July 10, 2008

PhenX Newsletter - Information and Updates
Issue 3. July 10, 2008

Call for Survey Response

The project PhenX, for Phenotypes and eXposures, is funded by National Institutes of Health's, National Human Genome Research Institute. The goal of the project is to select 15 measures for up to 20 research domains that will be recommended for use in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and other large-scale genomic studies. The active input from researchers is critically important for this consensus effort. We are seeking input from the research community through a web-based survey. Your expertise and insight will be extremely valuable while developing an effective consensus process.

Highlights

PhenX to Launch Demographics Measures Survey

On July 7th, at www.phenx.org, the Demographics Measures Survey was released. Active input from the research community is critically important to this consensus effort, and we are seeking your review and comment. In this survey, researchers will have an opportunity to rate the usefulness and the priority of the domain measures, make suggestions to include other measures, comment on the protocols and procedures for each of the proposed measures, and provide specific feedback about any or all measures. Survey responses will be anonymous. To take the survey, follow this link: www.phenx.org/surveys.

We encourage that respondents take the survey within the first 2-3 weeks from the release date. Comments received will be used by the PhenX Demographics Working Group to build consensus on a set of measures for inclusion in the PhenX Toolkit. The idea behind the Toolkit is to make it easy for researchers to include standard measures in their genomic studies, thus greatly increasing the opportunity for cross study analysis.

Featuring Steering Committee Members

In each newsletter, we will highlight two members of the Steering Committee (SC). Here, we present Drs. Patrick Sullivan and Diane Wagener, who lend their expertise and guidance to the SC. Dr. Sullivan is also the SC liaison to the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Substances (ATOS) Working Group. Dr. Wagener will be the SC liaison to the Exposures Working Group, which will be convened this fall.

Patrick Sullivan MD, FRANZCP University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Sullivan’s expertise is in the genetic etiology of major depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, smoking behavior, and schizophrenia. He was one of the first six recipients of a GAIN award which he is using to conduct a GWAS of major depression. He is also one of the first investigators to conduct a genome scan for nicotine dependence. He collaborates with other genetic researchers around the world (e.g., Sweden, Ireland) and has over 170 publications.

Diane Wagener, PhD. PhenX Co-Investigator.

Dr. Wagener’s research focus is on genomic and proteomic epidemiologic research. She is currently conducting a study on immune response to vaccination, but has previously conducted studies on schizophrenia, Type 1 diabetes, breast cancer, and asthma. Before joining Research Triangle Institute (also known as RTI International) she worked as division director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Division of Health Promotion Statistics, and later as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS’s) Assistant Secretary for Health. In the government she was primarily involved with the use of data from national health systems. Dr. Wagener has more than 120 publications.

Steering Committee Members

Jonathan Haines, PhD, Chair, Vanderbilt University, Center for Human Genetics Research
William R. Harlan, MD, Vice Chair,National Library of Medicine Consultant
Terri H. Beaty, PhD, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Lindsay A. Farrer, PhD, Boston University
Peter Kraft, PhD, Harvard School of Public Health
Mary L. Marazita, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics
Jose M. Ordovas, PhD, Tufts University, Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging
Erin Ramos, PhD, MPH, National Human Genome Research Institute
Margaret R. Spitz, MD, MPH, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Diane Wagener, PhD, RTI International
Michelle Williams, ScD, University of Washington
More...

Research Team Members

Carol M. Hamilton, PhD, PhenX Principal Investigator, RTI International
Diane Wagener, PhD, PhenX co-Investigator, RTI International
Richard Kwok, PhD, PhenX Investigator, RTI International
Deborah Maiese, MPA, Consensus Coordinator, RTI International
Joe Pratt, MPM, PhenX Project Manager, RTI International
Erin Ramos, PhD, MPH, Project Scientist, NHGRI
Teri Manolio, MD, PhD, Director, Office of Population Genomics; Senior Advisor to the Director, NHGRI, for Population Genomics
Heather Junkins, MS, Scientific Program Analyst, NHGRI

Announcements

The Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Substances (ATOS) WG was initiated June 12, 2008. Read more about working groups on the website: More...