Innovations

Loma Linda University Health’s research offers opportunities to increase our understanding of how to live a long and healthy life. There are some projects Loma Linda University Health researchers are doing that really can’t be done anywhere else in the world. Support for these research efforts is an important part of Vision 2020 — The Campaign for a Whole Tomorrow.

An Illumina Seq 4000 DNA sequencer allows researchers at the Loma Linda University Institute for Genetics and Translational Genomics to have enhanced access to the futuristic world of precision medicine. Funding for the $1.1 million research tool came from Charles A. Sims, MD, and the Ardmore Institute of Health, an Oklahoma foundation dedicated to promoting health and vitality through healthy lifestyles.

The sequencer was one of four major gifts supporting the Institute for Genetics and Translational Genomics during Vision 2020. Additional gifts supported the following:

• The creation of the Institute for Genetics and Translational

Genomics, through a gift from Dr. Charles Sims.

• An endowed Chair in Molecular Genomics, currently held by

Penny Duerksen-Hughes, PhD, as director of the Institute, funded by the Fletcher Jones Foundation and Dr. Sims.

• The development of a master’s degree in genetic counseling, funded by the Fletcher Jones Foundation and The

Tonge Foundation.

The powerful new sequencer is the second sequencer in the Center for Genomics, and can sequence 12 entire human genomes in less than four days. This technology allows Loma Linda University scientists to conduct sophisticated studies essential to unlocking the potential of precision medicine. The machine will be particularly valuable to researchers as they examine data from the Adventist Health Studies to determine the effects of lifestyle on epigenomic reprogramming and longevity.

The Adventist Health Studies comprise a rare treasury for Loma Linda University researchers: data collected from the decades-long investigation into a variety of health and lifestyle factors. This powerful sequencing tool will enable scientists to identify specific genetic, epigenetic and transcription mechanisms that link lifestyle practices to increased health and longevity.

Gene sequencing and genomic research play an increasing role in research at Loma Linda University Health. In one recent study, Lubo Zhang, PhD, director of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine Lawrence D. Longo, MD, Center for Perinatal Biology, used DNA screening to evaluate outcomes in baby mice whose mothers were subjected to hypoxia. In another study, Penny Duerksen-Hughes, PhD, and Charles Wang, MD, PhD, MPH, director of the Center for Genomics, developed a novel, DNA-sequencing-based method to discover why the human papilloma virus sometimes integrates into the host genome. Their findings may allow physicians to decrease the frequency of genital cancer caused by this common sexually transmitted disease.