In hopes of treating children suffering from Type 1 diabetes and preventing future cases, the University signed a multi-million dollar contract for international genetic research of the disease.
Using the facilities provided by Illumina, Inc., a developer of next-generation life-science tools and genetic analysis, the University is working with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to research the role of genetics and environmental concerns in Type 1 diabetes, Illumina public relations manager Maurissa Bornstein said.
"Because it is a disease that is caused by both genetics and environments it can be untangled, and we can find different correlations between gene expression and environmental influences," said Stephen Rich, head of the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium and University professor.
In order to research different environments, researchers took data samples from children around the world, NIDDK Program Director Beena Akolkar said.
According to Akolkar, researchers recruited more than 800 affected children as well as their diabetes-free siblings, who have a similar genetic expressions, to give samples which Illumina is now analyzing to investigate the antibodies in the blood.
"It is truly an international effort," Rich said. "We take DNA samples from affected children and scan the genome using 'snips' to identify the most common risks and then compare the different environments in which the gene [expression] can be found."
With more than 800 samples and 650,000 snips per sample this is no simple task, he added.
Illumina is an important addition to the University-NIDDK team because it provides the facilities and manpower to process all the information, Bornstein said.
Instead of an organization purchasing and building a platform on its own to conduct research, researchers can save millions of dollars by using Illumina's facilities.
Once the researchers compile the data they can better understand how Type 1 diabetes can be influenced by the environment, especially when considering the trigger of a viral attack, Rich said.
"Genetics can decide how a person responds to a viral attack, and with an international sample we can confirm the reality of the environmental threat if it occurred in different populations," he added.
According to Rich, the research is the next step towards not only learning more about the disease, but also towards treating it.
"This is the type of research that is on the cutting edge for complex human disease research," he said. "Genetic research is the first step towards really personalizing medical solutions" to the individual.
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