8:30 Genomewide Dissection and Predictive Modeling of
Complex Traits
Marco F. Ramoni , Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Health Sciences and
Technology Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Complex traits are the result of the interaction of multiple
genetic factors. Genomewide association studies give us the opportunity to query
virtually all of the variations in an individual, but our analytical methods
focus on analyzing one SNP at a time. Learn how to identify the complex
multigenic profiles underpinning two common diseases - stroke and asthma - and
to develop prognostic models able predict the risk of an individual based on his
genetic variations.
9:00 Genotyping of Pooled DNA on Affymetrix Microarrays
Tomas Drgon , Ph.D., Staff Fellow, Molecular Neurobiology , NIDA, NIH I will discuss advantages and disadvantages of pooled DNA
genotyping in clinical and basic research in human genetics. I will discuss the
sources of error, from clinical ascertainment, to pool construction, analysis
and replication. I will also discuss selected methods for analysis of pooled
genotype data such as Principal Component Analysis, Hierarchical Clustering and
Monte Carlo modeling.
9:30 Analysis of Sex- and Age-Related Differences in Heart of Rat Strain
Fisher 344 Using Oligonucleotide Microarrays
Tao Han, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, Systems Toxicology, National Center for
Toxicology Research, FDA Evidence indicates that there are sex-related differences in
cardiovascular disease and heart failure in humans, including age of onset,
initial manifestations, and drug responses. These differences may be reflective
of differential gene and protein expression. Gene expression profiles in the
heart were examined in both male and female rats at three different ages. The
sex difference was much greater at 21 weeks compared to 8 weeks and 78 weeks.
Few common differentially expressed genes at different ages indicated that the
sex difference is age-specific. These results may provide insights into sex- or
age-related cardiovascular diseases and drug responses.
10:00 Solution Showcase
(Sponsorship
Available)
10:15 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall
11:00 Challenges to Patenting Microarray Inventions
Les Overman , Ph.D., Attorney, Patent & Trademark , Heller Ehrman LLP Current USPTO practices and new and proposed rules, recent
court decisions, and pending legislation are conspiring to make the process of
securing and defending patent rights much more challenging now and in the
future. The business of Microarray technology is particularly sensitive to these
legal changes. Scientists need to know how these changes will affect research
activities and business developers need to know how these changes will affect
financing, licensing and litigation risk. This presentation will address these
concerns for stakeholders in the Microarray technology area.
11:30 Programmable Submicrolitre Lab-on-a-Chip for Molecular
Diagnostic Applications Stefan Thalhammer, Ph.D., Institute of Radiation Protection, GSF - National
Research Center for Environment and Health Here we present an acoustic driven free programmable
multifunctional biochemical lab-on-a-chip. By combining different platform
elements, like microdissection-, nanofluidic- and detection-modules, the
lab-on-a-chip can be adapted to question- and patient-specific cytogenetic and
forensic applications. In contrast to many common available lab-on-a-chip
approaches, the fluidic handling is done on a planar surface of the
lab-on-a-chip. Minute amounts of biochemical fluids are confined in ‘virtual’
reaction chambers and ‘virtual’ test tubes in the form of free droplets. The
droplets, fluidic tracks and reaction sites are defined at the chip surface by a
monolayer chemical modification of the chip surface. Surface acoustic waves are
employed to agitate and actuate these little virtual test tubes along
predetermined trajectories. Well-defined analyses, controlled in the
submicrolitre regime, can be quickly and gently conducted on the lab-on-a-chip
12:00 pm Simultaneous Detection and Definitive Identification of Upper
Respiratory Pathogens Using Resequencing Microarrays
Matthew Lorence, Ph.D., Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Tessarae, LLC
TessArae’s Resequencing Pathogen Microarray (RPM)
simultaneously detects and identifies hundreds of strains of viral and bacterial
pathogens.
Unlike PCR and immunoassays that employ a surrogate marker
for detection (e.g. fluorescent signal), RPM results are the nucleotide
sequences of pathogen-specific signatures that distinguish between known and
previously unknown variants, as well as detecting co-infecting pathogens.
Epidemiological analysis of such sequence variants enables
monitoring of newly introduced, circulating, and commensal organisms within
defined populations. A clinical study of 424 respiratory specimens demonstrated
superior sensitivity and specificity, with zero false positives, compared to
benchmark microbial cultures and PCR tests and identified thirteen novel H3N2
influenza strains. RPM provides single-specimen, single-test, same-day results
for real-time global epidemiology.
