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James Shull, Ph.D. |
UNMC’s Center for Molecular Genetics and Genomics stands to be a major ingredient in realizing that standard, said the center’s director, James Shull, Ph.D.
The center will serve as a proponent for genetics researchers from the entire University of Nebraska system, said Dr. Shull, who also is professor and chairman of UNMC’s Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy.
“We want to facilitate communication between researchers so we can learn from each other,” Dr. Shull said. “What we learn from each other could improve treatment of such diseases as cancer, autism and many others.”
Dr. Shull said he envisions an environment similar to the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, which is composed of researchers from almost every UNMC department. The genetics center will give researchers from different departments, fields and disciplines a place to share and coordinate ideas, resources, equipment and techniques, he said.
“Anybody with expertise in genetics is welcome to join this center,” he said.
The overriding hope of such cooperation within the center, which recently received permission from the Board of Regents to change its name from the Center for Human Molecular Genetics, would be that it would lead to breakthroughs in health care that could improve the lives of people in Nebraska and elsewhere, Dr. Shull said.
“Genetics research has yielded amazing breakthroughs in the field of health care,” Dr. Shull said. “This center will allow us to harness the talent and resources we have and accomplish major medical advances right here in Nebraska.”
The genetics center will be a real boon for UNMC, said Thomas Rosenquist, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research.
“UNMC has a long history of research strength in both molecular genetics and population genetics,” Dr. Rosenquist said. “The UNMC Center for Molecular Genetics and Genomics will provide a scientific and administrative focus for advancing this key discipline as we move into the new world of 21st-century genetics-based diagnosis, therapy and prevention.”