTEN gene mutations as the cause of their medical concerns.
The reseearch team led by Charis Eng, MD, PhD, developed a semi-quantitative score—the Cleveland Clinic (CC) score—that relates the prevalence of clinically observed symptoms in adults to the probability of harboring a PTEN mutation.
Byron Lee, MD, PhD, who completed his research year as part of the Urology residency program in the Genomic Medicine Institute under the mentorship of Angela Ting, PhD, won a second place Lower Memorial Award in basic science for a paper published in Cancer Research.