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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

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...

CF airway epithelia display exaggerated host defense responses and prolonged cilia loss during RSV infection

Sunday, February 16, 2025
Jennifer A Bartlett
CONCLUSIONS: These findings further our understanding of innate immune dysfunction in the CF airway epithelium and suggest that virus-induced cilia injury may further compromise host defenses in CF airways.

Profiles of Exosomal microRNAs in Joint Cells and Candidate microRNAs for Cartilage Regeneration

Thursday, February 13, 2025
Venkateswaran Ganesh
The activation of chondrogenic progenitor cells (CPCs) in articular cartilage during a traumatic injury is vital for cartilage regeneration. Although our understanding of the mechanisms underlying CPC chondrogenic activation remains incomplete, there is evidence that exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are involved in tissue healing due to their regulating role of posttranscriptional gene expressions. In this study, we profiled enriched and differential expression of miRNAs in exosomes derived...

Events

27th Annual Optometric Conference

Friday, May 9, 2025 8:00am to 4:00pm
Levitt Center for University Advancement
Each Spring faculty at the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences present a full-day conference for optometric practitioners. This conference will provide the optometric practitioner with information that will assist him/her with diagnostic dilemmas and patient questions that are encountered daily. This activity will also provide information about current and expected diagnostic and treatment options for a variety of eye diseases. Finally, this activity will provide...

Hawk-IDDRC Seminar Series: Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, MD, PhD; Rush University Medical Center

Friday, May 9, 2025 12:00pm
Virtual
Please join us for the Hawk-IDDRC Seminar Series Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, MD, PhD; Rush University Medical Center Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Neurological Sciences, Anatomy and Cell Biology Director, RUSH Pediatric Neurosciences F.A.S.T. Center for Translational Research Friday, May 9, 2025, noon CST in the Pediatric Conference Center JCP2415 More information to come!  
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Seminar, Kenneth (Ken) Walsh, PhD promotional image

Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Seminar, Kenneth (Ken) Walsh, PhD

Tuesday, May 13, 2025 9:30am to 10:30am
Bowen Science Building
Dr. Ken Walsh, Lockhart B. McGuire Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Hematovascular Biology Center at the University of Virginia, will present a seminar entitled, "Clonal Hematopoiesis: Genomic Instability Linking Aging to Cardiovascular Disease"