May 14, 2012 -- Why is it that some people are prone to certain diseases while others are spared? It turns out that DNA sequence variations called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms), the most common type of genetic variation among people, have an important role to play.
The more scientists know what SNPs’ functions are, the easier it would be to understand the tremendous variability in individuals’ responses to drug treatments.
Frances Sladek, a professor of cell biology at the University of California, Riverside, has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to examine the effect SNPs have on a special class of proteins that bind DNA and regulate the expression of many important genes in response to hormones, vitamins and drugs.
The research will help lay the foundation for personalize medicine, and lead, ultimately, to more effective and less costly health care.
For more information, please visit: http://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/6230