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Pre-Conference Short Course Tutorials
Sunday, April 23 *
1:30pm Registration
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Short Course Tutorial One
2:00-5:00 Building a Basic and Clinical Science Gene Expression Infrastructure: A Practical Guide for the Laboratory
Andrew I. Brooks, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Environmental Medicine and Genetics & Director, Bionomics Research and Technology Center
(BRTC), Environmental and Occupational Health Science Institute, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; and Associate Director, Technology Development, Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository
(RUCDR), Department of Genetics, Rutgers University
Gene expression has become an integral technology in a variety of academic and industrial laboratories. Whether the focus of an experiment is centered on a cluster of well defined genes or more global profiling approach, a “model of consistency” should be established to ensure the minimization of technological variation. This tutorial will outline the development and implementation of standard practices for employing low, moderate and high-throughput gene expression technologies in your laboratory. Topics and protocols for sample accessioning, nucleic acid extraction and amplification, technology selection and data analysis will be among the topics covered in the tutorial.
Who Should Attend
Researchers, Clinicians, Core Directors, Graduate Students, Post-docs interested in learning about and implementing cutting edge gene expression technologies with a focus on sample preparation and microarray validation. Principles for laboratory organization, sample tracking and processing, assay and experimental design, and fundamentals of gene expression data analysis will be covered.
Short Course Tutorial Two
2:00-5:00 Research & Compliance: IRB Issues and Guidance
Greg Koski, MD, Ph.D., Former Director, Office for Human Research Protections, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Associate Professor of
Anaesthesia, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
and
Leslie E. Wolf, JD, MPH, Program in Medical Ethics, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California San Francisco
The short course on regulatory compliance issues for researchers will provide an overview of the federal regulations governing human subjects research, including the role of institutional review board
(IRB) review of research involving human subjects and the requirement for informed consent. In particular, the course will focus on the ethical issues that arise in research involving stored biological materials and how the regulations may apply to this research.
Please visit our website for the plethora of options available on Monday - Wednesday
* Separate Registration Required (Complimentary for Platinum Registration)
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4:00-5:00pm Early Conference Registration
Thursday, April 27
7:30 Registration and Morning Coffee
Opening Plenary Session
| Keynote Presentations
8:30 Chairperson's Remarks
8:40 Improving the Efficiency and Reliability of Microarray Research to Study Prognosis and Response to Therapy
Dr. David F. Ransohoff, Professor of Medicine, Director, Clinical Research Curriculum, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Hundreds of papers have been published reporting that transcriptional profiling, using
microarrays, may be used to predict cancer prognosis and response to therapy. Yet recent critiques suggest that many results may not be reproducible. What may be wrong with the process of evaluating molecular markers for cancer, and how can the efficiency and reliability of the process be improved?
9:20 Array CGH in Clinical Pathology: Progress and Challenges
Dr. Shelly R. Gunn, Instructor, Cellular & Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and
Dr. Mansoor S. Mohammed, CSO, CombiMatrix Molecular Diagnostics
Array CGH began as an effective laboratory tool for genome scanning. It is now poised to become one of themost powerful diagnostic and prognostic tests in clinical pathology. Great progress has been made in the development of clinical diagnostic arrays for congenital abnormalities, and CGH arrays are also being developed to provide detailed outlines of hematopoietic and solid tumors. However, despite this progress there are still many challenges to be met before array CGH becomes a routinely ordered clinical test. |
10:00 Morning Coffee, Poster and Exhibit Viewing
CGH Arrays Current Applications
10:45 Chair's Remarks
10:50 Application of Genomic Microarray in Reproductive Pathology and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis after Whole Genome Amplification
Dr. Moncef BenKhalifa, Director, R&D, Advanced Technologies Laboratories; Scientific Director, Consultori Di Genetica & Genoma Laboratories, and Scientific Director, Women's Health Clinic, IVF & Genetics Centre
Clinical applications of array CGH were made possible by developments in the human genome project and associated technologies. Such developments now allow for identification of sequences mapped to specific regions, arraying them on a slide, and using this array for comparing test and control DNA. This made high-resolution analysis feasible as a diagnostic tool for the comprehensive analysis of detailed chromosomal alterations of DNA copy numbers. Further, unlike classic
CGH, array CGH is more amenable to automation and thus significant cost cutting for reproductive medicine and IVF including reproductive pathology, postnatal
karyotyping, and genomic investigation for infertile couples undergoing
IVF. For the next few years, array based CGH will become routinely used in clinical and molecular genetics in areas ranging from preimplantation genetic diagnosis to fetal losses to cancer and beyond for chromosome or mutation analysis without any limitation of nucleic acid sources thanks to whole genome amplification techniques.
11:20 High-Density Array CGH and Its Integration with other Molecular Profiling Technologies
Dr. John N. Weinstein, Senior Investigator, Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology; Head, Genomics and Bioinformatics Group, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH
High-density array CGH is illuminating in itself but more so when combined with other types of data on the same cells. We and our collaborators have profiled the NCI-60 cell lines extensively at the DNA, RNA, protein,
epigenomic, functional, and pharmacological levels. The data complements our profiling of the same cell types using three different array CGH platforms.
"Integromic" analysis of the diverse data sets poses formidable bioinformatic challenges that motivated us to develop the "Miner Suite" of computer resources for the purpose
(http://discover.nci.nih.gov). The combination of CGH and expression data can have significant translational implications, as will become apparent from an example to be discussed in the presentation.
11:50 Array CGH for Biomarker Discovery in Cancer
Dr. Robin Leach, Professor, Department of Cellular and Structural Biology and Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Genetic alterations are clearly a hallmark of cancer. Changes in genomic copy numbers, both losses and gains, can be useful to identify the genes involved in cancer progression. Genomic array approaches allows high resolution characterization of the genomes from tumors and has led to the identification of genes that were not previously evaluated in cancer progression. Such genes are ideal targets for the development of new biomarkers of diagnosis and progression.
12:20 Lunch on Your Own (Sponsored Technology Workshops Available)
Platforms for Advancement of Array CGH Technology
2:00 Chairperson's Remarks
2:05 CGH Technology Choices and Considerations
Dr. Todd Martinsky, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President, TeleChem International, Inc.
aCGH users have many choices to make. To make their own
microarray, purchase from a vendor, or use a core facility. Microarray CGH designs can include
BACs, long oligos microarrays or very high density tiling arrays. If the user chooses to make their own
microarrays, considerations include: sample type, surface chemistry, buffer systems, detection and labeling systems. This talk will discuss some key aCGH technology choices and discuss the pros and con's of each path.
2:30 Sample Preparation Technologies for Genome Analysis and Array CGH
Dr. Todd Peterson, Vice President, Cloning and Protein Expression R&D, Invitrogen Corporation
The emergence of a variety of comparative genome methods, principally driven by comparative genome hybridization on high-density arrays, have recently enhanced our understanding of genetic disease and the mechanisms of genetic variation. Novel, simple, robust technologies and products for genomic DNA preparation that are compatible with and designed for methods employed for genome analysis have been developed. Manual and automated genomic DNA purification solutions in magnetic bead, column and plate formats ensure high yield and purity from a wide variety of sample types. The developed suite of PureLink™, ChargeSwitch® and GeneCatcher™ genomic DNA purification products and BioPrime®/AlexaFluor® CGH labeling and detection technologies will be discussed.
2:55 TBA
3:20 Approaches to Comparative Genome Hybridization using Electrochemically Synthesized Microarrays
Dr. Andy McShea, Vice President, Combimatrix Corporation
Array based comparative genomic hybridization allows the identification of gains and losses of genomic regions that lead to copy number changes and sequence rearrangements in chromosomes. This powerful technique allows investigators to pinpoint genomic regions that have undergone significant change. Genomic tiling arrays can be generated with capture probes designed for any interval of a sequenced region of a genome. Probes are selected for overall quality, as well as for uniqueness over the genomic sequence space, then synthesized in situ on an array of 12000 or 90000 microelectrodes.
3:45 Refreshment Break, Last Chance for Poster and Exhibit Viewing
Closing Plenary Session
| Featured Presentations
4:15 Chairperson's Remarks
4:20 Structural Variation in the Human Genome: New Insights for Diagnostics and Disease Study
Dr. Stephen Scherer, Senior Scientist, Genetics and Genomic Biology; Director, The Centre for Applied
Genomics; Associate Chief, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto
The first wave of information from the analysis of the human genome revealed SNPs to be the major source of genetic and phenotypic human variation. However, the advent of genome-scanning technologies has now uncovered an unexpectedly large extent of 'structural variation' in the human genome. Rapidly accumulating evidence indicates that structural variants can comprise millions of nucleotides of heterogeneity within every genome, and are likely to make an important contribution to human diversity and disease susceptibility. |
4:55 Panel Discussion - Considerations for Moving into the Clinic
5:30 Close of Conference
Mary Ann Brown, Senior Conference Director
Fax: 781-972-5425
Email: mabrown@healthtech.com
For
sponsorship information contact:
Suzanne Carroll, Manager of Business Development Phone: 781-972-5452
Email: scarroll@healthtech.com
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