Wednesday, February 10, 2021
UM School of Medicine Researchers Release Extensive Data on Rare Variants through NHLBI TopMed Grant
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and their colleagues published a new analysis today in the journal Nature from genetic sequencing data of more than 53,000 individuals, primarily from minority populations. The early analysis, part of a large-scale program funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, examines one of the largest and most diverse data sets of high-quality whole genome sequencing, which makes up a person’s DNA. It provides new genetic insights into heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders and how these conditions impact people with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, who are often underrepresented in genetic studies.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
University of Maryland School of Medicine Researchers Create Extensive Gene Expression Database to Gain New Insights into Pneumococcal Infections
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine published one of the most comprehensive analyses of how genes get expressed during infection (known as a transcriptome). The analyses include three different strains of the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia, meningitis and middle-ear infections. It also includes analyses of the lungs and four other organs in an animal model where the bacteria resides, multiplies and takes hold in the body. Their findings were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
UM School of Medicine Researchers Identify Role of Crucial Protein in Development of New Hair Cells Needed for Hearing
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have conducted a study that has determined the role that a critical protein plays in the development of hair cells. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have conducted a study that has determined the role that a critical protein plays in the development of hair cells.
Tuesday, September 08, 2020
UMSOM Researchers Receive $7 Million Grant To Establish Data Center for HIV and Substance Use Disorders
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have received a nearly $7 million grant to be disbursed over five years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant, provided to the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at UMSOM, will be used to establish an online data coordination center to enable researchers to store and access data sets generated by a program called Single Cell Opioid Responses in the Context of HIV (SCORCH).
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Researchers Develop First Catalogue of Genes that Comprise Community of Microbes in Vaginal Microbiome
University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) researchers have created the first catalogue of genes that comprise the community of microbes, which inhabit the human vagina. The catalogue, called human vaginal non-redundant gene catalog (VIRGO), was recently released as a public resource that can be used by researchers to facilitate a more in-depth understanding of the role of vaginal microorganisms in women’s health and to potentially develop future treatments for certain gynecologic conditions.
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
UM School of Medicine Researchers Institute for Genome Sciences' Researchers Discover Potential New Treatment for Tropical Parasitic Disease Using Genomics
Using innovative RNA sequencing techniques, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Institute for Genome Sciences identified a promising novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis, a disabling parasitic disease that is difficult to treat. The potential new therapy is an experimental cancer drug called JQ1 and targets proteins found prominently in the worm’s genome; it appears to effectively kill the adult worms in a laboratory setting, according to the study which was published today in the journal mSystems.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Researchers Identify How Vaginal Microbiome Can Elicit Resistance or Susceptibility to Chlamydia
The vaginal microbiome is believed to protect women against Chlamydia trachomatis, the etiological agent of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in developed countries. New research by the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) shows how the microbiome can either protect or make a woman more susceptible to these serious infections.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
The Human Microbiome Project expands the toolbox for studying host and microbiome interactions
New studies provide a framework for future studies of the role of the microbiome in health and disease.
Thursday, April 04, 2019
UM School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences Awarded $17.5 Million Grant for Infectious Disease Research
The Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) was awarded $17.5 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to fund the IGS Genome Center for Infectious Diseases (GCID) for another five years.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
New Study Finds That Bacteria and Immunity in the Cervix May be Key to Predicting Premature Birth
Spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation, and the related complications, are the largest contributors to infant death in the United States and worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have discovered that bacteria and innate immune factors in a woman’s birth canal and cervix may increase the risk of spontaneous preterm birth or provide protection against such births.