Results for Gene Discovery

Dr. Ahrens-Nicklas works to understand why patients with inherited biochemical disorders often suffer severe, untreatable neurologic and cardiac symptoms. She strives to elucidate the link between biochemistry and network excitability, in order to drive new approaches to therapy.

As director of Clinical Laboratories, Strategic Partnerships and Innovation at the Center for Applied Genomics, Dr. Santani oversees the clinical genomics program for the diagnosis of common and rare genetic disorders.

Using translational approaches that encompass genomic studies, biomarker development, disease modeling, natural history studies, and clinical trials, Dr. Vanderver seeks to improve the quality of life and lifespan of individuals living with leukodystrophies or heritable disorder of myelin. She leads the Leukodystrophy Center of Excellence at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Romberg investigates the regulatory mechanisms enabling our immune systems to fight infections without injuring ourselves. He is particularly interested in the immune system of patients with primary immunodeficiency who are susceptible to both life-threatening infections and autoimmune diseases. Greater insights into these rare diseases may enable rationale development of targeted therapies for more common diseases with an immunologic basis.

The cure rate for children with neuroblastoma is unacceptable, making it imperative that new therapies are developed. Dr. Bosse's laboratory is focused on discovering and developing new neuroblastoma cell surface immunotherapeutic targets. Along with his colleagues, Dr. Bosse's aim is to capitalize on the robust differential expression of these molecules with immune-based therapies and also define their mechanisms of overexpression and roles in tumorigenesis.

Dr. Broedur’s research interests focus on nanoparticle drug delivery and cancer predisposition. He is also interested in identifying novel cancer predisposition genes, and developing enhanced surveillance techniques to identify cancer early in predisposed individuals with the hope of improving outcome and reducing side effects.

Dr. Emanuel investigates diseases caused by abnormalities of human chromosome 22. These include the most common microdeletion syndrome, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, and the most common recurrent constitutional translocation in humans, the t(11;22). Her efforts include discerning the mechanisms involved in generating the deletion and translocation as well as looking for modifiers of the phenotype in individuals with the deletion syndrome.

Dr. Stanley’s lab has identified many of the genes and syndromes associated with congenital hyperinsulinism including ABCC8, GCK, GLUD1, and Turner and Beckwith syndromes. Working with clinical and rodent model studies, his lab team has identified distinctive phenotypes of these disorders, including diazoxide unresponsiveness, leucine sensitivity, and protein sensitivity. Dr. Stanley continues to seek new diagnostic and treatment paradigms for infants with acquired and genetic disorders of hyperinsulinism.

Dr. Ortiz-Gonzalez is a physician-scientist specializing in pediatric neurogenetics. Her clinical work focuses on finding a unifying genetic diagnosis for children with rare neurodevelopmental disorders. Her research is informed by her patients and focuses on understanding how genetic changes, in particular those affecting mitochondrial function, cause disease so we can develop better treatments for these children in the future.

Dr. Felix uses molecular, biochemical, cellular and in vivo methods to investigate the pathobiology of leukemias with KMT2A (MLL) translocations. Leukemias with these translocations affect infants and young children or occur as a complication of type II topoisomerase (TOP2) poison chemotherapies used for anti-cancer treatment. She aims to develop better treatment and prevention approaches for these leukemias, which have a poor prognosis.