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Genetics Cluster Initiative

Genetics transcends departments, colleges and disciplines and generates both needs and services in the basic sciences, health care, bioethics, law, bioinformatics and communications.

>1400

Education event attendees

Career Day

> 50 %

Acceptance rate to graduate programs

Mentorship for Prospective Students in Genetic Counseling

Interns 2013-2023

49

Summer interns

Internship Program in Genetic Counseling and Bioinformatics

Applying to Genetic Counseling Graduate Programs

Recent Publications

The impact of PCR duplication on RNAseq data generated using NovaSeq 6000, NovaSeq X, AVITI, and G4 sequencers

Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Natalia Zajac
CONCLUSIONS: Data generated with each of the four sequencing platforms presents similar associations between starting material amount and the number of PCR cycles on PCR duplicates, a similar number of detected genes, and comparable gene expression profiles.

MixOmics Integration of Biological Datasets Identifies Highly Correlated Variables of COVID-19 Severity

Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Noa C Harriott
Despite several years passing since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, challenges remain in understanding the factors that can predict the severity of COVID-19 disease and complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection. While many large-scale multi-omic datasets have been published, integration of these datasets has the potential to substantially increase the biological insight gained, allowing a more complex comprehension of the disease pathogenesis. Such insight may improve our ability to predict...

Maternal α-cypermethrin and permethrin exert differential effects on fetal growth, placental morphology, and fetal neurodevelopment in mice

Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Benjamin A Elser
Pyrethroid insecticides represent a broad class of chemicals used widely in agriculture and household applications. Human studies show mixed effects of maternal pyrethroid exposure on fetal growth and neurodevelopment. Assessment of shared pyrethroid metabolites as a biomarker for exposure obscures effects of specific chemicals within this broader class. To better characterize pyrethroid effects on fetal development, we investigated maternal exposure to permethrin, a type I pyrethroid, and...

Ceramide-induced FGF13 impairs systemic metabolic health

Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Jamal Naderi
Ceramide accumulation impairs adipocytes' ability to efficiently store and utilize nutrients, leading to energy and glucose homeostasis deterioration. Using a comparative transcriptomic screen, we identified the non-canonical, non-secreted fibroblast growth factor FGF13 as a ceramide-regulated factor that impairs adipocyte function. Obesity robustly induces FGF13 expression in adipose tissue in mice and humans and is positively associated with glycemic indices of type 2 diabetes. Pharmacological...

Transcriptional repressor Capicua is a gatekeeper of cell-intrinsic interferon responses

Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Senthamizharasi Manivasagam
Early detection of viral infection and rapid activation of host antiviral defenses through transcriptional upregulation of interferons (IFNs) and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) are critical for controlling infection. However, aberrant production of IFN in the absence of viral infection leads to auto-inflammation and can be detrimental to the host. Here, we show that the DNA-binding transcriptional repressor complex composed of Capicua (CIC) and Ataxin-1 like (ATXN1L) binds to an 8-nucleotide motif...

Events

REDCap Intermediate Training

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 10:00am to 11:00am
Virtual
This is the second step in the REDCap training series. In this training we will cover basic and intermediate features such as: • Outputting data automatically with calculated fields • Collecting the same data points multiple times with longitudinal and one-to-many data collection • Standardizing your data to industry standards with ontologies and the REDCap Instrument Library • Ways to customize your data entry experience with action tags • Viewing data with reports, dashboards, and charts...

REDCap Surveys Training

Thursday, June 12, 2025 10:00am to 11:00am
Virtual
This is the third step in the REDCap training series. In this training, we will cover survey configuration and distribution such as: Allowing potential participants to self-initiate participation in your study with public surveys Manually and automatically sending surveys Administering electronic consent (e-consent) forms Controlling survey access with conditional logic and survey login This training is a demo and not hands-on. After this training you will have a basic understanding of...

Biomedical & Health Informatics Community Meeting

Thursday, June 12, 2025 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Virtual
We have established a community of CCOM Informaticists who are applying these skills in their work at UIHC. You are invited to join us during our monthly seminar presentations.