E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, School of Medicine

      

        Recently, Congress passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits health insurance companies and employers from using genetic information in determining insurance eligibility or in hiring, firing, or promotion decisions. GINA will likely dramatically increase the public’s willingness to undergo genetic testing, and, in the process, accelerate the unlocking of the promise of the Human Genome Project, which finished sequencing all three billion base pairs of all 23 human chromosomes in 2003.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine is poised to take full advantage of the fruits of the Human Genome Project. Our new institute for genome sciences (IGS), which will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Bulletin, is dedicated to applying genomic information to the advancement of human health. This institute, which is headed by preeminent genome scientist and microbiologist Claire M. Fraser-Liggett, PhD, will have an eventual staff of about 150 and a research budget of up to $40 million.

Closely allied with IGS are several existing genetics and genomics programs in the medical school. One is the program in genetics and genomics, led by Alan R. Shuldiner, MD, an endocrinologist nationally known for his work in the molecular basis and genetics of type 2 diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance. Shuldiner directs a large multidisciplinary team of investigators working to translate advances in the understanding of human genetics and genomics into practical approaches for preventing and treating a range of diseases.

The other program with strong ties to IGS is our cardiopulmonary genomics program, led by Stephen Liggett, MD, an internationally recognized researcher who studies how naturally occurring genetic variations affect susceptibility to heart disease and asthma and response to drugs. Researchers in Liggett’s program will benefit from the tools and methodologies being developed by IGS researchers to better tailor drug treatment regimens.
Our global medicine research projects also will benefit greatly from these outstanding genomics resources and experts. For example, our institute of human virology (IHV), headed by internationally recognized AIDS researcher Robert C. Gallo, MD, is aggressively pursuing the mechanisms by which viruses attack human cells and spread. Understanding a person’s genomic makeup may help the IHV researchers better predict how patients will respond to viral infections and treatments.

Similarly, researchers at our center for vaccine development (CVD), headed by world renowned infectious disease and tropical medicine expert, Myron M. Levine, MD, DTPH, will benefit by better understanding how a person’s genetic makeup affects his/her immune response to a particular vaccine. CVD investigators develop and test vaccines for a wide range of infectious diseases that affect millions of people throughout the world.

Supporting the work of genetics and genomic researchers throughout the campus are the division of biostatistics and the program in bioinformatics in the school’s department of epidemiology and preventive medicine. In addition, genomic researchers campus-wide have access to the school’s state-of-the-art biopolymer/genomics core facility, providing advanced DNA sequencing and sophisticated gene analysis support. Soon, we will be able to examine a person’s entire genome, or at least a large portion of it, and make individualized diagnoses and treatment decisions based on one’s unique genetic profile.
My vision is to have the University of Maryland School of Medicine become one of the leading centers in the country for genomic medicine. We boast unsurpassed expertise and technology not only in genome sciences but also in our ability to translate genomic information into better diagnostic tests and targeted therapies for conditions that affect patients worldwide. Thanks to GINA, we can now accelerate that process and look forward with great anticipation to this type of personalized medicine becoming a reality in the not-too-distant future.

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