Johns Hopkins researchers to highlight progress in genetic research at international meeting

Johns Hopkins genetics researchers Aravinda Chakravarti, Ph.D., and David Valle, M.D., will each present at the joint conference of the Human Genome Meeting 2013 and the 21st International Congress of Genetics. The conference, which will take place in Singapore April 13-18, 2013, will focus on the genetics and genomics of world health and sustainability. Chakravarti and Valle are the former and current director, respectively, of the Johns Hopkins University McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine.

Both Chakravarti and Valle will speak at the conference's "Mendelian Genetic Diseases" session, to be held on April 13 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. local time. Chakravarti will relate his findings about Hirschsprung's disease, an inherited intestinal disorder that, he has found, can be caused by a number of different rare genetic variations. Valle will speak about the work of the Baylor-Johns Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genetics, a four-year, National Institutes of Health-funded search for the culprits behind single-gene diseases usually called Mendelian disorders.

On April 18 at 8:30 a.m., Chakravarti will chair a plenary discussion in which he will reflect on progress in genomics since the sequencing of the human genome 10 years ago, focusing on the areas of ethical issues, identifying disease genes and understanding gene mechanisms. Related stories:

Chakravarti:

Genome-Wide Hunts Reveal New Regulators of Blood Pressure: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/genome_wide_hunts_reveal_new_regulators_of_blood_pressure

The 1,000 Genomes Project: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/geneticmedicine/news/NewsletterStories/2010_12/2010_12_1000_genomes.html

Teasing Apart the Genetics of a Complex Disorder: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/geneticmedicine/news/NewsletterStories/2010_09/2010_09_Aravinda.html

New Genes Implicated in High Blood Pressure: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/New_Genes_Implicated_in_High_Blood_Pressure

Big Man in Genes: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hmn/W02/top.html

Valle:

Individualized Medicine Comes to Johns Hopkins: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/geneticmedicine/news/NewsletterStories/2009_03/2009_03_feature.html

Johns Hopkins Researchers Discover New Schizophrenia Gene: http://m.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/Johns_Hopkins_Researchers_Discover_New_Schizophrenia_Gene

The Johns Hopkins Center for Inherited Disease Research Receives $101 Million: http://m.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/the_johns_hopkins_center_for_inherited_disease_research_receives_101_million

New Database to Speed Genetic Discoveries: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/new_database_to_speed_genetic_discoveries