By Jim Nicholson
The New
York Times recently enthused that the newly re-named Genome
Center at Washington University had sequenced the genome for corn.
While that was big news for the Times, Richard Wilson, the CenterÕs
Director prefers to savor the advances the Center has made with
human DNA, especially in regard to possible treatments for cancer.
Understanding corn, of course, is nice, comprehending the inner
workings of human DNA, on the other hand, will ultimately prove
invaluable and Washington University is in the forefront of genome
research.
"The
(Genome) Center (at Washington University) is a jewel," Wilson
states with pride. "It is one of three such centers in the
country" (the others are at MIT and the Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston) Òand is funded by the National Institutes
of Health."
Its work will
ultimately profoundly effect medical treatment. "All of us
possess a unique DNA blueprint," Wilson explains. "The
similarities make us human. The differencesÑwhether we
will be short or tall, large-boned or small-boned, intellectually
active or passive, nervous or calm, healthy or not healthyÑindividualize
us." Why do we get sick? The answer is in our DNA. If we
learn how to predict who will become sick, when in their life
it will happen and why, we will empower doctors to be more pro-active
on an individual basis in patient healthcare." Any patient
who's had to be patient as his or her doctor followed a generic
game plan for treatment which then had to be altered due to uniquely
individual responses to that treatment will immediately recognize
the benefits of a pro-active individualized approach to treatment.
The center first sequenced the human genome in 2000 and upgraded the quality of that sequence in 2003. It is now looking at the DNA from people with varying diseases to learn why one person will get one disease and another will not. Not all lung cancers, for instance, are equal. Some long-term smokers never develop the disease. Some non-smokers die of it relatively early. The Center is striving to learn what is the genetic basis for the disease.
Understanding
the differences greatly changes and improves treatment of the
disease. "We hope initially to be able to personalize treatment
in order to develop better drugs with specific targets,"
Wilson continues. "Why do some patients suffer severe side
effects with chemotherapy, for instance, while others do not?"
Eliminating the discomfort of the side effects obviously enhances
the benefits of the treatment.
Asked the
provenance of the Genome Center at Washington University, Wilson
relates that it was the result of a serendipitous happenstance.
"In the late '80s/early '90s, there were a lot of really
good people at Washington University sharing similar research
goalsÑone of those right place, right time, people working
on the right thing occurrences." In Wilson's mind that should
not be all that surprising. "It's a great University,"
he continues, "with great people who work well together."
Wilson is
also quick to point out that the University has done some of its
own fundraising for the Genome Center. Despite a seemingly built-in
regional mindset, it may come as a surprise to learn that St.
Louis' central location is "not an advantage" from the
point of view of fundraising. "It's easier in Boston,"
he states bluntly. "All of our major funding is from the
National Institutes for Health. I wish it were different. I wish
a lot more local money was available."
Some local
money that was available came from a substantial and, in Wilson's
phrasing, "quite generous" contribution from local philanthropist
Alvin Siteman, who has funded one of the Center's cancer projects.
"This sort of thing is key", Wilson explains. "Especially
when you start to do research that really impacts the community.
We know we all have different genetic formulas. We've just scratched
the surface in using genetics as a basis for treatment."
What he leaves unsaid is that such research is expensive, but
that the results of that research, especially on a potential local
treatment level, will be both far-reaching and highly beneficial.
The Center
is about to occupy a new $12 million, Washington University School
of Medicine-funded, state-of-the-art Data Center at Forest Park
and Newstead. "As genetic research progresses," Wilson
explains, Òthe Center needs to process and store huge amounts
of data." That data, of course, will help provide the next
steps in the human puzzle the Center is working to solve. Understanding
corn is great. Understanding human genome will take time, talent
and a lot of money.
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