Posted on June 5, 2001 at 9:45 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has received a five-year $409,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to gather and share information about the use of microarray technology in genetics research. The new technology allows researchers to microscopically examine thousands of genes at the same time to determine which ones are turned on (or expressed) in particular types of cells.
“The technology holds unprecedented power to help researchers determine the function of genes and, in turn, the fundamental processes – from development and aging to disease -- of organisms, including humans,” says David B. Allison, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics in the School of Public Health at UAB. “However, there are many questions about how to use the technology and how to interpret the data.”
The grant will allow Allison to establish a research coordination network to bring together researchers with diverse expertise from 17 institutions to explore the use of microarray technology in studying gene expression. Researchers will represent disciplines including computer science, mathematics, statistics, bioinformatics, measurement theory and microarray technology.
“Despite the growing number of published studies involving microarray technology, experts are still struggling to address issues relative to the reliability and validity of measurements made using the technology,” Allison says. “The result is research literature that may not always be up to the highest methodological standards.”
The two primary activities of the network will be an annual retreat for network scientists and others, and a visiting scholars program. “Activities will foster the open exchange of information and ideas regarding the use of microarray technology relative to genetic research,” Allison says. “Our aim is to improve the effectiveness of this new technology which has important implications for many fields of science.”
The network will also launch a Web site that will feature updates on network activities and summaries of ongoing work. “The Web site will support efforts of network scientists who are developing and using new methodologies and demonstrating their use through published papers, which is primarily how the information will be disseminated among the scientific community,” Allison says.
The network will hold its first annual retreat in September at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York.