Genetics
| Director: | W. Timothy Garvey, MD Professor and Chair Department of Nutrition Sciences Phone: (205) 934-6103 Email: garveyt@uab.edu |
| Core Investigators: | Jose Fernandez, PhD Associate Professor Department of Nutrition Sciences Phone: (205) 934-2029 Email: jose@uab.edu Kerry Lok, MD Nutritional Genomics Component Director Phone: (205) 975-5090 Email: kerrylok@uab.edu |
| Contact Information: | Kerry Lok, MD Nutritional Genomics Component Director Phone: (205) 975-5090 Email: kerrylok@uab.edu |
Established: 1996
Mission
The NORC Genetics Core, funded by the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), provides investigators performing nutrition/obesity-related research access to common Core resources in order to enhance and strengthen the quality of genetic and molecular studies.
Facility Description
The Nutritional Genomics Facility is located in the Susan Mott Webb Nutrition Sciences Building. Core equipment includes an Agilent Bioanalyzer, an ABI310 capillary electrophoresis instrument, Real time quantitative PCR, and thermal cyclers.
Services
The Nutritional Genomics Component/Facility offers consultation and services in the area of molecular methods development and genome analysis. This includes primer design, PCR, RT-PCR, Allelic loss analysis, Semi-automated RNA and DNA fragment analysis (Agilent Bioanalyzer), Mouse marker genotyping for speedcongenics, Automated DNA fragment analysis (ABI310PrismGeneticAnalyzer), Microsatellites (mouse and human). Recent PCR-RFLP of MTHFR, CBS, apoE, urokinase, PAI-1, fibrinogen, TPA, ATPA1A2, ADRB3, IGF1, IRS1, GNB3, MC4R and UCP1-3. adiponectin, apoCIII, CPT1, and CETP.
Planned Restructuring of Core
Over the next year, the Genetics and Molecular Methods Development Core will retain its current methodologies in support of the investigator base, and also add a capacity for quantification of racial genetic admixture. Over time, it is anticipated the racial admixture typing will predominate in the Core’s activities, as it becomes more cost-effective to utilize commercial services for medium to high throughput genotyping, SNP typing, and sequencing. This capacity will support our investigators in studying the genetic basis of obesity, the Metabolic Syndrome, and other nutritional diseases.
Our investigators are currently conducting genetic studies in several populations, including mixed race populations in the Birmingham area, in the Black Belt counties of Alabama, Gullah-speaking African Americans, national cohort trials, and subgroups of volunteers who have been metabolically phenotyped through the years in the context of several UAB protocols. Since Caucasian admixture can vary widely in African American individuals, this variable will be quantified to assess the impact of racial genetic composition on obesity phenotypes. Thus, the need for these services will increase. Accordingly, we are in the process of recruiting a national leader in the field of racial genetic admixture, and equipping the laboratory with an ABI Prism 3100-avant sequencer/genotyper, Affymetrix® fluidics station and scanner, and robots to accommodate admixture typing and admixture typing development. Dr. Garvey has assumed interim directorship for the short term, until a permanent director with expertise in admixture typing is recruited.
