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	News & Events News Archive

News & Events

CHG researchers have identified a new genetic signature that is strongly associated with autism. The research targets oxytocin receptor expression and may lead to ways to identify and treat people with autism. Read the news release here.

Several news agencies including abcnews and MSN Health and Fitness have covered the breakthrough nationally.

Sarah Nelson describes CHG Chiari Research The CHG is poised to begin a promising research agenda aimed at discovering the genetic cause of Chiari Type I Malformation. Read the article here.

In May, Dr. Terri Young was honored as a Silver Fellow by the Association for Research in Vision and Opththalmology (ARVO) for her accompliments, leadership and contributions to the association. As a fellow, the association anticipates she will continue to advance vision disorder research, prevention and cure. She is also expected to continue to serve as a role model and mentor of individuals pursuing careers in vision and opththalmology research.

Additionally, Dr. Young was named a top physician mentor by the American Medical Association Women Physicians Congress. The award recognizes physician mentors who make a difference in the professional life of another physician.

Gene Variation May Lead to Early Cardiovascular Disease. CHG Researchers have implicated variations in a gene that increases a person's susceptibility for early onset cardiovasular disease.
Article in PLoS Genetics
Duke Press Release

CHG Faculty member, Svati Shah, M.D., teams up with Duke cardiologists to study the genetics of cardiac sudden death. The study is discussed on page 8 The Abstract,, a Duke publication.

CHG Faculty member Simon Gregory was interviewed by WebMD about MS genetic discoveries.

CHG Faculty member Silke Schmidt is leading a study of Veterans with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). The Baltimore Sun recently showcased her work.

For the first time, the association between Parkinson's disease and exposure to pesticides has been shown in patients with the neurological disorder compared with their unaffected relatives, according to a new study."Previous studies have shown that individuals with Parkinson's disease are over twice as likely to report being exposed to pesticides as unaffected individuals" says the study's lead author, Dana Hancock, "but few studies have looked at this association in people from the same family or have assessed associations between specific classes of pesticides and Parkinson's disease." For more information, click here.

Dr. Michelle Winn receives prestigious PECASE award. The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. The Presidential Awards are intended to recognize and nurture those who, while early in their research careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge . CHG faculty member Dr. Michelle Winn was a 2006 PECASE recipient.

Risk genes for multiple sclerosis uncovered. Candidate gene and large-scale genomic studies have uncovered new genetic variations associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), findings that suggest a possible link between MS and other autoimmune diseases. The studies, led by Simon Gregory and Silke Schmidt of the Duke CHG, and an international team of MS geneticists, appear in the July 29, 2007 online edition of Nature Genetics and the New England Journal of Medicine. Read the IL7R and the WGA press release.

ET Team featured in Anniversary issue of Spikes & Spasms
Dr. Allison Ashley-Koch published an article in the Anniversary issue of Spikes and Spasms, a publication dedicated to raising awareness about Essential Tremor produced and distributed by Tremor Action Network. Click here to read the article.

Dr. Simon Gregory appears on UNC-TV's "North Carolina Now"
Dr. Simon Gregory, Assistant Research Professor at the Duke Center for Human Genetics, was interviewed by UNC-TV during the "North Carolina Now" segment on Wednesday, June 7, 2006. Dr. Gregory discussed a significant achievement in the Human Genome Project: the sequencing and deciphering of the final human chromosome, chromosome one. Dr. Gregory led an international team of scientists in this important mission, initially at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in England and, more recently, at Duke. Dr. Gregory explained that this detailed guide to the last and largest human chromosome will prompt a turning point in genetic medicine. Understanding the genetic makeup of individuals will help researchers worldwide better understand the inheritance of illness and disease. View the interview.

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