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T h e M ag a z i n e o f t h e U n i v e r s i ty o f U ta h
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Genetics and U
Groundbreaking research and legal issues are changing medicine and Access to discoveries
an encompassing lens: Two U professors’ film program ‘book for life’: a U basketball star’s new autobiography
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connected success: mentoring women in science a bold rescue: a u alumna’s story of a teton feat
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Keeping Women Healthy Through Every Stage of Life. For every health need, there’s an expert for you. With four hospitals, ten community clinics and over 1,000 physicians, University of Utah Health Care offers award winning quality and value to keep your family healthy, no matter what age or need.
healthcare.utah.edu
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contents 2 Feedback Your comments 4 Campus Notebook Two dance companies with U roots celebrate 50 years, the U’s new China partnership, an award for Continuum, and more
38 Association News Founders Day Award winners and scholarship recipient, plus results of the Food Drive U research professor and Utah Genome Project director Deborah Neklason looks over a genetic chart.
Photo by Tom Smart
8 Discovery U research and medical developments
16 Sidelines U basketball star Billy McGill recalls his highs and lows in his new autobiography. By Stephen Speckman
42 Through the Years Keeping up with alumni
Cover Story
Genetics and U 22 10 Spotlight Two U professors’ documentary filmmaking program gives ‘invisible’ students a voice. By Kim M. Horiuchi
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Groundbreaking University research and current legal developments are changing medicine and patient access to discoveries. By Jennifer Dobner Feature
Connected for Success 32 The University of Utah’s ACCESS program has helped dozens of women thrive in science and math fields. By Heather May
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And Finally… The Campus Rostrum
Visit continuum.utah. edu for additional photos, videos, and more.
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feedback
Your Comments
Publisher William Warren Executive Editor M. John Ashton BS’66 JD’69 Editor Julianne Basinger BA’87 MA’91
International Progress I believe this is a great step forward [“Global U,” Winter 2013-14]. It builds on the international education experiences like the one I enjoyed in 1973 when I studied Arabic in Tunisia, with the assistance of an NDEA Fellowship. I also did my PhD dissertation research in Tunisia in 1973 with the assistance of a University of Utah Research Fellowship. I’ve worked with Dr. [Michael] Hardman, as a member of the College of Education Advancement Board, when he was dean of the College of Education. His leadership ability and international education experience make him a perfect choice. Keith W. Martin BS’71 MEd’72 PhD’75 Bountiful, Utah Memories of Carlson Hall A highlight of my freshman year at the U was living at Carlson Hall in 1949 [“Remembering Carlson Hall,” Winter 2013-14]. It was a thriving hub of activity. I met so many friends there. There were strict rules in curfews, but some of the girls got around them by going out the windows to meet their boyfriends. We laughed about some of the meals we had. One entree was beef tongue, and another was parsley soup with not much else in it. I had a private room, so that I could get my studies done. Just loved the place! Norene Rogers Emerson BA’53 Houston, Texas I was renting a room two houses from the Institute of Religion. I was selected for the NROTC Program. During my 1952 junior year, I met this very attractive freshman [Diane] whose father was an Army colonel stationed in Germany. She came home to go to the U. She attended the LDS Institute. I asked her out, and when I found out she was living at Carlson Hall, this was perfect. I could date her on my $10 a week spending money. We went to all the U and the Institute’s functions. Every night, I would walk down to Carlson Hall to see her. As I had to wait in the date room, I spent time playing
“Old Buttermilk Sky,” which was the only piano piece I could remember. Upon graduation, we got married. I went into the Navy and was stationed at the U.S. Naval Base in Sasebo, Japan. She came over, and the rest is history. August 30th will be our 60th. Thanks, Carlson Hall. Earl Benedict BS’54 Boise, Idaho A Digital Future As much as I enjoy the present connectivity, it can never replace that I felt in the stacks in the basement of the U library back in 1953 [“A Pathway Through Books,” Winter 2013-14]. Nothing will ever replace the feel of a good book in your hands. Paul L. Hansen BS’53 San Clemente, California I agree that the very nature of paper and binding, held between two hands, is not a transitory matter, but the attributes of a modern academic environment lend themselves to the digital realm. The digital library, in the hands of a visionary, becomes a leveling, bridging, and democratic environment that opens its collection to a wider community of users. Tony Sams BFA’03 Salt Lake City, Utah All comments submitted via continuum.utah.edu
We’re eager to hear from you. Please go to continuum.utah.edu/contact-us/ for our contact information.
Managing Editor Marcia C. Dibble Associate Editors Ann Floor BFA’85 Kim M. Horiuchi Advertising Manager Bill Lines BS’83 Art Direction/Design David E. Titensor BFA’91 Corporate Sponsors ARUP Laboratories Continuing Education at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah Homestead and Zermatt Resort Intermountain Healthcare Physician Recruiting Rowland Hall University Credit Union University of Utah Development Office University of Utah Health Care The Waterford School Editorial Advisory Committee Sonya Alemán PhD’09 Collin B. Barrett BA’05 Marc E. Day BS’76 Tal Harry BS’87 Rosemarie Hunter PhD’04 Mike Lageschulte Holly Mullen BS’81 Traci O’Very Covey BFA’83 Jodi Patterson Keven M. Rowe BS’83 JD’86 Kathy Wilets BA’89 Craig Wirth BS’73 Continuum is published in summer, fall, winter, and spring by the University of Utah Alumni Association and University Marketing & Communications. Subscriptions are available to U faculty/staff (visit continuum.utah. edu/subscribe.php) and through membership in the Alumni Association ($50/year). Call (801) 581-6995 for more information. Opinions expressed in Continuum are not neccessarily those of the University of Utah administration. Copyright ©2014 by the University of Utah Alumni Association. The University of Utah is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution. For advertising opportunities, please call Bill Lines at (801) 581-3718. Standard postage paid at Salt Lake City and additional mailing offices. Send address changes to: Continuum Alumni House University of Utah 155 S. Central Campus Drive Salt Lake City, UT 84112
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campus notebook
T
wo Utah dance companies, Ballet West and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, had their beginnings at the University of Utah, and both are marking their 50th anniversaries during their 2013-14 performance seasons. Ballet West was established in Salt Lake City in 1963 by Willam F. Christensen and Glenn Walker Wallace. In 1951, Christensen, the company’s first artistic director, had established the first ballet department in an American university, at the University of Utah. Christensen, with his brothers Lew and Harold, had earlier made history in the early 1940s by establishing the oldest ballet company in the western United States, the San Francisco Ballet. In 1949, Willam returned to his native Utah to choreograph the summer festival productions held in the stadium at the U. After two more successful summer seasons, then U President A. Ray Olpin offered Christensen the position of professor of ballet, with the mission to begin a ballet school in the Department of Theatre and Speech. Christensen created the University Theatre Ballet to give students the opportunity to perform for the community. By 1955, the new ballet
company had partnered with the Utah Symphony to present their first production of The Nutcracker. In 1963, Christensen and Wallace received a Ford Foundation grant that helped the University Theatre Ballet become the Utah Civic Ballet, a fully professional company. The company was renamed Ballet West in 1968. Today, the thriving dance company has 37 members, 11 second members, and an academy that trains dancers of all ages, many of whom have gone on to professional careers with Ballet West and companies around the world. Since its inception, the company has had five artistic directors—Christensen, Bruce Marks, John Hart, Jonas Kåge, and currently, Adam Sklute. Ballet West is now considered among the top professional ballet companies in America. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company was founded in 1964 by two U dance professors, Shirley Ririe BS’50 and Joan Woodbury. They are now professors emeritae, and their company is in residence at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, a central hub for the arts in downtown Salt Lake City. In 1951, Elizabeth “Betty” Hayes, director of modern dance at the
University, recruited Woodbury to the faculty. Woodbury, a Utah native, had finished her graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, and the vitality of the U’s modern dance program led her to make the University her base. Ririe, raised in Salt Lake City, returned to Utah in 1952 after her graduate study at New York University and soon found herself teaching for Virginia Tanner’s children’s dance program. Hayes introduced Ririe and Woodbury, and they soon were choreographing works together. In 1956, they convinced President Olpin to allow them to job share Woodbury’s full-time faculty position. They decided to form the dance company as an outgrowth of their work at the U. By 1970, the U’s dance programs were flourishing, and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company was touring regionally. The company auditioned for and was accepted into the National Endowment for the Arts new Artists-in-Schools and Dance Touring Programs and became a full-time national touring company. The company has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, South Africa, southeast Asia, and the Caribbean, and continues to expand its contemporary repertory.
Photo by Stuart Ruckman, courtesy Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company
Photo by Luke Isley, courtesy Ballet West. Choreography © George Balanchine Trust
Dance Companies with U Roots Celebrate 50 Years
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campus notebook U Forges New Partnership with Nankai University their first year at the U, students will be awarded a bachelor’s degree from Nankai University, then continue on toward their master’s degree, which will be awarded by the U. Once students are admitted into the 3+X program at Nankai University, they are still required to apply to the U to be admitted under the standard graduate admission guidelines. Students can
Photo by Garrett Anderson
The University of Utah has created a collaborative education program with Nankai University in Tianjin, China, that will expand global partnerships in Asia. Called the 3+X program, it will provide Chinese students the opportunity to attend both universities and receive a bachelor’s degree from Nankai University and a master’s degree from the U. “We look forward to expanding this innovative partnership with Nankai University as a significant component of the reach of our Asia Center, Confucius Institute, Songdo campus, and our university’s evolving focus on Asia,” says Robert Newman, dean of the College of Humanities. Students admitted to the 3+X program will attend Nankai University for three years of study, then enter the U to complete the program. At the end of
choose from a variety of majors, including finance, comparative literary and cultural studies, communication, and teaching English as a second language. “Given Asia’s political and economic importance and the rapidly increasing number of students from Asian countries that come to Utah to study, the continent is a strong focus for global engagement at the U,” says Janet Theiss, director of the Asia Center. “Programs like 3+X are designed to build sustainable academic partnerships to foster the international goals of both sides.” Gong Ke (shown at left in the photo), president of Nankai University, and David W. Pershing (at right), president of the U, signed the 3+X program agreement in November to finalize the understanding. Students from Nankai University are expected to arrive at the U in fall 2015.
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U Hospital Becomes NIH Regional Stroke Center The University of Utah Hospital has officially been named by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a member of a unique network of regional stroke centers across the country that will work with nearby satellite facilities, have teams of researchers representing every medical specialty needed for stroke care, and address the three prongs of stroke research: prevention, treatment, and recovery. The new system is intended to streamline stroke research, by centralizing approval and review, lessening time and costs of clinical trials, and assembling a comprehensive data-sharing system. University of Utah Hospital, the first and only Comprehensive Stroke Center in the Intermountain West, is one of only 25 centers nationwide to be selected to participate in the network.
Two U Professors Win Governor’s Science Medals Two University of Utah faculty members—chemist Henry S. White and science educator Aloysius S. Church— are among seven winners of the 2013 Utah Governor’s Medals for Science and Technology. White, a Distinguished Professor at the U, recently spent six years chairing the University’s highly ranked chemistry department. Church, who now works for the U, is known as the founder and first principal of AMES, the Academy for Math, Engineering and Science, based at Salt Lake City’s Cottonwood High School. A third winner—Larry Rigby ex’64 of Larada Sciences—has close ties to the University. Some of the eight compa-
nies he founded are spinoffs based on University technology. Larada, for example, commercialized the successful head-louse treatment device developed at the U as the LouseBuster and now sold as AireAllé. “Advances in science and technology play a huge role in keeping Utah dynamic and competitive,” says Governor Gary R. Herbert.
University Joins Capital City Education Partnership The University of Utah is participating in a collaborative effort for fostering prenatal through postsecondary education, career pathways, and civic engagement opportunities for all youth and families in Salt Lake City. The partnership is called the Capital City Education initiative. U President David W. Pershing this past fall joined a group that included Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker JD’77 MS’82, Salt Lake City School District Superintendent McKell Withers BS’78 MEd’85 PhD’05, Salt Lake Community College President Cynthia Bioteau, Salt Lake Chamber President/CEO Lane Beattie, and Marjorie Cohen, National League of Cities principal associate for education, to sign a benchmark agreement formalizing collective efforts toward educational success. The agreement came about after the National League of Cities in 2011 selected Salt Lake City, along with University of Utah Neighborhood Partners and the Salt Lake City School District, to participate in the Lumina Foundation’s leadership training for postsecondary access and success.
U Business School Now Offers Online MBA Program The University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business has launched an online Masters of Business Administration degree. The MBA online program will give students the opportunity to pursue their degree in a convenient, interactive, and on-demand format. The new program, which will begin enrolling students in fall 2014, will require the same demanding application standards and will be taught by the same
world-renowned faculty as the U’s other highly ranked MBA programs. The online program will provide a highly interactive learning experience for students. Each course will combine on-demand, multimedia enhanced lectures and team projects with in-depth discussions between students and faculty using video conferencing and other online multimedia forums. “The introduction of our new online program shows that we understand how important choice is to our students,” says Taylor Randall, dean of the David Eccles School of Business. “The incredible opportunities provided by evolving technology will allow our faculty to work and interact with students in a new way, no matter where they are in the world.”
Continuum Now Has Responsive Web Design No matter the size of your computer screen or handheld device, the online edition of Continuum can now automatically adjust and adapt to make for an optimal reading experience. Check out our new design and its ability to adapt to various screen sizes, from desktop computers to phones. Find it all at continuum.utah.edu.
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campus notebook Continuum Wins Regional Award for General Excellence Continuum magazine and several other publications of the University of Utah have been honored with 2014 CASE regional awards. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education each year recognizes excellence by colleges and universities in several categories, including alumni relations, fundraising, public and government relations, and communications. In all, the University received six Awards of Excellence this year from CASE District VII, which represents higher educa-
tion professionals and institutions in Utah, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The winners were selected from more than 400 entries and were announced in February. Continuum received a silver award in the General Interest category for magazines with a circulation of 75,000 or more, recognizing general excellence in multiple issues during the past year. Alumni Connection, the U Alumni Association’s monthly online newsletter, was recognized with a bronze award. The John A. Moran Eye Center received two first-place honors for the publication design of “Hope in Sight Campaign Materials” and for its fundraising video See the Need. University of Utah Health Sciences also won gold in the Annual Magazines category for Algorithms for Innovation, and the Moran Eye Center won bronze in that category for FOCUS 2013.
University’s Volleyball Team Reaches NCAA Tournament The University of Utah volleyball team returned to the NCAA Tournament in December for the first time since 2008 and earned a 3-1 firstround victory over Yale University. The Utes fell in the second round to No. 2 national seed Penn State. This was Utah’s 11th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. The Utes finished 26th in the NCAA’s final RPI rankings and ended with a 21-13 overall record. It was Utah’s first season since 2008 with 20 or more wins.
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discovery
Photos courtesy Jeffrey Rosenbluth
U Team Creates Outdoor Fun for Quadriplegics
Dr. Jeffrey Rosenbluth, left, helped develop the kayak (above) and the bike (shown in the photo below). University of Utah researchers and physicians have collaborated to create new outdoor recreation equipment, including kayaks and bicycles, designed to get spinal cord injury patients back into the great outdoors. The equipment is the product of a unique collaboration between University rehabilitation physicians and the U’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “These pieces are fresh out of the engineering lab,” says Dr. Jeffrey Rosenbluth, medical director of University of Utah Health Care’s Spinal Cord Injury Acute Rehabilitation Program. “We’re really concentrating on the hardest people to get into active living and sports. When coming up with these design plans, we asked, ‘How can we give these individuals the ultimate experience?’ ” Rosenbluth coordinated with mechanical engineering professor Andrew Merryweather to make his vision a reality, and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation financially backed the projects. (The late Neilsen MBA’64 JD’67, a casino executive who became a quadriplegic after a 1985 automobile accident, established the foun-
dation in 2002 to fund spinal cord injury research and rehabilitation.) Describing some of the innovative features of the team’s new hand-cycle, Rosenbluth notes that typical handbikes are close to the ground, so getting into them from a wheelchair is simple, but it’s almost impossible to get back in the wheelchair from that position. The U design features a seat that adjusts up and down, allowing users to get back into wheelchairs with relative ease. Rosenbluth also pointed out revolutionary features like electronic gear shifts located near the elbows, a chest piece braking system that is much more reliable and easy to use, and a power assist hub that measures the torque applied, then adds up to 300 percent. For the kayak, the team fashioned a sip and puff system to steer, giving virtually anyone the ability to captain the vessel. “Being able to paddle traditionally is a difficult thing if you don’t have much in terms of hand function
or grip,” he says. “We took this device and made it fully accessible and usable by someone with really no hand function whatsoever. If you can move your head and mouth a little bit, you can actually sail and kayak with this device.” Last summer, quadriplegic patients at the University of Utah got the chance to sail the vessel on a reservoir near Salt Lake City. Both Rosenbluth and Merryweather were on hand to see how the equipment worked and hear how it was received. “First of all, most people don’t believe they can do it… and they don’t believe it will work as advertised,” Rosenbluth says. “But there’s something therapeutic about being on the water. When people think they’ll never get back on the water again and they do, I think you see their old personality come back. It’s amazing.”
Visit continuum.utah.edu to watch a video of a patient sailing the kayak and to view a gallery with more photos.
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discovery Chances are, you’ve heard of being a “right-brained” or “left-brained” thinker. Logical, detail-oriented, and analytical? That’s left-brained behavior. Creative, thoughtful, and subjective? Your brain’s right side functions stronger—or so longheld assumptions have suggested. But University of Utah neuroscientists have found that there is no evidence within brain imaging to indicate some people are right-brained or left-brained. The terms left-brained and rightbrained have come to refer to personality types, with an assumption that some people use the right side of their brain more, while some favor the left. Following a two-year study, U researchers have debunked that myth through identifying specific networks in the left and right brain that process lateralized functions. Lateralization of brain function means that there are certain mental processes that are mainly specialized to one of the brain’s left or right hemispheres. During the course of the study, researchers analyzed resting brain scans of 1,011 people between the ages of seven and 29. In each person, they studied
functional lateralization of the brain measured for thousands of brain regions—finding no relationship that individuals preferentially use their left-brain network or right-brain network more often. “It’s absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain. Language tends to be on the left, attention more on the right. But people don’t tend to have a stronger left- or right-sided brain network. It seems to be determined more connection by connection,” says Dr. Jeffrey S. Anderson, U associate professor of radiology and lead author of the study. “Everyone should understand the personality types associated with the terminology ‘left-brained’ and ‘rightbrained’ and how they relate to him or her personally,” says Jared Nielsen, a graduate student in neuroscience who carried out the study as part of his coursework.
Photo courtesy Jeffrey S. Anderson
No ‘Left-brained’ or ‘Right-brained,’ U study finds
“However, we just don’t see patterns where the whole left-brain network is more connected or the whole right-brain network is more connected in some people. It may be that personality types have nothing to do with one hemisphere being more active, stronger, or more connected.”
Visit continuum.utah.edu to watch a video of Anderson telling more about the research.
Immunodeficiency Disorder Mutation Identified A 30-year-old woman with a history of upper respiratory infections had no idea she carried a gene for an immunodeficiency disorder, until her six-year-old son was diagnosed with the same illness. Now, a test available as early as this spring may make it easier for others to discover whether they have the disorder. After learning she has common variable immunodeficiency, a disorder characterized by recurrent infections such as pneumonia and by decreased antibodies, the woman, her husband, their three children, and parents joined
a multidisciplinary University of Utah study, and researchers identified a novel gene mutation that caused the disease in the mom and two of her children. The researchers discovered that a mutation in the NFKB2 gene impairs a protein from functioning properly, which interferes with the body’s ability to make antibodies and fight infection. The disorder typically doesn’t present with symptoms until adulthood, and it’s not uncommon for someone to reach their 20s, 30s, or beyond before being diagnosed, according to Dr. Karin Chen, co-first author of the study
published in the American Journal of Human Genetics online. Identifying the NFKB2 mutation will make it easier to recognize and treat the disorder, particularly after a test developed in conjunction with the study by ARUP Laboratories becomes available as early as May. “If we can screen patients for genetic mutations, we can identify disease complications associated with that gene, start looking for them and treating them sooner,” says Chen, instructor of pediatric immunology at the University’s School of Medicine.
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spotlight
An Encompassing
Lens
From left, James Fire, Brandy Farmer, and Judy Fuwell set up equipment to do an interview for their Humanities in Focus class.
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Two U professors’ documentary filmmaking program gives ‘invisible’ students a voice. Story by Kim M. Horiuchi
U
Photos by Brian Nicholson
niversity of Utah English professor Jeff Metcalf’s epiphany came eight years ago as he was teaching adult high school students enrolled at the Salt Lake City School District’s Horizonte Instruction and Training Center. Many of the students were dropouts, and none had ever had any contact with a university before. Their education had stalled when life got in the way, and Metcalf worried about them. He was also intrigued. “What fascinated me most were the stories that happened before and after class—stories about people who had come to this country for political asylum, refugees, people who had been on the streets, who were homeless, people who had never had a place for their voice to be heard.” Metcalf BS’74 MEd’77 wondered how he could provide space in a university setting for people who had never thought their experiences and opinions mattered. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to create a documentary class and teach them how to make documentaries so they felt less invisible?’ I made a promise to these students that we would do that.” There was only one problem, he says: “I realized I knew absolutely nothing about documentary filmmaking.”
But Craig Wirth BS’73 did. Metcalf had met the fellow professor, an Emmy Award-winning documentarian, once or twice in the hallway at the U’s Language and Communications building. Metcalf’s office was right above Wirth’s, so he introduced himself and explained his idea. “I told him, ‘You just need to meet some of these students,’ ” Metcalf recollects. “After that happened, there was no turning back for either one of us.” They created the Humanities in Focus program, which helps “marginalized populations” make documentary films to tell their stories. Each Monday night, Metcalf and Wirth tag-team in teaching a class of 25 to 30 students in the J. Willard Marriott Library’s digital media lab. The program, which costs about $40,000 a year to run, is supported by the U’s College of Humanities and Honors College, as well as University Neighborhood Partners, a U endeavor that brings together University resources and community members in Salt Lake’s west-side neighborhoods. In the eight years since Humanities in Focus began, more than 350 students have collaborated in making 36 documentaries, and a half-dozen students have gone on to graduate from the University of Utah. The students have ranged in age from 17 spring 14 Continuum 11
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Beatriz Sanchez, center, answers questions while being interviewed and filmed at her home by Humanities in Focus students.
to 82 years old. A majority are Hispanic (many coming from the Horizonte center and other programs serving west-side Salt Lake City neighborhoods), and almost all are living below the poverty line. The first lesson is acquainting them with the video and digital equipment they will use, including iPads, cameras, and videocams. “That stuff is not in their lives, so it begins with this simple task of taking the lens off the camera,” Metcalf says. The next step is helping the students determine what their story is and how they will document it. “I would say Craig and I could easily work at any carnival,” Metcalf says. “It’s fair to say we’re hustling them the whole time. It’s three-card
A Mother’s Choice Lucia Chavarria’s mother was 27 years old when she became a widow with nine children. She had never gone to school, was living in Mexico, and had no way to make a living. She made a desperate choice and sent nearly half of her children, including Lucia, to live with their grandmother in the United States. It was a decision that would haunt Chavarria’s mother for years. “Four felt they were given away. That was just tormenting her,” Chavarria says. After enrolling in the University of Utah’s Humanities in Focus program, Chavarria decided to tell her mother’s story in a 2008 documentary, My Mother’s Unheard Voice. Communications professor and program co-founder Craig Wirth describes the film as “an absolutely unbelievable documentary about a mother’s love for her children.” Wirth says Chavarria, now a paid mentor to the Humanities in Focus class, went from a quiet student to someone “who began to match wits with me. And now she is one of the most amazing documentary-makers I’ve ever seen.” When she first enrolled in the class, Chavarria says, she didn’t know anything about cameras, was “still kind of afraid of computers,” and often thought, “Please don’t make me talk in front of crowds or I will pass out.” But somewhere along the line, she says, “I got hooked.” When she was finished with her film, she brought her mother to Salt Lake City from Mexico to see it, and after its screening in 2008 at the Episcopal Church Center of Utah, a member of the audience came up to Chavarria’s mom and said, “You are such a brave woman. I admire you.” The audience member’s comment and the film itself helped the mother accept her life decisions. “After the documentary, she felt she had done the right thing,” Chavarria says. “It’s given her some peace of mind. It helped her start to heal.” Visit continuum.utah.edu to view Chavarria’s film about her mother.
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monte. We’re always sort of creating this undertone of ‘Start thinking about what you’re going to do. What’s the most important story you would tell if you had 15 minutes’ worth of fame?’ ” Over the year-long course, the students earn six hours of University credit and become experts in lighting, sound, and editing, as well as writing scripts and interviewing. Perhaps most importantly, Wirth says, they learn how to express themselves—often on very personal levels. “I have not witnessed such pure and true documentary in my entire career,” says Wirth, who has produced broadcast feature stories as a television reporter for more than 40 years. “I can’t think of a better academic lesson but also a life lesson. It’s where academia and life come together in a really bold and new form.” The Monday night classes begin with a potluck dinner— “We learned early that a lot of problems would be solved breaking bread together,” Metcalf says—and quickly progress to the work at hand. On one recent night, several former students offered advice and encouragement and talked about the results of their work in the class. Jeannette Villalta, who dedicated her film about AIDS to a friend who died of the disease, mailed a copy to comfort family in Guatemala after learning her own brother had tested positive for HIV. “You never know the impact your stories can have on another life,” she says. Natalia Solache made a documentary about being homeless and working for 10 years to gain her U.S. citizenship. In 2006, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake nominated her as their volunteer of the year, an honor
that was recognized by the national organization Parents Anonymous and included a trip to the White House. “I went from sleeping on the floor to getting ready in this fancy room to go have breakfast with the First Lady.” Alejandro Miranda, a current student who is working on a documentary about his life, says he endured years of abuse at the hands of his stepfather before moving out of his house in Costa Rica as a teenager to work at a bed-and-breakfast, whose owner pressured him into a sexual relationship. Eventually, Miranda says, he was rescued by a couple who were lodging there while working with a nonprofit organization to save the country’s rain forests. They put him in touch with Metcalf and helped him move to Salt Lake City. Now, Miranda believes he has a voice. “I have a clear idea of where I’m going and what I want. I am not ashamed of myself anymore.” It is stories like those that captivated Alexza Clark PhD’13, who made the Humanities in Focus program the focus of her doctoral dissertation at the U. Now the communications director at St. Cecilia Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, Clark had worked as a television producer in New York for CNN and Anderson Cooper. After marrying, she moved with her husband to his hometown of Salt Lake City, where she began pursuing her doctorate in communications at the U. She helped Villalta produce her documentary on AIDS and made her own documentary about Humanities in Focus. “I was utterly mesmerized that someone going
Finding Lessons
Tony Aguilar’s documentary includes television news footage of the smoldering remains of a two-story, Dallas-area home destroyed by an explosion. Police determined the man found dead inside was in the middle of a divorce and had committed suicide by blowing up the house. The man was Aguilar’s son-in-law. Aguilar wanted to make a documentary about his son-inlaw’s suicide as part of the University of Utah’s Humanities in Focus program, in an effort to help others. He joined the class a year ago after a colleague at the Utah Transit Authority had taken the course and told him about it. Aguilar, who works as a bus driver, had immigrated to the United States from El Salvador in 1975. While living in New Jersey, he had worked out of his home as a freelance video producer for a local television station. So he was interested to learn about the U program. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is what I have been waiting for,’ ” he says. His first documentary was a group project about autism. He hopes the documentary he made this year about his late son-inlaw will encourage others to listen to their children and be aware of signs of possible suicide. On the day of the explosion four years ago, Aguilar had read a message that his son-in-law had posted on Facebook, saying, “This could all be over soon!” Aguilar saw the post and immediately called his wife, asking her to have their son, who was also living in Utah, telephone Texas police. The police, he says, helped get his daughter and her five children to safety. “One call made a difference,” he says. “If I didn’t call, it would have been a different story.” Visit continuum.utah.edu to view Aguilar’s film about suicide prevention.
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Stories that Heal
Judy Fuwell BS’10 was perfectly content learning about the literature and poetry that University of Utah professor Jeff Metcalf was teaching to low-income students in the Utah Humanities Council’s Venture Course eight years ago, until he started talking about documentaries. At his behest, she signed up for the inaugural Humanities in Focus class. “I thought we were going to watch documentaries and talk about them and put our stories with poetry,” she says. “When we went, I was a little shocked when they had cameras. I had not used any kind of video camera.” In the years since, she has made 31 documentaries that include Family in Crisis, made in 2006, about her daughter’s meth addiction; and Hi Mom, My Name is Claire, finished last year, about another daughter’s struggle with pica, a disorder characterized by an appetite for unusual substances, including chalk or dirt. After the Humanities in Focus class, Fuwell enrolled as a full-time U student and graduated at age 58 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. “It gave me a lot of self-confidence,” says Fuwell, now an adjunct professor at the U. Fuwell says telling those stories has helped her family heal. “I just didn’t realize how important stories were or how they can help people until I started doing this.” Visit continuum.utah.edu to view Fuwell’s two films about her daughters.
“We’re always sort of creating this undertone of ‘Start thinking about what you’re going to do. What’s the most important story you would tell if you had 15 minutes’ worth of fame?’ “ through such devastating traumatic events in their life would be willing to dedicate a whole year to learning to tell their story and then show others that story.” Sylvia Torti PhD’98, dean of the Honors College, says honors students became involved in the program two years ago, as part of the college’s practice labs, which are special year-long courses of 12 students who take on pressing social issues under the direction of multiple professors. The Honors College students also learn about filmmaking along with the students from the community. The program is unique, Torti says, in bringing students and members of the community together in a mix of different socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, and age groups. “Really, how many courses in college do you have where you’re working on a project and interacting with people
from all over the world, some of whom have spent time living on the street, others of whom have been abused or on drugs?” she says. “It really, I think, demystifies the idea of ‘the other.’ ” Metcalf says the stories are often difficult ones, and documenting them can be transformational. “We all carry stories in our bones,” he notes. “The people who have been very timid living in the shadows, when they discover their voice, it means something.” —Kim Horiuchi is an associate editor of Continuum.
Visit continuum.utah.edu to view Clark’s film about the Humanities In Focus program, as well as Villalta’s film about AIDS.
From left, Lucia Chavarria, Jeff Metcalf, Sam Katz, Judy Fuwell, and Craig Worth watch Katz’s documentary video during the Humanities in Focus class at the U’s Marriott Library.
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Life
a Book for U basketball star Billy McGill recalls his highs and lows in his new autobiography.
By Stephen Speckman
T
he University of Utah’s Einar Nielsen Field House was packed for the final game of the 1962 season as the men’s basketball team pounded the floor against Wyoming. Six-foot-nine-inch U center Billy McGill was in the zone, and his signature jump hook shot was, as usual, impeccable. He finished with 51 points that evening to lead his team to a 94-75 win. Long after the final seconds of the game had ticked away, the crowd continued to cheer, and McGill heard U President A. Ray Olpin start talking about him over the loudspeaker. All-time leading scorer and rebounder at the U. School record for most points per game. The highest-scoring center in NCAA history. One of the “greatest players” the school has ever known. “Today we are retiring the number 12 in honor of Billy McGill!” the president said, and a jersey bearing McGill’s number was raised to the rafters. “It’s the highlight of my career,” McGill writes in his new memoir, Billy “the Hill” and the Jump Hook: The Autobiography of a Forgotten Basketball Legend, published in November by the University of Nebraska Press. “I shake the president’s hand, and I hug my coach. I wave to the crowd. And just like that, it’s all over.” But McGill’s pro career was just on the horizon. As a college
player, he was a two-time All American, and in the 1961-62 season, he led the nation in scoring with an average 38.8 points per game, including a 60-point performance against archrival Brigham Young University. At the end of that season, he decided to leave school and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1962 NBA Draft by the Chicago Zephyrs. But a knee injury plagued him, and after just three years in the NBA, he trailed over to the ABA for two seasons. He found himself back in his native Los Angeles, eventually sleeping in abandoned houses and washing up in a Laundromat. McGill, now 74, recounts those highs and lows, and what came after them, in his new book, co-written with Eric Brach. “I wrote it for my beloved [Utah] coach, Jack Gardner, and the many Ute fans,” McGill says. “I wrote it for them. I wrote it for Utah. …I wanted people to know exactly what happened.” McGill about four years ago had dusted off an old manuscript at the bottom of a closet in his Los Angeles home. They were words he had written three decades earlier about the twists and turns of his life. With assistance from Brach, who was finishing up a graduate degree in creative writing at the University of Southern California, McGill turned those memories into the book. The story begins in San Angelo, Texas, where McGill was born, and where his mother left him in the care of relatives until he was five years old. She eventually returned to bring him to Los Angeles. Growing up in the hardscrabble streets of LA, he found solace in pickup basketball games, as well as the
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Photo courtesy Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah
during his career. He still ranks No. 2 all-time at Utah for career scoring (2,321 points) and No. 1 in career rebounding (1,106). McGill also owns the Utah singleseason (1,009) and single-game (60) records for scoring, as well as the singleseason (430) and single-game (24) records for rebounding. In sum, he was great, but he quickly began to live life “by the needle,” requiring his knee to be drained by a doctor several times a week. He also encountered racism in Utah and on the road like he had never known growing up in California. His 60 points in that famous game against BYU came after a racial slur there, he says. His academic work still wasn’t a priority for him in college, he writes, and when the NBA knocked on his door, that was it for caring about classes. He dropped out in 1962 and purchased a brand new Austin Healey convertible with the $17,000 starting salary he received from the Chicago Zephyrs. “Deep down I know dropping out is dumb, even as I’m doing it,” McGill writes. “But it’s so easy to rationalize to myself.” McGill was introduced to a cutthroat
local YMCA gym and its staff. At eleven, he was dunking. Legend has it that during one pickup game with him and Bill Russell against Wilt Chamberlain and Guy Rogers when McGill was still in high school, McGill leapt into the air and threw the ball in a sideways arc over his head to nail the first-ever jump hook, later emulated by many top players. As a freshman at Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, he had made the varsity squad, and the team that year won the city title. McGill was named to the All-Southern League first team and to the All-City squad. His high-school grades were bad, and he didn’t have good study habits. But his game kept improving, and his popularity was growing. At his high school team’s appearance in the city championship game, McGill went airborne for a shot during the game and then heard a “pop.” He fell like a “sack
McGill ranks No. 2 all-time at Utah for career scoring and No. 1 in career rebounding, and he still owns the single season and game records.
of rice” to the floor, he recalls in his book. A doctor called it the worst knee injury he’d ever seen and suggested an operation to insert an “iron” knee. McGill was told he’d never play basketball again. “As soon as I hear these words, I feel my brain start to dissolve,” McGill writes. McGill declined the operation. He rested. And then he worked hard, coming back his senior year to become an “unencumbered scoring machine,” he writes, despite a knee that hurt and swelled after each game. When colleges came calling, McGill met a man named Rich Ruffel, who talked about the University of Utah campus, a place that McGill would later describe as “overwhelming,” “beautiful,” and “breathtaking.” McGill also met legendary U coach Jack Gardner, now a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and instantly liked Gardner’s blend of sincerity, authority, and kindness. With a four-year scholarship on the table, McGill chose Utah and became the first African American to play basketball for the U. McGill was a second-team All-American during the 1960-61 season and then earned first-team honors during the 1961-62 season. He became the 11th player in all-time collegiate history to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds
Photo courtesy Billy McGill
Billy McGill leaps for a basket during a U game. He was a two-time All-American and a top NBA pick.
McGill, shown here in 1958, is credited with inventing the jump hook shot, later emulated by many players.
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world in the NBA, one he says is full of “sharks” and where a hurt black player is “easily discarded.” As his Chicago Zephyrs teammate Woody Sauldsberry told him, “Nobody’s got your back.” McGill was no longer the dominant force he was in high school and college, though he still had plenty of talent and an unstoppable jump hook. But his knee kept getting worse. He saw his playing time drop dramatically. After one game, future NBA Hall of Fame inductee Oscar Robertson told him, “It’s a shame… that they don’t play you more, especially after how you tore it up in Utah,” McGill writes. By the time McGill was 30, he had retired from pro ball and began a slide into an oblivion that included depression, living with his parents, and eventually homelessness, which he details in the book with candor. But he crawled out of the rabbit hole of despair and slowly began to rebuild his life. Without a college degree, McGill writes, it was hard to get a good
paying job. After two years of sleeping in Laundromats and bus stops, sports editor Brad Pye, Jr., of the Los Angeles Sentinel—
who had first called him “Billy the Hill” back in his high school days—helped him find a job in general procurement at Hughes Aircraft in 1972. McGill eventually met and married Gwendolyn Willie, whose children from another marriage he adopted. (His grandson Ryan Watkins, who also stands at six feet nine inches, is now a senior forward for Boise State.) University of Utah Athletics Director Chris Hill MEd’74 PhD’82 says McGill was one of the U’s most “fantastic” players ever, a “pioneer” as the team’s first black player, and a star remembered even today for his “unique” style of play and his “enthusiastic approach” to the game. McGill’s jersey still hangs high in the rafters at the U’s Jon M. Huntsman Center, one of only seven to have been retired, and he was honored in 2008 as a member of the U’s All-Century Team. This past February, he came to Salt Lake City to be honored at the U men’s basketball game against Arizona and two nights later was recognized during a
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Photo by Ed Carreón
Photo by Ed Carreon
pre-game segment by the NBA’s Utah Jazz. In March, McGill is being inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor. Times have changed, Hill says, in terms of the support offered to athletes to encourage them to graduate. “We can say very seriously that we provide every single opportunity for a kid to graduate. If they leave for the pros in good standing, many, many times we help them after they’re done, if things haven’t gone well for them. It’s a case-bycase basis, but the support is so different now, and it’s so important.” Most college players, he adds, think they’re going to play in the NBA someday. “So you’re wasting your energy telling people they can’t play professional basketball,” Hill says. “Somewhere along the line, they come to that realization. But the most important thing for us is to make sure we continue to hammer home the importance of having an education and supporting them in every way.” After his pro career ended, McGill was mostly forgotten beyond LA until the 1990s, when the NBA called on him to speak with incoming players as part of its Rookie Transition Program, which the NBA didn’t have back when McGill played in the league. He spoke to young
McGill stands outside his home in Los Angeles. He eventually worked for Hughes Aircraft after leaving the NBA. pros about how the lives of NBA players can take a turn for the worse, to groups that included Chris Webber, Shawn Bradley, Vin Baker, and Sam Cassell, as well as Isaiah Rider and Penny Hardaway, who, McGill writes, refused
to heed his warning and even took pot shots at him. But former NBA star Bill Walton says it would be shortsighted to say McGill’s book is merely a cautionary tale for cocky young NBA hopefuls. “This is a book for life,” says Walton, who emulated McGill’s jump hook shot in his pro career and now calls McGill his “hero.” “To be able to always exhibit such class, dignity, pride, and professionalism in the face of extreme adversity, incredible obstacles—this is the stuff that legends are made of,” Walton says. “We all have so much to learn from Billy McGill. I just hope that people are brave and bold enough to give [the book] a try.”
Photo Photo by courtesy Ed Carreón
—Stephen Speckman is a Salt Lake City-based writer and a frequent contributor to Continuum.
McGill holds a basketball from his University of Utah days, signed by many of his teammates at the U.
Visit continuum.utah.edu to see two videos of some of the highlights of McGill playing basketball at the U, as well as a gallery with more photos.
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Genetics Groundbreaking University research and current legal developments are changing medicine and patient access to discoveries.
and U
By Jennifer Dobner
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G
regg Johnson is trying to outlive his family history. To do that, the 57-yearold textiles artist has had a colonoscopy every year since the mid-1980s. Each time, doctors remove upward of 150 tiny polyps in hopes of preventing colon cancer. Johnson lost his mother, Sandra “Sammy” Moon Johnson, to metastasized colon cancer in 1983 when she was just 47 years old. Her mother also died from the disease, at age 42, just like dozens of others on the branches of Johnson’s family tree. “We’re cancer magnets,” Johnson says. Johnson, who lives in Salt Lake City, keeps his health closely in check thanks in part to University of Utah scientists and researchers who tapped his family for genetic testing and cancer studies more than 20 years ago. Tests confirmed what the family essentially already knew: Their biological lineage includes a genetic mutation that predisposes them to colon cancer and can be traced back to a single English couple who emigrated to America in the early 1600s. The U’s research study, which stretched over a dozen years and included data on hundreds of Utahns, helped investigators unlock critical genetic coding linked to APC— adenomatous polyposis coli—a syndrome characterized by the early onset of colon cancer, says Deborah Neklason PhD’99, research assistant professor of oncological sciences at the University of Utah Medical School and director of the Utah Genome Project. The data and health protocols, when paired with a clinical intervention, including genetic counseling, testing, and regular colonoscopies, have helped reduce familial cancer rates for Johnson and others. “We have prevented almost all the [potential] cancers in that family,” says Neklason. “This is about a change in behavior and awareness. This is an incredible story of the impact of genetic testing.” For decades, U researchers and investigators have played a critical role in identifying pieces of the genetic puzzle that continue to change the face of medicine, from understanding how some diseases work to improving patient diagnoses, medical outcomes, and daily health management. At the same time, researchers and patients have been watching court cases,
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TC GG TGof GAis known G GC AAGCGT CTAC C GTGAAGAas T A A A G C A G G C A Isolating those genes A G G T C C G G A C T G T A G C A A A T T G T G GCA GCAC CTCTTtotality G T A A T G G C C A G CCT GC T G C GC GTT TT GA AG C CT GAGGG GG TCT GG AGG GG G GCC AGG CTATTCGGC A GTGTCGG GC TATAGGG A TGG GGAC CCTAA GCGCATGAAGAG AC AG AC GC Cthat AAA GGGAG GGCAG GGCAC TCTTGG TTTGG CTAAG GGGAG AGGCA GAGCA CTCTTG CT T Tor GCA GAGC CTCThas ACCTTGGC T G T T A A T G A T C G T A T G G helped scientists identify anomalies either cause C A G C C G T A C G A A G C A TTG GT AGG GAG G ACG CGA AGA AT GT GT GG GA GC GC CA GAC CTATGGG CAC GATAG GG AG GG AG CA CA AC TC T GC GG A GAG AAG GGG TA GAGTCGTAAG AGGGA AGGG GAGC CTCTT TCTGG TCTAA AGGG GAAGG CGAG TCTTG GGT AGG GCGAG TCTTG GGTTT ACCTA GAGG TCGTG TC GTC Adecades, TGGAfour TC AG GCGAG GT T C A for some diseases. A G A increase Over ACT Gthe C Gour risk G AAG CTA GG GA GA GGGC TT GA TAAG GGG G CTA GG GCAC CTpast G C G C A T AG T G C G T T G A C G G G AA T T C T T G C T A AGG AGGCA ACTCT GTCTG ACCTA AAGAGTCGTG G G T A A G G TC AC AA TC TC TC AG TCTA AA AG GA AG ATC GTC TG CG CAGGAGAGGCA GCTATG C GGTCAC G C GG G CT GAG T AG GAG CCTAA GGGG AGGG GGCAC CTTGG TCTGG GCCTA AAGGG GAGGC CGAGC TCTTG TC A GC AA GTC CTGTGGAGTCTCTGGAG GChave advancements provided enormous GTC AGTG CTG GGGCinTgenetic AGG GCGAG CTCTT A TGCAresearch G G G T G T A A T G A A A A T G G T G G A C A G GG CTAA A TA G G AC TG GG AGGC TG CA GG GG TTT GGCC GAGG CTGAAAGAAGGAGGGGACAGCGAGCCTC GTCGAGCTC CTATTGCGTATCG TTG TGG AAG CAGGC CTCTinsight CTT GGTT C GCC GGC 30 AGG G Tdiseases, GT the Ghuman GmoreCA C A AGGG G G TG G TGT responsible for than such melanoma, Gas of the and causes Gthe Tworkings GAG GGGAA GCAGG CACTC CTTG C GAGAGbody TGG into G A A A A C A T A A T C G G A T G C A A A A C T G T T A A A T C T C T G G A C G GC T T T G TA G T GCTC CTC ATC GATATG AG GAG CAGG GCACT TTGGT GGACC CTAAG GCGCATGAAAAGGGGGCAAG CA GCC AGAG GAGAG GCAGG CACTC TTGGT GGATC CTAAAG GAGA GCAGG GCAC CTTG G GG GT ATGG TT CATGGGGSchool’s GA GU C A A hypertension, ofTCdisease, Jorde, Medical A G of T saysGLynn G Cchair TG GG C Gthe AGatrial C G TC TCT AG C CTA fibrillation, ATC GATATG GC AGAGGand GG GAG ACTmacular A GC TCT degeneration, AGG GAGAG GAG GGCG GCACT GG T T CG AG GTGAAGA G G C G A A AGA GGGCG AGCAC TGGTC TTTGG TAAGA AC G G A G C G G C G A G T A G G G C G A G C T GG GGTGCT AGC AAG Genetic T C A G TC GG GAAG GCGA CTCTT G TTT ATCTAwith TCTCTC CT AG TCGTG GG CTA CTT are AGG GCGAG CTalso AT AG ACHuman ifCGTaTACATGGAGGneurofibromatosis. C Ccan AG G CG Gof ACAAtests GGA AGGGC GCACTDepartment G GG AGA develT TTG G G AA A TGG credited CTA Genetics. G TGGGindicate ATGGTTTG ATGG TAAGA GGGA GUGscientists AG C GA TAAG GCA ACTCT GTCTG ATCTA AAAGG GAAG AGGC CACTC TC CTC GTCTG GGGC TAAGA TGCATG GAGGGGAAAGCGTGCT GG G CG A A G A C A C G G A T A G T A T A G T G C A A C A A G G C C C G G G T C G G G G C C T C a disease, Gif an T CA G C G G G C A A A T T G G G G G T T T G G G oping key tools in bioinformatics to help further understanding person is a carrier for or unborn child will have T G G T C C G T G A A A G G A G G T T T T T C G G G G G G T C A T C C G T G G A G G A G T G G A C A A C GA AAAGCT AGGGGT TCTG GTCCTA G TC GA GC GC AG TTG TTTGG CTAAG GGCGCAG GAGGCGCTAAA GGAGA GGGCG CACTC TTGGT TTGGG CCTAA GGAG AGGGC GCACT TC T CAGCTC TTGGAT C A C G C T G G GGA AAGG GGCACgenetic A G G G T G T C A T A how G TAof G TCTG GAG GA G A G Utah works. isGgreat conditions. usCAthe potential TT GG GA C CT treat GTGTdisease GC A G Gof T AGG “The GGT CAC CAC GAG material CTC University GAC “ItAgives CAG GAA GGA AGA C C TTG GGC genetic ACAto A G CTAC TC GG AG GC TG GGG GAGGC CGAG ACTCT GTCTG ACCTA GAGGG AGGATCTAA AGGG GAGGC AGGCA CTCTT GGTTTG ATCTA AAGG AGAGG GCGAG ACT GTCGAGTCTC CATGAAGGG G AG AG TATat CA GT AG CG TGGTGT G CG Gprevent G Asome A C C A A A A G G A A G C G A T C T G G C A G G G C G A G G A C this, and they have been for a long time,” says Lawrence more efficiently and, in cases, even to disease G G A G G T T T T T G G T C G G G G A A C G G G G T G GC AG AA T A GCA AG G TG C G G AG CT CT TC GG CTC CT CC AA ATC CTGA GGCC GAGG AGAG GCGA GC GG CG AG GGCA GCTG GGA GA AG ACT TTGGT TGGA CTAAG GGTGCAT GGC CTTGCC CAC TTGGT TTTGG CTAAGA GGGG AGGG GCACT G TAA ATGGTTTGCGTTAATTG AG G GA G G G A G C A G G G A A C C T A C AGG GGAAG CAGGCaltogether,” A G A C Brody, chief scientific officer at the Maryland-based Center for C A says Jorde, whose own research includes the genetic C A G G A G G T A G G C T C TC T G T G G A G A T A T C A A G A A T A G A T G G G C C C G A G A G G A G C G G C A G G G A C G G G G C A A G T T T A A A G G G A T G G A G G G T T G G C A G GGGCA GCGTGCT GGGCTAC TCT GA CTG CT TC CATGGAG ATCTA AGG AGAG CAGGC CTCT CTG GGCC AAAGG AGAG CAGGC CT AT TCT GACCT CTAA AGG GGAAG CA G AAAAGG ACT GGTHuman A G Genome A A of both T Inherited Disease atGGtheCNational basis andATGhuman limb malformation. G G AC CAA GGC CATG GC G G TGGTTTGCGTTA TGG hypertension TAA GGResearch TGAAG G TGG GCC TC T T GG GAGGGG GA AGG GCGAG CTCTT TGGTTT GGGCC AGAGG AGAGG CAGGC ACT C A C A AGG GAGAG CAGGC ACTCT GGTCT TGGGC CTAAG C C G A C T G G T G C A A A A G C G G G C A G GGGC GGCTT CACT TTG G A A A T G G G T T A A T G C C T C G G G G A C T T T T G T G G G C A G G T C G G G G G G G T Research Institute. “The faculty there has made fundamental University ofGkey T T A T G A C G G T AT G A TC C TC Aclaim GG researchers GA CA GAdozens TG of Utah TAA CCAGcan AGA GCAG CAC GG CAACGGC CT GGGCACT TTGGT TTGGG TAAGA GGGA GGCAG AGCAC TCTTGG TGGA CTAAG GGGAG AGGCA GCAC AAG TCT GGTTT GGCC GAGGGCATG G GGG AG GAGGG Gincluding G A GC AG GAgenetics.” TG Amedicine, CG T genetic GT GGATC TAto A CAC CTin C AC TGGTC GGAT TAAGA GGAG ACTGCAGG genes AAhuman CTC TG AG A contributions C molecular TG and AGA GGAG GGCAGdiscoveries A G A C A G C A T G G G T G G G A C G A G T T G T G G T C T T A AG C GG T G A G GAG G G G G G C A A A C GGCA GAGA GCGA CACTC TGGTC TGGGC TAAGAG GGGAA GGCG CACTC TTGGTC TGGAT TAAGA GGAG AGGGC AG AGA GGAG AGGGC AGCA TCTTG TGGAC CTAAG GGCGCAGAA A G A A AG GG GG TC AG CG CG AG AG CTG TC CT GG TT TC AC GA TC AG AC TC AAG AGGGG AAGGG GAGC CTTGG CTGG CCTAA AGGTGATAAGA GGGAA GGCG GCACT CTTGG TGGA CCTAA GGGGA AGGCA GCAC CTTGG CTGGA CTAAG AGGGG AAGGG GAG G C T C C C T T G T G A A T A A T G G T G G A G T G A G G G A C A G A A A A C A C G A G A G G G G G A C T T G G A A G A A A C G G G G T G T C C G CTA AGGG AGAGG CGAGC CTCTT GTTTG GGCCT GAGG AGAGG CAGGC CTCTT GTCTG GGGCC TAAAGG GGAAG CAGGC AAG GGAA CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GGACC C A T A G G A A G G G T C G T A A C T TT TT GG CA TG GG CC AAGG GAGG AGGC CCT AGAGG GAAGG CAGG ACTCT TGGTT GATCT AGAG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT TTGGT TGGGC CTAAAG GAGA GCAGG GTC CTC A A C G C CCT GAGGG GAGG AGGCA TCTTG TA GG AGAG GC ACTC GGTT GG GAGG GAGC CTCT GTCTG ATCTA GAGG AGAG G A C G G T G G A C A A CAG C A A TAA AGGGA AGGGC GAGCA TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AGGG GAGGC CGAGC CTCTT GTTTG ATCTAA GAGGG GAGG AG CTA GAGGG AGAGG AGGC C C G A A A G G GC AA TT GC GG AA GG GG GC TGG TAA AAG GGA CAC TGG GGA GGC TCT AGAGG GAGAG TCT AAGG GAAGG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG GGAAG GGCGA CACTC TGGTC GGATC AAGAG GAGA A G G G G A G T T TA C T G G T T T T G A T G G G C C C G G G C C A C C G A A T T C A T T A T G G T A C A A T G G GG GAG TAA GGC TGG GGA AAA CAC GCA TGG TAA TAA CAC TGG CCT AGAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GGGCC TAAAGG GGAAG GCAGG ACTCT TGGTC GGATC ATC C G T A C T T G T C G G T T G G T C G G C A C G C A G T A T G A G T TC TGGT GGG GAG TAA GCA TGG CAC GCA AAG GGA CAC T TCT AGAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT TGGTT GGGCC AGAG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT A C C G A G T T T G G T G G G T G TC GGT TC AGAG GAGA TC AGAG GAGA GCGA T GCA A CAC GGA A G TCT AGAGG GAAGG GCGAG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG GAGAG A C G T A G G T TCT AAGG GAAGG GCGAG ACTCT GGTCT GATC AGAG A G A T C G CCT AAGG GAAGG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT G A G T C G T T T G G G C C C A G G T C T GAG AAA GCA TGG CAC CCT AGAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT G A C G T G G G TC AGAG GAGA GCA A TCT AGAGG GAGAG A G T TC AGAG A TCT
For decades, U researchers and investigators have played a critical role in identifying pieces of the genetic puzzle that continue to change the face of medicine.
Photo by Tom Smart
Deborah Neklason, a U research assistant professor of oncology and director of the Utah Genome Project, notes that genetic testing, paired with clinical intervention, has helped save patients’ lives.
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G A T TC C AG TC GAG CTC GGG CTA GGA AGG TGG GAT TAAGA GGAG AGGCA ACTCT GGTCT ATCTAA GAGG G T G GGA GGATC TAAGA GAGGC CAGGC CTCTT TCTGG TCTAA AGG G A C AT G AG G GA CA TGG TGGAT GAGGG GAGAG CAGG TCTTG GTCTG ATCTA AAGAG A C G G A T G G A G G GG G A C T CTG GACCT AAGAG GGAGA CAGGC ACTCT GGTCT TGGAT TAAGA G G G C T C G C G CT TCT TGGAC TAAGA GAGAG CAGG ACTCT TTGGT TGGAT TAAGA C C C T GG AGAGG AGGC ACTC TGGTC GGATC GAGG A A G G G A C C TA GG TAA CTG GG TCT GG TCT GG GGT GGACC AAGAG GGAGA AGGCA GCAC CTTGG TGGATC TAAGA AGG T G T T C G C G Gtalent Brody attributes Utah’s critical mass of A C T C C A T A A C C A T A G G A G G to two G G G C T A G GA GAG CAGG CTCTTG GTCTG GGATC AAGAG G CTA GAG GAsignificant CTG G T philanthropic funding to support genetics G T G A G G C GGT TGGAC CCTAAfactors: T C G C A T A A C AGA GGAG GCAGG ACTCT TTGGT CTGGA CTAAG GGT TCTGG CCTAresearch, G G a Mormon C T C T G A A T G G and a population of large families with G A G A G A C G A A G G TG GG AG AA AG CTT GTCTG GACCT AGGG GAGGC CAGGC ACTCT GGTCT ATCTA GAGG T for genealogy G G C church-supported A G predilection A work, which CTT GTCTG CCTAA AGGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT TCTGG ATCTA GAGG G G G A Gto aid AG provided G TG TGGA G Ghistory GC A G T T A A G T G T T T has a trove of family in genetic study. A C G GAG A C C T GTC GGACC CTAAG AGGGA GAGGC CACTC TTGGT TGGAT TCTAA AGG G T A Database, T G theTUtah G C TheAUniversity C G C A A G A C G T CT A G T A A G G houses Population with G AC CT CT GG TG GG CT GC TG CTT TGGTC GGGC TAAGA GAGAG CAGGC ACTCT TTGGT TGGAT AGAGG GG C Grecords C C thatCTlayer TA some 20 family genealogies TT Gmillion TC C G CT G T C G G T A G AGA with T G G A G A C G A TTG TTTGG CTAAG GGGA AGGCA AGGC CTCTT CTGGA ATCTA GG C T G G C T A demographic data G AC ACstate AG AGA deaths, TG on births, TG AG Grecords, GG GCAincluding TGG TCT CTA GAGGG GGAGA GCAG CTCTT TGGTC GATCTA AGAGG G T A CAC TTGGTC TGGACcancer G A G A G and G and C A A rates, medical diagnostic C AGother AGA TCT treatment C GG TCT C AGA ACT CCT ACT TTGGT TGGA GCCTA GAGGG AGGCA AGGC CTTGG CTGGA GATCTA AGAGG C C T records. AIt is the only resource in the United States C Tof its kind ACT TTGGT TTTGG GCCTA GGGAG AGAGG GCAC CTTGG GTCTG GATCTA AGG A G T theTT G G the G AG CACin G church/state TC GG G Gsuch C AG and largest database world. CTThe G G C A TAA T A T T CAC CTCTT GTTTG G G GAG G A ACC CTAAG GGAGA GCAG GGCAC CTTGG TGGATC TCTAA G T C G T G G T A T A on TC C million C AG records GC GAGprovides about 7.3 AG GA individuals, GTC partnership A CAC GGC GGT GG GCA GAG TGG AAG CTG GAG CTCTTG TGGTT ACCTA AGAGG GGAGA GCAG CTCTT TTGGT GATCT TAAGA G G some of whom can be linked to 11 generations of relatives. The A G G C T G G A C A A C A T G T A T C T C G A T G G T C G C C G A A G C G CAC TTGGT TGGAC CCTAA AGGG GGCAG AGGCA TTGGT TCTG ATCTA GG G A G database has supported about 100 research studies, allowing G C A CG ACTC GGTC TGGG CTAA AG AGA TGG TTG GGC ACT C C TT TT GGG GAGA AGGC CACTC TGGTC ATCTA GAGG AGG CACTC CTTGGinvestigators A andG G G analyze patterns of genetic inheritance GGG TAAGAto A C T G T A G G G C T T G T T G G T A C AGG GCACT CTTGG GGACC CTAAG GGAGA AGGC GGCAC TTGGTC TGGAT TAAGA G C Gmutations. A identify specific genetic T G A C T C G C A G G A T C C T A C T G A T G C G GG GAGCA TTGG TTTG CTAAG GAGG AGAGG GCAC CTTGG CTGG TCTAA AGG G Genetic C T the G G A G AG CAC GT instrumental in development of A G G C TAA are GAC CCdata A G G GGC GCACT TCTTG TG G T AGG T T A G TC TGGG CTAAG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT TGGTC GGATC CTAAG GG AC C A T T G GCA GAGC CTTGG T personalized medicine. Knowing what’s in a person’s genome T C G A G G T C G C A G A G G G T A C T TG TGG CTAAG GGGAG AGGCA GCACT CTTGG GTCTG ATCTA GAGG GGG GGCAC CTCTallows A G health G make GTT physicians A G T C G A A and patients to more informed G G T A G A C A T A T C T T A C A GGC CGAG ACTCT TCTGG ACCTA GAGGG AGAGG AGGC CACTC TGGTC GGATC GAGG G C GG choices, CT been G To date, TCT ableTAA TAA Asays. GGC scientists TGG CCJorde AGG CACThave GGG A AGG GCGAG TCTTcare A C C G T G TGG GGATC TAAGAG G G A G T C A G G G G G A G C A A G G G T T T T C G mutated Tabout G A C Tto link C G C C A A T C C T A C A C AAG CAGG 4,000 diseases to genes, according to G A T G T G G G G TGG CTGGA CCTAA AGAGG AGAG CAGGC TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AGG CAC A T G GAG CAGG ACTCTtheGAmerican C AAG GGG GGstill CTA GAssociation. TGtesting Medical AGG Yet CAgenetic G T G CTGGA G C C T G G C A A A GGAG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT G T G T A G A G G T C C T G G G A C G T C T G T T A T C C G G T T C G G C A G G G G has Tmany limitations, says. The GT is done CT which GG CA testing, TG TAAJordeAG AGA GCAG CACTC TTT GGCC GAGGG GAGG AGGCA CTCTTG AG CTC TGGsampling GG Cor other A tissue, A body material, can GAblood, of TG CTA T G GAG GGCA GAGCAthrough C T G C G G T T G G A A GA C GG AC AC GCA AAG GAG AGGG GAGConly GGA assessment, CTT TCTGG a predictive and then only for A computer charts a genetic analysis of a patient at the University of Utah. CCT GAGrisk A GAG C ACT provide GGG AAGGG GAGC CTTGG CTGGA CCTAA AGGGA T C T G A G G G C A some diseases. Test results can be missed or misinterpreted. G Genetic data are instrumental in the development of personalized medicine. G G A G A G T T T GG GAAG AGGC CT GTC CTC GAC GGG GAGGC AGGCA TCTTG GTCTG A C G AC GGG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT C A G G C G G G AG GAGA AG G GGC GAG GAGA G GAG
Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Dance Around the Maypole, ca. 1625–1630, oil on canvas. Gift of Val A. Browning.
Celebrating 100 Years of Collecting at the University of Utah Art is 100 Gala May 29
umfa.utah.edu
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A TGG GTC GGA G T CT TCT GA GG ACT G TGG GGC ACTCT GGTCT CTAAGA AGG A C G G T T C A T A G G A C A G AG CAG CACT TCTG GATCT AGAGG G G GGG A G AGG AGA GGAG GGCAG TCTTG GGTCT GATCT GAGG A T C G C G A T A A A T T T G A A C G C G A T C GG TAA TGG AGG ATC GGT ACT GAG GGA GGATC TAAGAG GAGGC CAGGC CTCTT TCTGG TCTAA AGG T C T T A C G AG atAARUP, G says many in the molecular sciences industry have long been opposed to patents and see GG GGAgenomics GGA director TGG CTGGA TGGATElaine GGC CTTgenetics CTA GLyon, GAG ofAmolecular CTand G G A GT AGA AGGGA AGGC CACT TTGGT TGGAT TCTAA AGG G G TTG TCTGG ACCTAthem A C G C G disincentive andT a barrier helping The royalty fees have also driven up research costs and made patient tests expensive. GA GCAGto innovation TAA patients. TGG to C G ACT TAA as a G GG GG TGG CTT GTCTG GGACC TAAGAG GAGAG CAGGC ACTCT TTGGTC TGGAT TAAGA G T G C C G C C T C G T C T G A AC AGAG CT TGGT GG CACT GA GG GAG GAG TGG G GCA T A CTG G TAA CTT CTC TGGTC GACCT AGAGG GAGAG GGCAG GCACT TTGGT GGATC AAGAG GG T A T C A G G T may Aexist to T G C T T C G C G G A C T In some cases, research and technology not yet neys challenged whether the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office T C C A T A A C C C A A G GA GT CA TA AG GG GG GG TGG TTG CTA AAGAG GAGAG GCAGG CTCTT GTCTG GGATC TAAGA G CTC TGGTC TGGACexplain G T G A T some genetic mutations, even though those mutations should have issued a patent on the tumor suppressor genes G G C ACC AAGAG GGAGA CAGGC ACTCTT TGGTC TGGAT TAAGA C CT T T C genetic C ACT TTGGT TCTGGcan G G G C C T C T G A A T G G C G be identified. “People think, well, I can just get tests BRCA1 and BRCA2 to Myriad Genetics, which was founded A G A G A C G C G G ACT TCTTG TCTGG CCTAA GGGAG AGGCA AGGCA CTCTT GTCTG TCTAAG AGG A A G G A C C G A G G T G G C A A G find to in 1991 by a team of scientists, including then-U genetics T of my G TAA AG about GC GG me, TGGpredispositions TAA outGeverything TCall CTT GTCTGand GG ACC AAGAG GGGAG AGGCA GGCAC TGGTC TGGATC TAAGA AGG ACT TG T Tgenetic AJorde G G everything,” says. “In reality, testing, while it can researcher and medical professor Mark Skolnick. A C GGC ACTCT TCTGG C C C A G A T C T T C A G A A G GA CCTA GAGG AGG GGCAC CTTGG CTGG GATCT AGAGG GGC TCTTG TCTGbe A useful T T only GAG GCAcontexts, A G G G AA in C very certain reveals predisposing One of the first companies to examine the relationship T G G T T G C G A C C G T G A C T G C GC CTT GTC TGGGC TAAGA GAGAG CAGG ACTCT TTGGT TGGAT AGAG GG A C predictors; ACT TCTTG Tfactors. C G canGbe C C A T T G T T C Sometimes they very powerful somebetween genes and human disease, Myriad was created to C G G C G G C A G G A T C G GG TGG AGA GGAG GGCAG AGGCA TCTTG TGGA ATCTA GG GCA CTT TT ACthey C Gbe only CTA can Cpredictors.” A approximate A G C T A A G G G develop genetic tests based on research from the U, including CAG GCACT TTGGtimes G G G C A A T A A TGG CCTA GAGGG GAGAG GCAGG TCTTG TGGTC ATCTA GAGG TC G A biomedical C sometimes A Gcommunity Gcontribute GCG AGCAC TGGTC GGThe T A G A G A G G C A A C A T can to Skolnick’s work to isolate the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The T A T T G T G G C T C G C C GCG CACTC TGGTC GGAC CCTAA AGGGA GGCAG GGCA TTGGT TGGAT ATCTAA AGG T G A T C G C A G G A G C C T C A T G public confusion about the power of genetic testing, in part U Research Foundation, which facilitates commercialization G T G A G T CA AC CTA TGG AGG G CAC TCT TTG GGA TCT TGG GGC ACTCT TTGGT TGGGC AGAG GGGAG GCAGG ACTCT CTTGG CTGGA AAGAG GG A C A because researchers “want to say this is important and useful,” of faculty inventions from many academic disciplines, later C A T T T G A GGC ACTC TGGT GACCT CTAAG GAGAG GCAGG GCACT CTTGG GGATC CTAAG G T Gsays.GThat’s G G GCA GAGC CTCTJorde T T C G A T G A C G C A A G C T someGin GCthe Gresearch CA AG GT TG GG GC AGAwhere CA GGcommunity GGlicensed Skolnick’s discoveries to Myriad. Over two decades, GAG AGG GCGAG TCTTG GGTTT ACCTA GAGG GGAGA GCAG CTCTT TGGTC GATCTA TAAGA G T TofferTG C A G A that Guncomfortable G Myriad has paid its BRCA patent partners—the U, the Hospital C become with companies direct-toT G A G C A A C A T G A T C T C G G A T G G T C A G C CC GG AAG GGGA GCAG GGCAC TGGT TAA G CAC CAG GGT TGGAgenetic TCT GATCfor Tare for CCT tests G G for Sick Children, Endorecherche Inc., and the Trustees of the A cases G GA that C A G A consumer in many diseases C C AGG GCGAG CTCTT A G T G T G G G G T A C A G TGG GTTTG GCCT AGGGA AGAG GGCA ACTCT GGTCT TCTAA AGG AAG CAGGC CTCTwhich G A been G theTgenes T AG GG GGCyet GA as AG haven’t such GUniversity of Pennsylvania—8 percent of its annual profit in the TAthe T G GGC identified, G TG AGactually TA TCT CA CTCTT G G G A G G T GACC CTAAG GAGA AGGCA GCAC TGGTC GGATC TAAGAG G A G A T C C T G G G G G T C for T C G A T G A C T C G G gene bipolar disorder. form of royalties, or more than $57 million, Myriad spokesman C A G G A T C C T A A C T AG GGGC AGCA GGT TTTGG CTAAG GAGGG AGAGG GCAC CTTGG CTGGA CTAAG AGG A G T G G T CTT Questions A T C A G A C G A T G G A A C G A G G about commercial genetic testing were at Ron G C T T C G A G G T A C G G T C AGGRogers says. The U’s share of the royalties has amounted to TA G TG AG AAG GGC ACTC GGTCT TGGGC CTAAG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT TGGTC GGATC CTAAG GG C A than $40 million over the years as of last fall and is used T T G T T GGG AGGCA GAGCthe T C G A center of the 2009 lawsuit against the Salt Lake Citymore G G T T C G TC GG GT GA G G CTC AGA TAA TGG GGG GC CAG GGA AAGG GGCAC ACTCTT GGTTT CCTAA GAGGG GAGG AGGCA TCTTG TGGTC GGATC AAGAG A C based biotech company Myriad Genetics, the University of to support further research and education programs at the A T A G T C T T A C A G G C C G T C G C A G G C T G G T G G T C T G A A G GAG GGCG GCACT GGTCT GGACC AAGAG GGAGA GCAGG GGCAC CTTGG TCTGG TAAGAG G A G T by University, according to Tom Parks, the U’s vice president for CT AG partners. AG CT Foundation, GG GAAG GCGA Utah CA AG and their CTResearch GGthe TC AFiled CCT G ACT TTGGT TGGA CTAAG GGGAG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT CTGGA TCTAAG AGG G Cof more T20 GA A AGG GGAAG CAGGCAmerican A than C G behalf TC Liberties G TC GGCivil Union on research. G G G A C A G C A G G G G A G G A T A A G AGG AGAGG CAGGC CTCTT GTCTG GACCT TAAGA GGAG GGCAG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG A C T health A G C TA plaintiffs, medical associations, researchers, Certain variations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes signal G G TG TGincluding AG AGG GAGAG CAGGC ACTCT GGTCT TGGGC CTAAG GGGAG GCAGG ACTCT TGGTC GGATC C T T T T G G GG GA asked GC central a person’s risk for some hereditary forms of cancer. Women GGC the AGG TCT and GGTpatients, GTC AAcase CTC question: AGA one GAG GAGA GCAGadvocates, CAC CTCTT GTTTG GGCCT AGGG GAGGC GGCA TCTTG G G G G A G A A G A G G C A A G C T A A C A G C T AG T G Can a human gene be patented? More specifically, ACLU attorwith a BRCA mutation face a 36 to 85 percent lifetime risk of A G G C T G G T C G C A GA GG GG GT AG AG CT AGA GGAG AGGGC AGCA TCTTG TGGAC CTAAG GGGAG AGGCA G C G A C C A G T C A A G A AAG AGGGG AAGGG GAGC CTTGG CTGG CCTAA AGGGA T C T G A A G CTA AGGG AAGGG GGCAC CTTGG TCTGG CCTAA T AA GA CA GG spring 14 26 GG ACContinuum G T C T T G CCT AAGG GAGG GTC CTC A A CAG CCT GAGGG GAGG AGGCA TCTTG C A C A A G G A C G T C AG GAGAG CAGG G AAG TCT AGAGG GAGAG A G T G C A T A G Continuum_Spring14_Genetics.v4.indd 26 2/19/14 3:58 PM TAA ATC
AA TCT GGA CTA T A TGG TGGAT TA A GTC TC TTG TCTGG ATGGA G C T G A C G G A A G T T A GGC TCT TCT ACC GCA GCAC CTTGG TCTGG ACCTA G A G G T G G A A G C A T C G T A GGG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT TGGTC GGACC A C A AGA T T A CTA GAGGG AGAGG CAGGC CACTC TGGTC GACCT T A A G G G A G G T G GG ACTCT TCTG ACCTA T G A breast or ovarian cancer. In men, BRCA gene mutations are A C C A T G C T A G G A TGG CTGG TCTAA AGGG AAGGG AGGC TCTTG TCTGG CCTA C T A TCT G A G G linked to breast and prostate cancers. The BRCA genes earned CAC CTTGG TCTGG TCTAA AGGG AAGGG GGCAC TCTTG TCTGG GAC G G T A A A G G A G C G C A C G T G G A C T G A G T G wide public attention in May 2013 after film actress Angelina AGG CAGGC CTCTT GTCT GGACC AAAGG AGAG CAGGC ACTCT TGGTC TGGAC GAG G T TG C C G CT CT GG CA Jolie announced she had undergone a bilateral prophylactic TAAGAGGGGAGAGGGCAGGGCACTCTCTTGGTCCTGGAC TAAGAG GGAGAGGGCAGGGGCACTTCTTGGTTCTGGA G A C T A G G T C C A A G T C G A G T G A C G A A G A A G T G G A GAC C A mastectomy following genetic testing. Jolie lost her mother GG TGG CTAA GGC GGC TCT CTT TGG to TAA AGG CTG GGG AGG GTC GGATC TAAGAG GGAGA GGCA GCACT TGGTC TGGAT TAAGA GGGA GGGC GGCAC TTGGT TGGAC G T TC TAAAG GGAA GGCA ACTC GGTC TGG CT AG GAAG GCAG ACTCT GGTC TCT GATC both breast and ovarian cancers. T ACT G C GGA AAG C G T G G C C G TGG GGC ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AAAGG GGAAG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT TGGAC TAAAG GGAA GCAGG ACTCT TTGGT TTG A C C G G T G C T In the lawsuit, ACLU attorneys claimed the patents on C C G T T C G C T G T T G G G C C T G G G T A G C C A C G A G A C C A G G G G T T A G A A A GAG GGCA GCACT CTTGG CTGGA CCTAA GGGAG AGGCA GCAC TCTTG TCTGG ACCTA AGGGA AGGC AGGC CTCTT GTTT GGwhich A didn’t G T C G A G A the BRCA genes gave Myriad, license the patents G G C T A G A G G T A G G A G C G G A A A C G G A T A G C T A G G G G C C G G T A C T G A TAA AGGG GAGG AGGCA TCTT GTCTG ATCTA AGG GAGAG GCAGG CACTC TGGTC GATCT AGAGG GGAAG GGCG GCACT GGTCT G AG to other researchers,TCan monopoly T GA TGand GG G G AAG A G GC on the CACgenes T G TA Aunfair TT G TG TCT AGAGG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG GGAAG GCAG CACTC TGGTC GGATC TAAAG GGGAA GGCG CACTC TGGTC A AG G G well CC AAAG TT GC TCpredictive CT CT GG AAGas CTG ATCTA AAGG GAAGG GCAGG CTCT TCT their associated genetic TCTinformation, GGA GCAG C CAG as Athe ACT GGA T G GGT A AGA A GGT G TGG CTA AGGG AAGGG AGGC CTCTT GTCTG GACCT AAGGG GAAGG CAGGC CTCTT GGTCT GGGCC TAAAGG AGAG CAGGC ACTCT TTGGT C tests for the mutations, Cwhich $3,000CAcould Tbe G too TG G G C TT C G TA GG AA atGroughly CA GC TT TC GG C T AAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT TGGTC GGACC AAAGG GAGAG GCAGG CACTC TTGGT TGGGC AAGAG GAGA GCAGG GCAC CTTGG T A G A ACLU G G T T T T G C G T C T G G C G G T G G C A C T C G G expensive for some patients. attorneys argued the excluC A C G C C A T A A G T A A G T C C G C G G G A C A G AG C AG GA GA AG GA GGT TAA AGGGA GAGGC AGGCA TCTTG GTCTG ATCTAA AGGG AAGGG CGAGC ACTCTT GTCTG ATCTA GAGGG GAAGG GCGAG CTCTT TG TCissue G C G G G A G sivity was a civil liberties because it “limits the public’s C A A G G A G G C A G G G C G G T G T G A C G G TA AA TCT TG TCT AGAGG GAAGG GCAGG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AAAGG GGAAG GGCGA ACTCT TGGTC GGATC CTAAAG GGGAA GCAGG GCAC TGG T A C G C T A T T G G G G T C G T G C G T T G right to benefit from scientific breakthroughs that advance G C A AC TC TC G GG AG GC AG CT AG GTC AAA AAG AGG CTC GTC AAG GAA TAA GGGG AGGGC GGCAC TCTTG TCTGG GCCTA AGGG GAGGC AGGCA TCTTG GTTTG GGCCT GAGGG GAAGG AGGCA TCTTG C C C G G A A A C medical research,” court documents state. monopoly A C A “This G A T C G G A T C G A A A C G G G T A G A T C G C T T G A C G T T T G C G T G G T C CCT AAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTC TGGTT GGGCC AGAG GAGAG GCAGG CACT TTGGT GGATC CTAAA GAGA GCAGG GCAC C A G A G G bring T average Timportantly, TA has a chilling impact on other ability to GCconduct AGG AGAG TCthe ACT AGto TCT CTC AGG GAG these CCTresearchers’ GGC CGAdiscoveries AGto Gperson, GCG GAG GTT ATC AAG GGGA GGGC AGCAC TCTTG CTGG TCTAAG AGGGA AGGG GAGCA TCTTGG GTTTG TCTAA AGGG AAGG CGAGC TCTT T C T companies A G A A T A G C G G medical research, undermining advances toward better treatC need incentives.” G A G C C G A G G G A G C A G T G A G A A A G G G G A T G C G G G A C G C T T A T T G TCT AAGG GAAGG GCGAG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT TAAAGG GGAAG GCAGG CACTC TGGTC GGATC CTAAAG GGGAA GCAGG GCAC A G The U.S. Trademark and Patent G A affordable T ment, cures, and more accessible, genetic testing. ... Office hasT issued thousands G C G CCT AAGG GAAGG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GGGCC TAAAGG GAGAG GGCGA ACTCT TGGTC TGGGC CTAAAG GAGA GGCG CACTC A C G T G C C TTgeneGC CTtheGpace AG early GC AGAGG GGAAG CAGG GTT of GG AC AG Tas GGG AGAGat C Such a monopoly serves to profit company theGGexpense patents since the 1980s CCTone TCT TGGTof Ggenetic GGA G TT G GCA AAG AGC AAA CAC G A TA TTG CAC TGG GG CCT AGAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT TGGTT GATCT TAAAGG GAGAG GCAGG CACTC TTGGT GGATC CTAAAG GAGA GGCG GCA G of the public good.” research and discovery exploded.GBy 2005, nearly A C G G A G T 24,000 genes G TCT AGAGG GAGAG GCGAG ACTCT GGTCT GGGCC AGAG GAGAG GGCGA CACTC TGGTC TGGGC AAGAG GGGAA GGCG CACT G C forCTT G 4,300—20 T the AAG A T G and TbeenTidentified, TA T A G G Ghave G A G T C T G C A C A G G G A G T G T Myriad attorneys argued that been used had more than percent of A T A A G A A TCTpatents A T G C C G G A AAG GGGGA GGGC GGCAC TCTTG CTGG TCTAAG AGGGG AGGG GGCAC CTCTT TCTGG GCCTA AAGGG GAGGC GGCA A TCT of A GT CA A GA CTgenome—had AA GAA GGCeconomies more than 100 years, across all kinds GGA AGGbeen TGG Cpropclaimed intellectual CTA AGGGA AGGC GGCA TGG CAC CTTGwhole Ghuman GCA CTas AAAcommercial T G G T T G T G G C C G C A G A G C T G G AAG GGT TTGGG CTAAA GGGAG AGGGC GCACT TCTTG TTTGG CTAAG GGGAG AGGCA GCA GAinvestment CAC CTTerty. GGC CTA GAGG C and industry, to provide a critical C incentive for days of Ggenetic academic researchers, A AG CAG AAG GCAGG in AGA CT TTGGTInTthe GAT GGearly TGG Cdiscovery, AGA GAG CAC A G A A C G T G T G ATCTA AAGGG AGAGG CGAG ACTCT GTCTG ATCTA GAGG AGAGG AGGC G G C C A T T G G T G G A C A C A G innovation and discovery. “ResearchCisTAaAvery private GA TG GG and GCsought TA GG companies TG T TTGout patents CTAbiotech Gexpensive Tlabs, GGG Aall GA GCA GGG GGC propoCas AGG C GAG GAGA GCGA CACTC TGGTC TGGGC TAAGAG GGGAA GGCG CACTC TTGGTC TGGAT TAAGA GGAG AGGGC A A G G G G T T means Gto TCa G G C T of preserving sition,” Myriad attorney Ben JacksonTCsays. “Companies have C future commercial opportunity, even if G C A C A G G A C A T G T T T A T A G A A A G G G A G A G AAG GGGGA GGGC GGCAC TCTTG CTGG CCTAA AGGGG AGGC GGCAC TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AAGGG AAGG CG T G ABut more G the value TCTdiscoveries. G A G A G A A A C A C A G A G spend millions of dollars to make these G G they weren’t quite sure about of their work. “Twenty C T G A G A A A C G G G G G G T C G T G C A C G T G T G T CCT AAGG GAGAG GCGAG ACTCT TGGTT GGGCC AGAG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT TGGTC TGGGC CTAAAG GGGAA GCAG A A C T G C T G CCT AGAGG GAAGG CAGG ACTCT TGGTT GATCT AGAG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT TTGGT TGGGC CTAAAG GAGA GCAG A C G G C G A T G G G TCT AAGG GAGAG GCGAG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG GAGAG GCAGG CACTC TTGGT TGGGC AAGAG GAGA GCA A C G G G A T T T G G CCT AGAGG GAAGG GCGAG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG GAGAG GGCGA CACTC TTGGT GGATC AAGAG GAGA GC A G G G T T A G C T G G TCT AAGG GAAGG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG GGAAG GGCGA CACTC TGGTC GGATC AAGAG GAGA A G G G A G T T C T G CCT AAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT TAAAGG GGAAG GGCGA ACTCT TGGTC GGATC AAGAG G A C G T T C T CCT AGAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GGGCC TAAAGG GGAAG GCAGG ACTCT TGGTC GGATC C G T A C T T G T C G G T T G G T C G G C A C G C C A G T T A T G A G T T GAG TGG TGGG TAA GCA TGG CAC GCA AAG GGA CAC TCT AGAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT TGGTT GGGCC AGAG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT A C C G A G T T T G G T G G G T G C C A G A A G T A T T G TC AGA GCG GAG TGG GCA AAG CAC GGA A GGA TCT AGAGG GAAGG GCGAG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG GAGAG A C G T A G G T G T T T G A C TC AGAG GG GAAG TC TC GCG CACT A GGA AAA TGG G CCT AAGG GAAGG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT G A G T C G CCT AAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT A G T C CCT AGAGG GAGAG CAGG ACTCT G A C G T G G G C A G A T GAG GCA AAG TCT AGAGG GAGAG A G T TC AGAG A TCT
“In reality, genetic testing, while it can be very useful in certain contexts, only reveals predisposing factors. Sometimes they can be very powerful predictors; sometimes they can be only approximate.”
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G A T A TC C AG TC GAG CTA CTC GGG CTA GGA AGG TGG GAT TAAG GAT TAAGA GGAG AGGCA ACTCT GGTCT ATCTAA GAGG G G T T C A G GG GGAT TAAG GGA GGATC TAAGA GAGGC CAGGC CTCTT TCTGG TCTAA AGG T TCT T A TCT A G G A TGG CTGGA TGGATC AG TGG CTGGA TGGATC AGGG AGAGG CAGGC TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AGAGG T C T T A T G G A G A A C G G AG C G G G A T G G G A G G G A G G G A C T CTA TT GC G CTG GAG CTT CTG AGA GGC TCT AGA CCT GAT TCT CAG CACT TTGGT TGGAC CCTAA GGT CTGGA CCTAA GAGGG AGGCA GCAC CTTGG GTCTG ATCTA GAGG G T G T G C G A C A A G C T A G A T G T G G A T G A G G A G A A G C A T G A G C A C T T G T C A G T T T G A G T G GGG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT TGGTC GGACC AGA CTT TGGTC GGACC AGAGG AGAG CAGGC CACTC TGGTC TGGATC AGAGG A G G T G G T A C G TA CT TAA AGGG GAGGC AGGCA CTCT GGTCT ACCTA G CTC TGGTC GACCT AGAGG GAGAG GGCAG GCACT TTGGT GGATC AAGAG GG A ATC G A A T T A G ago, TpushTC Alittle TAso years G really CT TCTG TChelped TGG TCTAA AGGG GAGGC CAGGC ACTCT TCTGG ACCTA G G C G G A C T C or [patents] people a A C T A A C C C A A T G G A G G A A A G G A G G C G G T A C G G G G A G G G G G G G G C T A G G A TGG CTGG CCTAA A A G G T T T G T T T G G A T T G T G T G T T A C G A C A C G A C A C C A C T C C G A T C T A C T A T T C A T G C Center CT CT GA CCTA GG GG forTInherited AG TA GA bit GG forward,” says Brody, ofAthe GA GG GG CT Disease GG AGGG GCAC GG GG CTA A CTG GCA CTT ACC AAGAG GGAGA CAGGC ACTCTT TGGTC TGGAT TAAGA CTG CTG CTT AGG CTT T T C were CAG CACT TTGGT TGGAT CCTAA GGGGA GGCAG GCACT TTGGT TCTGG ACCT C ACT TTGGT TCTGGResearch. G a rush G GresponC toCfind C T C T G G A A T G G C G G “There was the genes that A G G A C C G A A G G C A C A G G G A G T G A T G A G A G G G T G T T A A G G A G A G A G C A T C A T C T G C C T A A C T T G A G C A G T T A T C CT GG GG CAGG ACTC GGTC ATCT GAGG CC GG GG AGGC ACTC GGTC CT GG AGGCA TCTT AGGmajor GTC CTC GAC for C because AGA diseases, G GAC AGAG GGA G wereApatentable, GAG AGA T C GGT TT and they AGthe C AGA C G GCA TCTTG GTCTGsible CTA GAGGG GAGAG GCAG CACTC GTCTG GATCTA AGAGGTCGTAA AGGG GAGGC AGGCA CTCTT GTCTG ATCTA GAGGG GAGG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT ACCT C C A G A A A G T G G A T G TG AG Cwere TAA Apatented. AGG GAGThey GAGTCTAA AGGGA GAGGC AGGC CTCTT TCTGG TCTAA AGGG AAGG CAGGC ACTCT TCTGG ACC AGG C CTATCTAGAG staking GGC ACTCT TCTGGthey TCTturf.” TCT GGout ACCwere A G G G A G C G GAT G A G G G G A GG GAGTCT TGAG TG GAGTCTAA AGGG AGGG AGGCA TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AAGGG AAGG CAGGC TCTTG TCTGG GA GGC TCTTG TCTGG GACCT AAGAG GAGA AGGCA CTCTT GTCTG T C C A G T A A TCT profitable G G T But patents proved troublesome and less for C C G G G A G G C T G C C G A G A G C G TG G G C G A A G G T G G A T G G C G A T G C G T A T G G A C T T G A T G GC CT GTC CT AG CT GG GTC TGGGC TAAG GAGAG CAGG ACTCTAGTGTCGGCTCTTGTGAGTCATGGAGGAT GG AG G AAG ACC TCT GGC TCT ACT TCTTG Tmost C G CTmost C CAcases, C GG GCTA CTholders AGGCTAAA GGGGA GGCA GCACT CTTGG TCTGG CCTAA AGGGG AGGCA GCAC CTCTTG GTTTG T G TC TTpatent G C C G in biomedicine, says Brody. In G G G G C A G G A T G G G A A G G A G A C C G AC CAGTT CTGCGA GT G G G G A GA G A AGG G T G A A A G A G A A G G T T A A G C T G C A A C A A C T C T G C G C T T T G T G A C A G A G T GAG GG T C T GCTACT CTTGAT TCTG GG little GC AGGACCT GAGGG GAGG AGGC ACTCT GGTCT GACC GAGG AGAGG GCAGG CACTC TGGTT GA Awas ACmade” GG CC GAGGmoney Abe G G CAG GCACT TTGGTfound G G “there to from the claims T G A A C A G A T G A A G G A C G G G A T G A G C A T GT CTT GCAGTC TT AGA GC T G GG T TA GG AAGG CGAG ACTC TG GC A TA AA TG TG TAA AGGG GAGG TC GGTCTG AGG CG GG GAA A TCC G TG ACG TC ATCGGATA A CTC GGTC ACC staked ATC GTC G GAG G CAG ATCG C GCG AGCAC TGGTCthey G AGA A GAG GGspecific, CACGgenes, T GCTResearchers single he GGG T GCTACTGG C TGG had GAGTCTAA AGGGA AGGG AGGCA CTCTT TCTGG TCTAA AAGGG GAAGG CGAG TCTTG TCTGG CT TCTAGAG T Csays. G on CTA TAAGAAGG T G T A A A A T G G A C A G G T A G C C G A G GCG CACTC TGGTC GGAC CCTAA ATGCGGAAAG C G A C G A GTC GG G GG GGAAGG GCTTG CC G G G G A G G G A T A G C G G A T G G G C T T G A G C T G T T A T G T G T T G T G G C found C Gwere GCGTC CAG CTAA ATC CTGG GTCtheir theTCpatents barriers GG that TC GC AC GTadvancing AG AAG AGG GAA A AAG GTC ATGA GAAG GAC CAG CTC GTC AAA A CAG CACT TTGGTalso TGto GAT T GG ACTCT TTG TTG CCT AGGGCTGAAAG GG CCTAA AGGGG AGGG GGCAC TCTTG GTCTG GCCT AAGGG GAGGC AGGCA TCTTG GGTTT GAGGGGA GCGTGCTAGTGTCGGT GG TC GGT TGGGdiscovery. GC G AA G AA A C TCCTG GGTTACATGAGGAAG G T A C G AAGAG A A G C A C G T C G A C T T G G A C C A C G G T A G C T C T T GCA GCAC CTCTTscientific C A G T T T GC TAG CC TTTC GTC GC GTT TT AG CT GAGGG GAG TC GG AG GG GC AGG G GGT GACC CTAAG CGCATGAAAG GTGTCGG GC A A GG CTATGG AGGCAGC GCGATTG CTAC AAA GGGAG GGCAG GGCAC TCTTGG TTTGG CTAAG GGGAG AGGCA GAGCA CTCTTG CT ACCTTElaine TLyon G a young G CTAAG molecular GCA GAGC CTCTT CTAs GA T C A C G G C G G A G C C G T A C A researcher, geneticist A G T C C A G T A A A G T TG GGATAG GAAGG AGA C A G GAG G CGA AGA G G GGC CTATGGG CAC GT GG GGA TAAG GG GC AG CA C GG CTA AGC GGC AGCA GGA AGG G T AAG GGG TTG TA GGA T TT CTT AGG GCGAG TCTTG GGTTT ACCTA GAGGTCGTG G TCTGTC CA GA GGTCTC GTG Tthe AG G CTC AATGG AAGAG GGAAG GGCG GCACT TGGTC GGATC TAAGAG GGGA GGGCG CACTC CTTGG T she C A GA CTACin CTATGG A CAtimes says many Gstymied GGATbecause G ATlab Aherself AG T GGfound G G T A T C A A T T G G T G T G T A G C G G G G C A C T AGG AGGCA ACTCT G A C C A G C C A G AAGCA AG C T CTC C A A C G A G C G T C G C T G T A T A A A G T T G A A T A A G A A T A G C T G G T A G C C A T C A C G G C G G G G G G C CT G ATC to G CTA AGG in GATC TGAG GAG work G CT GG TG AG TCTTG TC CA CC into TG AA TG GCher GG GAGG G GAGCATG kept aTGCtest CTG bumping AGG GCGAG CTCTTsheGT GCGTGCTCon AGG TCT TCAG GGGG AAG AA AC TCTTGidentify G GGC AGTG GCG AGG C A GTC GGG AAA TAA Tpatents AGGGGG G A G GGAC TTGCGTATCG TAG CCTAA AGGGG AGGC GGCAC TCTTG GTTTG GCCT AGGG GAAGG AGGCA TCTTG G TTT GGCC GAGGGCTGAAAGAG GAGCTCGGTCGAGCTC T G G G G AAG CAGGC CTCTaT protein C A A G A G C C G T G G T A C A G G G G G metabolizes T A T some ACIn AGC in C A A C A G that drugs the body. cases, G A T C G G A T C T A T G G G A A A A C A G G G G T A G T A T C T G G C G T T T A G T C T C A C G G T T G T G C TA G TATC TTG AG TC GAG CAGG GCACT TTGGT GGACC CTAAG GCGCATGAAAAGGGGGCAAG CACCATGGGGTCAC GCC AGAG GAGAG GCAGG CACTC TTGGT GGATC CTAAAG GAGA GCAGG GCAC CTTG G A G G G G A G G G T G G T G T A A C T C G G helping A T T Gand a barrier to T T G innovation T C TTG T The C patients. T G Cthe TAAGspecific G C royalty fees G GCA patented Lyon wasn’t even gene GC studying TC Cbut TC GG GG AGG TC AG A A AGTC AAGAG GAGAG GGCGA GCACT TGGTC TGGG AAGAG GGAGA GGGCG AGCAC TGG GATTGG AGA GGGCG AGCAC TGGTC TTTGG TAAGA AC GA AG GGG A G AG CACGGCCTATGGGC GG AA G TCT G TATCTATCTGGAG T G A TT also G TCTCpart CT still C AG Tthe Cgenes AG Gpatented T CGG G G AG CC because GA AG GGAA GGCG ACTCT T CGTG TCTcontributed G AGher AGwith T T GG blocked A A A A G A C A C G associated using have A G G A C T T area of interest was of G C G A A G G G G A G T GGA AGGGC GCACTwas A T G G A G A C G A T A C G A CTG C CCT TTTGCT CTAGAGA CTA C A G GGAGGGG GGTGCT AG GGG GAAGG AGGC ACTCT GTCTG ATCTA AAAGG GGAAG CAGGC CACTC A G ACT GGTCT TTGGG CTAAG TG AAC GCG A AAAG ATGG TAAAresearch GGT CTGCGAthis G T tests G GAGTTCT TGAto GG G under GCdriving GGG AGGCA GAGC a C GAstalling GGGGACA T genetic fell aCCGpatent’s TT GGsequence TTG or TGAAG G C CCthe Gumbrella. AGC up costs GAG CTTGGGCTACT“At TGTG GC that CTT AGG AGG CTmaking GGG AGAGby AG T C C G C C G A C A T A T G G G C C G T A T T G G T A A C A A A G G A A G C G G C TGGA CTA GCG CACTC TTGGT TTGGG CCTAA GGAG AGGGC GCACT TC CTT CAGTC TTG G G T G A GG AAGG GGCA ACTCT GGTTT CCTA GAGG CTGAAAGGGGAGGGGC AGG G G C G G A A T says C G G Asays C G GGC GT for patients, G too expensive TTAA GGresulted AC AGfrom research TC GTGTGLyon, C Amore point, ITwas getting more and frustrated,” A G A C GA CAC CACGGC ACTTCTCTT T TTTthat G G CTAAG GGGGA AGGCA GCAC TCTTG TTTGG CTAAG AGGGG AGGCA CGAGC CT GAG AAGAGCGG GGG GAGGC CGAG ACTCT GTCTG ACCTA GAGGG ACA CTAGTGTCGGACC GAG AGGAGG T TGGAGGATA A G CGCATGAAGA AT Molecular AGof G GG GG AGT who CA T ACAssociation G Cgenetics AA GGAG GGG A A of molecular A C A G T C T G G C G A G G C A G G G T G T G G T G T T T C Lyon, is also president the for G T A T C G who is now the director and genomics G G G A A G T G G T C A G C G AG CATGA GAG CT CTATC GTCATGA GGCC GAG GGCAAGG AGGG CG CC AG GAG CAC CGA CACT TGGTC TGGGC AAGAG GGGAA GGGCG CACTC GGA ACT TTGGT TGGA CTAAG GGTG A T GT GGC CTTGCC G CTAA AGA GGC G TA TTG GCTG AA GGA AAGGG Gmembers A G AG TT CT AAAG C T Tthe AGG GGAAG CAGGCatCARUP, GG GAG A Gon C CGATTCGGATA Gmixed TCanatomic Pathology. 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A CTAAG GGGG University C G T TTTCT CTG T of Utah C G T G G G T AGC CCT AG AGG GAGAG CAGGC ACTCT GGTCT TGGGC CTAAG C AGG GAGAG GCGA ACTCT TGGTT TGGGC AGAG GAGAG GCAGG ACT GCA AG T CTC TCGA GGGTC GGG AAG GGG CCTAAwho GGCAG T C G CTACCTGCTTGGone TT CT GC GG GTGCCTTGGhave G GGmatter GG AGAG GC the GCthe TT “it Awould CTA G TTcolleague Toutcome, G Gmany GG said AGA CGCATGAAGGscience Ano be G G A T in molecular industry G G T G A A TCT says C G G A A A A A C G T A G G G GAG GAGA GCAGG CACLyon A C T T G A G C A A G A C G G AC T C CTT CA AGG GGGGGC GGC G CTG TG CT AA TG TCTAA AGGG GAGGC GAGC CTCTT TCTG G CTA GAGGG AGAGG AGGC C GG GTT AG A GGC AAGAG TG TCT Gbest GCA as ACT opposed CT CAGG ACto ATfor Asee Cthis decided G GTT for Athe field G A A if we AG Clong Ajust had C Adisincentive TG A G A G AGA GGAG GGCAGbeen TTG TTTG once and all.” G G C G G A A to patents and them a G C G G C A G G G T T G T T A C C G G G A G G A T T G G T G T T T G T C G T G C G G G GAG G A C CAGA GAG C AG GA CG AG TC TC AG GAG CG GA TC TC TC G AA AGA GGAG AGGGC AGCA TCTTG TGGAC CTT AGGCAGG CTG CATAT AGGTG GA GGGCG AGCAC TTGG TTGGG CTAAG GGGG AGGGC GCAC CTTGG CTGGA TCTAAG AGGGA AAGGG CGAG AA T G C G C C G C G A C C G T T C T A G G A T A T A G A G A A A T A T A G G TG AA G C CA GG GG GA GG G AA AC GA GG AC GG CG AAG CATAT AGGTG AGAGG AAG AGGGG AAGGG GAGC CTTGG CC GGGGC AC CCTT AGGAAGGG AGGC CTCTT GTCTG GGCCT AAGG AGAGG CAGGC CTCTT GTCTG GATCT TAAAG GGAAG GGCGA CT T AT C G T CTA G G A G A G GG GGC G AAGGGG GGGCA CCTT G C CATAT TGGTATCTACATA TGG C A TA C G TG G CA CTTG TTTG C CTA AGGG AAGGG GGCAC A G T G T G T T A G C C G G G A G A C G C A C A C G G A C A T C A G T T G CT AA GCGT TA GCAA GGTC TGCGA TAATA AG GGAG GGCG CACT TTGG TGGG TAAGA GGAG GGCA CA GG GG AT GG TTTGG CCTAA GGGG GGCA G T CCT AAGG GAGG AAAGGGACGA GTA GCA T A CGGG A G C G CG T GT C C CTT A C C A G G GGG AAG AA A A GG T C G C ACTCT TTGGT TGCGAT AGC G CAG GCACT TTGGT TGGAT TAAGA GGAG GGCAG GCACT TCTTGG TTTGG CCTAA GGGAG AGGCA G A G G C G T A C A G A A T G T G A T G CCT GAGGG GG G A C G G C G G C C C A A T AGAG AGA C A G G C A A C G G G A T G A G G T T T C T T A G C G T G G A G A A G A A G A G G C C T C A A G C G A T C C G T C T A A G GG TA TT TC GG TTG GG AGGG GAGCA TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AGGG GAGG CGAGC CTCT GCA GGA CCTTAAAAGAA GCA GGACG CTA CGTAGGGGAG A GAAG GGT GGATC TAAGAG GGAGA GCAG A A GG G T AAA A G A GGGGG C T CAAAG GAGAG GGCAG CACTC GGTCT GC C G T T A A G C A T G G G G A T C A G G G A A G G G G T G G C T T G G T T C G G G T G TTA GG TG TC GA AG AAG TT GG TC GAA GAGG AG TTCG TACGTAGG GTA TC CT GG ACTCT GGTC AA C GA ATC AAGAG GAGA GG GG AAGGGG GGC GCA ACTC GGTC GGA TAAG G GCA TTGG GAT TAATA GCA A T T GGA C TGG GGG TGA GGA G GA GAGAG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GATC TAAAG GGAAG GGCGA ACTC TGGTC GGATC AAGAG ATTTCG GATACGTAGG ACCTA AAGAG GAGAG AGGC CTCTT GTCTG GCGCATC A A A A G G A C G T C T T GGAG G C T T G G G T A T T T C T G T G G G C G C T C C G G C G C G C C A C C C T T T C A T G T T G T T A A T G G T C A A G GAG CA A C A G G C G A C A G G G CAT CT GA GG CTAA TGG TAATGAA ACT TAA TTG TTG GG GAG GGC GGT TTG TGG GCA GGC GCA TTG CTG GCA GGG GG AA CTT TGGTC GGACC AGAGG AGAG CAGGC CACTC TGGTC TGTGCATC GG AGA GCAG CACTC TTGGT TGGGC CTAAA GGAGA GGCAG CACTC TTGGT AA G A T G G A T T G G G G T T A G C G G C T C C A C G G GA GT GA AG CT TC AAA CT AG GAAG A GG CAG CTC TGGTC GACCT AGAG GAGAG GGCAG GCACT TTGGT GGT AC T A G GG GG GAGGC GAGCA TCTTG GTTTG ATCTAA GAGGG GAGG AGGCA A G T TA G CT TC TG TCTAATGAAAGGA GAG A C C A G G AC AC G G T ACT TGGTC GGACC AAGAG GGGAG AGGCA GCAC TGGTC TGGT G A C G G T T G G G T G T G C A TC GGTC TC AGAG GAGA T AGGA AG GCGA G T TCAT AGA C AG CT CT A CAC GGA T A T A GGAG CTC TGGTC TGGAC CTAAG AGGGA AGGC GCACT TTGGT TCTGGCT G G TGATCAAAGAGGAGGAAGG GCGAG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG C G G AC C A G CT T A G T A G G T G C T T A G A G T T C G C G C G A TA T T TTC GGGG AGG T T C T G A G G G C C C C C C T T C C G A T A T G G T C T C T G T A G A A A GGA G A C G C C G G GA GG ACT TCTTG TCTGG CCTAA GGGAG AGGCA AGGCA CTCTT GTCTGCTCCTTAAAAG GGC GCA GG CTG CTT A G A C C G A AAGGAGGGAGA GGCAG CACT TTGGT GA TG G GCA TCTTG GTCTG CCTAAG AGGGA AGAGG CAGGC ACTCT TCTGG CTCCTTAAAGAA GGG AGA C A G GAGGG GGCAG GCACT A C AC GA CTA AG GG TG GG GG TAAGAA G GGC ACTCT TCTGG ACCTA AGAG GAGA GCAGG CTCTT GTCTG T GA ATCTAC CAG A TA GGAGGAG A G G G G G A T G C G G G T A C C T G G T A C AGG T G A T G C A T GG TCTT C G C A G A C G T G A T G T AAGGGAG A G G A G A C T G G T C T A G C G A C T C G T G A C G T GGG TC GC GATAAA GAA CTT TGGTC GGGC TAAGA GAGAG CAGGC ACTCT TTGGT TG GG T A G ACT C G C T C TT G TC TCT TAAGA GGC CACTC TTGGT TGGGC AGAG GAGAG GCAGG GCACT CTTGG GGT AC C A G T G T G G T T C T G A G T A G T C G C C CA GCAC TGG GGAC TAAGA GGAGA GAGGC GGCA TTGGT TCTGG TAAGA G A T G A C G TCT G C C GCG AGCAC TGGTC GGAC TAAGA AGGGA GAGGC CACT TCTTG TGGAT TAAGA AGG T G G C T C G C C A G A T C G T C A A C G A T A C A T G A G G C T C G GA GC CT GAGG GG GG GAG CTT AGG GCA GCC A GAT CTG CAG TCT CTT CAG CACT TTGGT TTTGG CCTAA GGGAG GAGG GCACT CTTGG GTCTG ATCTA GG T GA GG GG GA AG GG TC GG TG GA GCA GCAC CTCTT GTTTG CCTAA AGAGG GAGGC GGCAC ACTCT GGTCT TCTAA AGAGG G A A A G T A A A C A T A G C T T T C G G G C C G CC GG AG AT TG GG AG TCT CTG GG CTC GCG AGCAC TGGTC TTGGG TAAGA GGAGA GAGGC GGCA TTGGT TCTGG TAAGA AGG G G G T A C T G G C C A A G A T G C A C G T C G A A C T G G T G A C T G G G T T C A G A G GG AGG AGGCA ACTCT GTCTG ACCTA AAGAG GGAGA CAGGC CACTC GTCTG TGGATC TAAGA T C G G G C C C G G C G T G G T G G T G T A T C G A A G G CT GGG CA ACTC CT AG AG GAGA GG GAG CTG GGT ACT CTA GGC CTT AGG G C TAA TT AAG CAGGC CTCTT TTGGT TGGGC AGAGG GGGAG CAGG GCACT TTGGT GGATC AAGAG A G C A G T T G G T A T C T C G G T A C T C G G C C A G A T G C T A A C A C G G A G G G G A A G GCA GAGC CTCTT CTGGA GCCT AGGGA AGAG CAGGC TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AGG G A AG GGGC AGCA GGT TTTGG CTAAG GAGGG AGAGG GCAC CTTGG CTGGA CTAAG AGG A G T G G T CTT A GGA AGGGC GCACT TCTTG TGGAC CCTA GAGGG AGGCA GCACT CTTGG CTGGA CTAAG GAGG G T C G T A C T A G G A T G A G A A G C A TAA A G G G G C T TT GG GG AGGC GAGC CTTG CC GG AGGCA TCTTG TCTG GGATC AAGAG T GGT GGG G GAG G G C AGA T T GC C GGA AAGG GGCAC ACTCTT GGTTT CCTAA GAGGG GAGG AGGCA TCTTG TGGTC GGATC AAGAG A C A T A G T C T T A C A G G C C G T C G C A G G C T G G T G G T C T A A T G G T G G G C C AG AG AGA GGCG CAC TTGGTC TGGAC TAAGA GGAG GGCAG AGGCA TCTTG TCTGG CTAAG GG G C the U A Jorde, GGG GAAG GCGAG CTCLynn C AMedical AC Cof GSchool’s TC chair GDepartment TGG GGAT TAAGA G G A C A G T A G G G G G G A G C A A G TT CT CTG ACCTnotes CAGhelps TCT GATC AGAG AGG genetic AGG GGAAG CAGGC CTC GGA research G GCA A G GGT Genetics, A of Human TGG AGG AAG that G G AGG AGAGG CAGGC CTCTT GTCTG GACCT TAAGA GGAG GGCAG ACTCT GGTCT GATCT AGAG A G G G A giveTTdoctors C T A G C T G G T A T C C G G T G C C G G the potential to treat disease more efficiently C G A G T C G T C A T G G A T G AG GAGA A T G A C A G G G G C T C G A TT TG CA G GGC GAG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT GTCTG GCC TAitAaltogether. TCTin Tsome GGT TGGprevent and, GAG GAGA GCAGG CAC GG C T Gcases, CC GGC AGGCA TCTTG G TT T G G A G G G A A C G G G A G A G G C C A C A GA CA TG CTAA AG TT AGG GAG GGG GGC GTT AGG AGG CTC AGA GGAG AGGGC AGCA TCTTG TGGAC CTAAG GGGAG AGGCA G C G A C C A G T C A A G A AAG AGGGG AAGGG GAGC CTTGG CTGG CCTAA AGGGA T C T G A A G CTA AGGG AAGGG GGCAC CTTGG TCTGG CCTAA T G 28GA AA CA spring 14CContinuum GG CCT AAGG GAGG AGGCA TCTTG GTCTG C A A C CCT GAGGG GAGG AGGCA TCTTG C A C A A G G A C G CT GAG AG CAGG GAG G AA TCT AGAGG GAGAG G TA ATC AAGAGContinuum_Spring14_Genetics.v3.indd 28 2/19/14 2:48 PM T ATC
Photo by Tom Smart
“There was a rush to find the genes that were responsible for the major diseases, and because they were patentable, they were patented.”
Photo by Tom Smart
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AG been ACT TTGGT TTTGpatents CTAthatGG AGG issued G CAC overTGthe T T court TCT GGC AAGAG GGGAG GCAGG ACTCT CTTGG CTGGA AAGAG GG TC GG C A T not leave researchers or biotech companies entirely without T A T T CAC CTCTT GTTTG G G G G A ACC CTAAG GGAGA GCAG GGCAC CTTGG TGGATC TCTAA G AGC CTCTT TCTGG A G ACT GGTC The GAG GGCA opportunity for competition. says GGC AAGAGorGincentives GA GGruling A C A A G T G C G T A C G T A G AGG T G GA CTCTT TGGTT ACCT AGAGG GGAG TCT TTGGT GATC CTAAG GG GCAor C G A G T G G A C A A patents can apply to cDNA, artificially constructed DNA C A T G T A T C T C G A T G G T C G C C G A A G C G T A C C G G T CA TA GCA TTGG GTCTG ATCTA GG GCA GGA contains TGG AGG Gsection AGisolated, C AGG GCof GCC TAAGsome ADNA. G natural genomic G T G CGA ACTCT GGTCTthat G G T C A A T G T G A C TTT GGCC GAGGG GAGA AGGC CACTC TGGTC ATCTA GAGG TT AGG CACTC CTTGGInnovations A G and GC TGG development AGG TAA in medical TCT Gresearch GG TTT AGGtechnology CTA AGG GCACT CTTGG GGACC CTAAG GGAGA AGGC GGCAC TTGGTC TGGAT TAAGA G C G A Tdisease G A C T C be patentable. G processes C A G in testing would also likely G A T C C T A C T G A T G C G G G A G C GG TTTG CTAA GG GAGC AGG GAGAG GGCA TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AGG G Whether CTT A Gand GG A G investment AAGcourt’s C A G G C G decision will squelch A GAC CCTthe A G G GGC GCACT TCTTG TG G T C A T T A G TC TGGG CTAAG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT TGGTC GGATC CTAAG GG AC C although T intoAGA T G GCA GAGC CTTGG T T C G A G T C G commercial development isn’t clear, it may cut C A G G G G T A T G C A G T G G G G C AG TA GGG GGCAC CTCTT GTTTG CCTAA AGGG GAGGC AGGCA TCTTG GGTCT GGATC AAGAG A of biotech A T On A T the companies C by increasing TG profits TT competition. AG CA AC GGC CGAG ACTCT TCTGG ACCTA GAGGG AGAGG AGGC CACTC TGGTC GGATC GAGG T G C GG same GC AA ruling TAA TCTcompanies TGG day T the two GG AGG Csaid GTC GGG wasGannounced, AGG GCGAG TCTTthe GTC GGACC TAAGA GGAGA GAGGC GGCAC TCTTG TGGAT TAAGA G C G A G T C G T G A C TtheyTwould CBRCA G C C A A T C C T A C A C AA CAGG G A G T G G G A C immediately begin offering their own tests G CAC CTTGG TCTGG CCTAA AGAGG GAGAG CAGG TCTTG TCTGG ATCTAA GAGG G G A G T G G G G public. CTA five CAC remain TAA GGA AtCleast GCA TGG AGGrelated TTG pending. the CAC toTG GAG lawsuits GAG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT TTGGG CTAAG GGGA GCAGG CACTC TGGTC GGATC G T T A T C C G G T T C G G C A G G G G T C A A T G that have C TG AG Auniversities GAG Research CAG CACT TCTAnother TGpotential CTA impact: GCA TGG GTT GGGC AGAGG AGAG CAGGC ACTCT AGG C GG G T private TTG Twith G to take A GAG GGCA GAGCApartnered C companies their discoveries T G T C G G T G C A G G A A C C G C GAG AGGG GAGCA TCTTG CTGGA CTAAG GGGA AGGCA Myriad Genetics, with headquarters located in the U’s Research Park, was C A into marketplace may suffer some financial G T C AC the commercial GA GGG AAGGG GAGC CTTGG CTGGA CCTAA AGGGA T C T G A from G G G C A G G G A founded in 1991 by scientists including then-U professor Mark Skolnick. G losses. Revenues royalties, which are paid in exchange A G T G T C G T T G C AGG GAA GTC CTC GAC GGG GAGGC AGGCA TCTTG GTCTG A C G AC GGG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT C A G G C G G G G A GA AG GGA GGC GAG GAGA G GAG
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G A A T TC C AG TC CTA GAG CTC GGG CTA GGA AGG TGG GAT TAAG GAT TAAGA GGAG AGGCA ACTCT GGTCT ATCTAA GAGG G G T T C A G GG GGAT TAAG GGA GGATC TAAGA GAGGC CAGGC CTCTT TCTGG TCTAA AGG T TCT T A TCT A G G A TGG CTGGA TGGATC AG TGG CTGGA TGGATC AGGG AGAGG CAGGC TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AGAGG T C T T G A T A G G G A G A C C G G G G G A T G G A G A G G G G G A G C T TAA T TT CTG GACCT AAGAG GGAGA CAGGC ACTCT GGTCT TGGAT TAAGA G GGC ACTCT GGTCT GACC TAAG T A G C T G G G C T GG AGGC CTT GTCTG GGACC TAAG CTT GTCTG GGACC TAAGAG GAGAG CAGGC ACTCT TTGGTC TGGAT TAAGA AGA C G T ACT G T G GGG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT TGGTC GGACC AGA CTT TGGTC GGACC AGAGG AGAG CAGGC CACTC TGGTC TGGATC AGAGG A G C A A T T T G G A T G G T A G C A C G TA C T C C G G T C T G T G C T G G T G T C CT AG ACC AG AC ATC GAG ACC AAGAG GGAGA AGGCA GCAC CTTGG TGGAT TAAGA AGG GGT AGA TGG T licensing G drop, CTT TCTGG CCfor TGG TCTAA AGGG GAGGC CAGGC ACTCT TCTGG ACCTA G T Myriad’s C G rights, could Jackson says. “Any C G G A T C T C A T A A C C T A A G G A A G G G A A G G T A G G AA GG AGGC CTTG GG GG AAG AGGGA AGGG AGGC CTTG TGG TTG CTG GGATC TAAGAG G CTA AAGAG should CTG CCT AGA be CTT TCT A T TCT GCconcerned broad CTC TGGTC TGGACuniversity GGT Tan ACT TTGGT TGGA CTAAG GGGG AGGGC GCACT CTTGG CTGGA ACCTA CT alternate, CAC CTTabout AG CT GAGGG AGAG TC AG C A G C T G G C G A C A G C G T C T A T G T G A A G G A G C GT TGGA CTAA T CT GG GGCdecision.” AC TCTTG TCTG ATCTA GG TAA ofAG ACT TTGGT TCTGGreading TTG TCT GGC TTG GCA GGG GGC ACC C GCA A C G the court A G ACC C GGC C G GG AGA GCAG CACTC TTGGT CTGGA CTAAA GGAGA GGCAG CACTC CTTGG TCTGG CC ACT TCTTG TCTGG CCTAA GGGAG AGGCA AGGCA CTCTT GTCTG TCTAAG AGG G G T G G A C G G T A G G C C A G A G A G isG“appropriately G C court’s G C T G A G G GA AAGA believes the GCA opinion GAG GG AAG G A GCA GAG CTT GCA TGG AAG T CTG TTG GCA GCA TCTTG GTCTG CCTJackson CAC CTT AAG GGA AGG GGAGA GGCAG GCACT GGTCT GATCT AGAGG TGCGT AGAGG GAGAG CAGG CACTC TGGTC GATCT AGAG GAGAG GGCAG GCACT TTGGT GGACC A AC AAin AGbut TG TGGnarrow,” C G A G T T A A A G G G T T G G C A T G G T G T also not entirely timely. “Gene patenting is its G T T G A C G G T C T G G T A C C T G A C C G C T C A G C A G C G A A T T C C C C C T C T A A T T A C C C T A G A A T T A A G A C T G G A G G G G A C C A T A A G G G G A G A G C G G GG GG C TGG CA GAG AGGmost GAGTCTAA AGGG AAGGG AGGC TCTTG TCTGG ATCTAA AAGGG GAAGG CAGG TCTTG GTCTG GA CCT Ahe GGC TCTTG TCTGtwilight,” GAG Gbecause CTT Gimportant TCT CTTGAT TC AAdiscovC G C G AG G G G A G C T A says, GGA C ACTof the TGGCAGCTTCTG GAGgene TCT GAG TG TAA AGGGG AGGG GGCAC TCTTG TCTGG ACCTA AAGGG AAGG AGGCA TCTTG GGTCT GG G T T GCA TCTTG GGTCT GGGCC TAAGAG AGAGG CAGGC CTCTA C C G C T G G G T AGG TAA GTAA TGGA TT C CTC AC TCTT C made G AGCTTCT TTTG CAwhen GGA AGGCA GCAC CTTGG TCTGG CCTA AGGGG AGGC GGCAC CTCTT GTTTG G eries were to 2001, the Human Genome TT GGprior G C C G G G G T C C G C A G G G G A C G G G A A C G A C A G C G G G G A GA GTT ACTGGA GGT G GGC CTAC AA CA AG CA TG TT AG GG CA TGG GAG TAA ACT AAG GGGA AGGCAGC GCA TTG CCTwhich T CTTGATCTTCfirst CTT G TG A G AGGACCTA GAGGG AGAGG AGGC ACTCT GGTCT GACC GAGG AGAGG GCAGG CACTC TGGTT GA GG Gthe A entire human G GAG GGGGCTCACTCgenome, CAG GCACT TTGGTProject, CACCAT GG TG TGG AGA has GG TAA A T AG G C GA T GAmapped G AAGTGG G G C G A G A A T A C T G T G G A G T G T G T C G G T C T A T G G A C T T A C C G G G T G A G T C G C C G G C G A T C C G A G T T G C AGA T CGG GAG TAG ATGCG AGA G G ACG TC GA AC CA GG GGAT TAAGA GGGA GGGC AGCA TTGGT TGGA GA GG AC GC AGCAC TGGTCbegan AGA ATGits findings. AGA GGGG CACGGCCTACTTGC GGA GGG T TGG publishing GA TA A CTT CTATCTAGAG G T G CT TCTAT TA G C CTA GGC C G G T GCG CACTC TGGTC GGAC CCTAA ATGCGGAAAG CAGGAGGGACAGCTATG GTCT GGAATGCGTAAGAG GGGAA GGCA GCACT TGGTC TGGAT CTAAA GGGGA GGGC CACTC TTGGT TGG GA GGTCAC G G G T T A G T G T A A G G T T G C TC TGA G that C TGG TCTAA ATC G C C G G C G A C C G A C C G Brody agrees Supreme Court case was somewhat T G A G C T A A T C A T G T G A T G T A A T A G A G G A T A G G A C C A C A G A C A GAG GGACA GCTTG CACTCT TGAGTC GG G C G T G C AC TGG GTTTG GCCT AGGGCTAAAG CTA AGGG AAGGG AGGCA TCTTG GTCTG GGCCT AAGG GAGG AGGCA CTCTTG TGGTT GAGGAAGCGTC AGTGTGG TCTTGG GTCATGAGGACG GGC GC TCT G C G A A G GGAAGA GG TAA C A C G T A C G A C T G T timed, considering the fizzling competition for gene G T A A C C G A G C G G G T A C G G C A C T T C G T T T GCA GCAC CTCTToddly A G C T G TT T T TAG CC T C G G G G T G C C T C G G G T G G C G C T A G A C C G G T T G G G A C G G A A G A C A C G G T G G A G A G A A G C A G A G A C A AAGC GAGGC CACTT ACTGG TGG A A A GG TT CA GA GC CA AA GAG GC TGG AAG TTG TCTCTG GCA GAGC CTCTTdiscovery, G T significant CCTheAstill T GAimpact. TGG GGbut AG Ahave TA G AGG G GGG believes itCwill GCTCTCTC CCT AGAGG AGAGG GCAGG ACTC TGGTT GATCT AGAGG AGAG GGCGA CACTC GGTCT T GAGGAG CGC CACCAa AGAAGA GGG G GTC G GC AG CA AG G C ATCTGTTG G TGGGGCG G T A GGA G T G GA TAACTA G A A G G G G T T AAG GGGC T G T T C A C A G G G GT C AGG GCGAG TCTTG GGTTT ACCTA GAGGTCGTG G C C T C G T C C A A G C A G T AC CAG TTA GATGG AGA A GGC T GindiAGG GAbecause G C A GA “IT thinkGit’s an important itTTallows GA TTG GAT AAG ACT GC GG CAC ACG GGT AG GGG CAG C Adecision, TT GAGCTCAGG G AGG AGGCA ACTCT GTCTG ACCTA AAGAGTCGTG A GAT GGA TCTCTC CTTAGAGAATCTA AAGGG GAAGG GCGAG CTCTT GTCTG GATCT TAAAG GGAAG CAGGC CACTC GGTC G A G T A A G C T C T G G C G C G G C C TTGATC TGG G AGG G G CTA C G TG G AG TCTT CAT CA TT Gthe TG GCGAG Aand GG GAGG toTGAgo forward genetic G A GCC AAGAGTC GGTGCuse AGG GCGAG CTCTTviduals TCT andGcompanies AGG TCT AAG TGG AC TCTGG TCAGAGGGG GTC GGC GCG AGG C A GTC AAA AGGGGG A G GGACACGGCCTACTG TGG GTTTG GCCT AGGGA TAG CCTAA AGGGG AGGC GGCAC TCTTG GTTTG GCCT AGGG GAAGG AGGCA TCTTG G CGAGCTCCTATTGCGTATCG TGAAAGAG G G C G A AAG CAGGC CTCTinformation G A G A G G T C G T G G G C A C G G to innovate and invent new things without A G A G A GG CTCT CACTG TTG GA GC TG GG AA TT CTT CA TA TTG TA GC TTG G AG AAGAGC GGAGGAGG CAC TAA CTT CA ATCGGATA TC GAGGGCC AGAGG GAGAG CAGG CACTC TGGTT GATCT TAAAG GAGAG GCAGG GCACT TTG GAG CAGG GCACT TTGGT GGACC CTAAG GCGCATGAAAAGGGGCGAAG GGCACCATGGGGTCCAC G G G T C G G T T C G A A G T G G A C G T A TAG TCT worrying turf,” heTCGsays. TATC TTG T about Gsomebody’s T G you’re G G GCwhether CAAGA CT AGGon GC GG GA CG AG GG TCAC TCT ACT AGG GAG CTC AG GAG CTC G AG AGA GGGCG AGCAC TGGTC TTTGG TAAGA AC G GGG AGA GCCTATGAGGC GGCAG TAA AAG GGGA AGGGC GAGCA CTTGG GTTTGG TCTAAG AGGGA AAGGG CGAGC TCTTGG TG CTT GAG A G T C G G T T C T G C A A G T C G G T C G C A T C C A G A A T G GGTAAG GATGG AG A C that A A G the TGG AGSchool, says ruling G if TG GA GG AG T GA AC GC TG GA at the GG GG AGGGC GCACT TCTNeklason, AC ACT CTAU Medical TGC AAGGGCGAGGGGACAGGTGCCTTGAGC TTTCT TGAGAATCGTA GGG GAAGG AGGC ACTCT GTCTG ATCTA AAAGG GGAAG CAGGC CACTC CTG GGGC TAAGA TCATG A G AAC GCG GTC AC AG C GGAhave CTTGGATGAGTTCCTATGproduce G G C genetic T than G CTAAaAperson’s G TAAit G Tto 15Cyears C G G GGT T10 C TGG G T G A G C A G C G T T entire sequence—far less in the A G T GGG AGGCA GAGC had G come earlier, might made the T T G C T G G G G G T C G T G A G C G T C A C A G A C G A G G G C G A C G GCT AGGGT CTCTG GTCTA GGGCG A G C GCA GAC TC AA G GC AGAG CTT CAGTC TTGATC TTGGA CTAAA GGAG GGGC GCACT TTGGT TTTGG CCTAA GGGAG AGGG GCACT CTC TTG TTTGG CTAAG GGCGAG A C G G GGA AAGG GGCACresearch G T T C A G GA A GCand about G GTTApast, G AG G AsameAprice G A Tcompetitive,” G G Myriad charges now to ArunGjust AG the TC collaborative and less GTGTG ACTCCTGbut GC CCAG AAG A G TGclimate GGA GCAG AGCA AGA CAC G GAC“more G C TGG CAC GGA TGG AAG CACGGC TTG GC AAG CAC TT GGG GGG GAGGC CGAG ACTCT GTCTG ACCTA GAGGG TGA G GATGTA CATGAAGGAG ACA CTAGTGTCGGATCTC TCT AAAGG GAGAG CAGG CACTC TGGTT GATCT TAAAG GAGAG GGCG GCACT G Cit GG A TdayG CAGG A A C A G G G G A C G G G A C A the two BRCA gene tests. In the future, sequencing could cost G G G T neither she nor Jorde believe will have much effect on the G T T T C G G G G A G T T C G G G T T G A T G G G A T G T T G C A G C G AG CTGA GAG GGCAAGG CT AGGG CTC AG CC ATC TCTGA GG GCC AGAG GAGAG GGCGA CACT TGGTC TGGGC AAGAG GGGAA GGGCG CACTC CAC GGA ATGGT ACT TTGGT TGGA CTAAG GGTGAT GGC AGA GGGA CTTGCC GCCTG G G A G TTGCGTATAeven T AA T G TG G G T T A G G G A T C C T A A G C C A C C A T G A G C less. A G AGG GGAAG CAGGCto-day C A T mission of U genetics investigators. “No matter what, you C T C G G A A A T T T G T A A G A A G G TGG AGAG GA GC GCG A C C G G A G CACTTGG TTG GA GA TAAG GG AC AAG TAA AAG GGGCAG GGTCTTG GGG AAGGG GGCAC CTCTT TCTGG GCCT AAGGG GAGGC AGGCA T GGTC CTC CTGAGG AGG AGAGG CAGGC CTCTT GTCTG GACCT TAAGA TCGTG ATC Aare ATChisTApart, AAG Johnson AT A AC G CA AGCAknowing GA ATGGT For AGAAGGGGGAC CG GG are scientists competitive A going C GCGTTAAGTGG GC GG AGGbelieves TGGabout G CAC CTAhis TGG more GsomeGcompetition; G TGto see C AG CTGAA G T T C C T G G G T T G C C T C G G G T G T C G G A G T G C G G C T C G G C C A A A G A T C C A T T A GCA AG G C T GCG G C CT AG CACT AG AA AGCACTTGGATGGT TGGG GG CCTA CA AC TGG TTGG TAAG GG AAG GG CG GG TGG Gsays. CACa fan TT GGA his TG GGA TTT GCA CTA isGsaving G GGGlife.GNot GGC TG GGG T C T AGG G TCTof doctor genetic health visits or pill GGTC TCT people,” GC CTJorde AGA CTGAAGGACG TC ACGTG GG AG TGC AT A GAG GAGA GCAGG AG A CGG TTGGT TGGGC TAAGA GGGAA GGCAG AGCAC CTTGG TGGAT TAAGA GGAG GGCAG GCAC CG G ACT TCTTG TTTGG GCCTA GGCGAT GCTG A A C A G T C A G T C G A G G C G T G C A G C G T T A T CG G G AGA A TCGGG AG A T AGTG T G AG ACATG TC G C AG AG GA AT AAGA TC CG GTCfather CAC CTTGGUTscientists AC AGA GGAG GGCAG AGCurrently, A AGCCTAC CG TTG CTAAG AGGGGCGAA AGC C G CTTGG CTGGA CCTAA GGGA AGGG GApopping, GGA GCA CTTGthe GCTC A TG TGG of Ttwo GGC TGA GGG T G G GACGG CAG G A AG G GGT A CGA TAAACATG G C GTC GGATC TAAGAG GGAGA GGGCG AG GA CT CTACGTGACGTAGGGAGCAG GA AGGA GGC CAC CTTGG TGGAC T C G G C A A G A AGA GGAG AGGGCareAinvolved G A T A G G G A G T A G C C T A G G T T G T T C A GGT GGGG AG G G T A AGG G boys says G G least C awareC A C his increased C CT GGTT GATC AAAG GC AA CTG C A AAGG C TC at G CG AG TG ACT with AAGGG GAA CAG CACT TTGGT TGGAT TAAGA GGGG AGGGC GAG AGTTGGGGGATACT GGGCAG TCT AAAGG A A C G AAG AGGGG AAGGG GAGC CTTGG CCTT TA G GACGAAGCTCTT GTCTG GCCT AAGGG AGAGG AGness CA CTCAG GGTG AAGGAAGGGGTC TC AA T GAACGTG CAG T A GAC C ongoing TC G T GA ATC CTA A GC C T G G T G about genetic factors has C G A nine research C G A A G G C G G T G C A A A A G A T G G G A G A T G G G G T T G T G G G T G C C C C G T T A G T A A CTT TAAC GGTGGG AGGGAT GAG GT GG GAAG AGGC GTACTTG GTTCCTT AG CG CC GC C GAG GCC GAG AGG CACTC TGGTC TGGGC CTAAA GGGA GCAGG G G GCCTAAGACGTG GTT A T AAA C G GC GA AGA GAGGC CAG TA AG TTG TTTGG TCTAA AGGGA GAGGC also T him nudge TAAA GAT GGACGA TCG CTCAGGGGGTACTAGG in TT CCT AAGG GAGG studies CT to CC GC TAAAG AGAG CAGG CTTGTG AGTTCCTgenetics, A Ggently GG led Amedical GTGCC A G T G T C G A G G A G A G G A C G C A A A C G G G G G A T A G T C C G A G T G G A A G A C G T T A T A G G TATCT GGG T TT GTGsuch GGATC AG CC GAGGG C TCTfriends GGG CTA TGCCT projects AGG AGGC of GCC AGAGG AGAG CAGG CTG CTTGTG Ato AC T GAG GGGAG GGCA TC CAC AGTGGTC ACAG CT GGT to Gseek AChis AGTAGG CG A GCGTA A AT T A identify TCGAGG as A TCTGCAAGCATGGTTGGT TGGAT CTAAGA GGGAG GGCmany CAG C AGC CTCTT GTTTG ATCTA GAGGG GAGG AG GGG A CTA G C AGTG CGAGGTGCCT GGACC TAAGA GGGAG GCAGGCCCATCATCGATGGGGGTCAACGTGGGGACGC T A G C A A T A G T G T T C G C G A A A G C A G G A A C G C childhood A ACT GGGGGT GGGAT GCA C TT AG TGT testing. G AT GA CTTG GG TG my mom AG GGC GG TAA CT genes GA ACfor TGG GGG AGC “I’veCoutlived GG CATC Ghigh-risk GGG CTA AC G GT ATGCAT G TT GATACGTGGCA CAG G ATGCTACAACGTG A GGT TCTGG CCTAA GGGAG AGGCA GTC G GTC GGATC TAAGAG GGGAA GGCG GCACT TGGTC TGGAT TAAGA GGAGA AC T C A A G C T T A A T G G G G T A T T C A G CCAC GGTG GAG G AGGAG TCT G G C C AG by GA AAGAcancer CT TC AGAG assessing GTC Gso GAG AATGCA G CAG GCACT cancer, A T GATCTGG GCA CG GAfrom TTG andTG GCaGnumber ACT ofTGyears, AG CCTA CAACGG TTGGT TGGAT CTAAA GGGA GG A TAAA CTCAGG ATAG G CTC TGGTC GACCT AGAGG GAGAG GGCAGCG GAG TC CC GGC ACTCT GGTCT GATCT TGGAGTAGGGATCAG G GGTC GC TAAAG GGAA my Aperspective, T A G G C T G A C GAATGC AGGCA AGGCA risks T C A G G A A T A G C G G G T G this is saving T T for diseases with known C G C T G AAC GGGTC AGGAT GGC G CTG A C T T T G T C G C A T A G A C T C C C G T C A C G G C C A G G T A T A G A T T GC AGTATG GAGTGG CATCT ACTAG TGG AG GA AGGG GG CTAA CA GG GC CTTGG CTGG CCTAA GAGG AGAG CAG CACsays. GGA GTCAAG TCTG ATC GGGTC AGG TTG GGG T A CTT He’s also AGG Clife,” C T G CAG CTC A G cancer genes, including AA AGG he AAG C GTATG GG AG CT GC AG TTGGT TGGG TAAGA GGAG my TC GCA ACT AC GGG AAGGG GGCAC CTTGG TCTGG GACCT AGAGG AGAG AGGTCATAT T G G C A G G G G G T G G C C A A G G G TCAC AGTACTT GAGTACT GCAGTACT ACTG TGGT CT GG GGC TA AT GA CA AG grateful TG GG and CAG to know that in some A GGG GAGG AGGCApsoriasis GAG G G ACC TGG CTAA GGC TA C AGTGTGG AGT GC AG TCT CTT GTC arthritis, GGG AGG TC A C AAGCAC C GGCCGTA GCA GTC GGA ACT TCTTG TCTGG CCTAA GGGAG AGGCA AG G TTGGTC TGGAT TAAGA GGAG T A G G A C A G T A GGG AGAGG AGGC chronic T G A small way, his family’s history G A C A AG CTG obstructive C AG TC AG TGG CAC GAG C GGC TCGCA AGGTTGGGC AA TGG pulmoTGGGGTCCGTAG A G TTGGT TGGA CTAAG GGG AGAGG GCAGG ACTCT TGGTC ACCTA AGAGG GGAGA GGCAGCCTCAAACTC GGA AGAACGAC TACGG GGTC GGTGAA AT G familial C disease, G AAATGTG G T A A G G G and participation in research T G G G G C nary and T T A A C G G T G G A C G G G T C C T C C G C C GTAA CGTG GTCT AG GA TC AG GGAA CA GC CT T AGTG AGGATCAG GGT GCA CTTGG CTGGA ACCTA AGAGG AGAG GGCCAC G GTACGTG GG ATCGCAAACGTAC GGG ATACT G TG T G G T work will likely help many G atrial fibrillation. In addiT C A G G T G A A C AAG GGAA GGCAG T G A TC ACTG AGTATGGGGAGGTCTGGC CAC CTTGG GTCTG GGCCT AGAGG GAGGC GGCCATAT G G A TC GTT AGACTGGAAGAGACGAG AGG T CAC CGAC A G aTdozen A AAG GGAA GCAGG G C T C T G T A C others. “My mom was very G T tion, more than new T C G T A T G G TC AG GC GG GC GG TA C GTGTGGGGAGGGATC GT AAG AAA GGAGA GGCAG GGCAC TCTTG TTTGG CTAAGA GGGAG GGCA ATGCGCAAAGTAC ACTG TCT AGG G A C A G G G G C gracious and giving, and she T A T A A projects are beginning this C A C G AAG AGA GGAG GGGC AGCA TCTTG TGGA CTAAG GGGA AGAGG ATGCGCAAC CTG GATGGG C C TCATCT T TTGGT GATCT AGAGG G A C C G T CG including AG GGAA GGyear, G A G A G G G A C G G G was always thinking about A studies on A G G A G G GA AG TG GC GA CT TTG CT GA CTA CTC AAG GAA GCG CACTC TGGTC GGAC CCTAA AGGGA GGCAG GGCA TTGGT TGGAT ATCTAA AGG CTA AGGG AAGG the T G A T C G C A G others,” says Johnson. “I’m G genetics GTC Gehrig’s TGG CTAA TAA CTC of Lou GGC GGT AA ACT GAG CAG GG TGG CCT AAGG GAGG AGGCA TCTTG TGGTT GGGCC GAGG GGAGA CAGGC CTCTT TTGGTC TGGAT AGAGG G C A sure she’d approve.” A A A disease, genetic susceptibility G C T A T C G A T G C A G C A T T T G A T C T C C G G G G T C G G C C C AG GAGAG CAGG ACT TGG GGAC CCTAA GGAGA GGCAG GGCA TCTTG TGGAT ATCTAA G G AAG AGC CTCTpre-term T G A C G C A G G A G C C T A A G T G C G TCT AGAGG GAGAG toGspontaneous G G G A G G C A A G G CGAGC TCTTGG GTTTG CCTAA AGGG GAGAG CAGG TCTTG GGTCT ATCTAA AAGAG TCT AGAGG GGAAbirth, G T —Jennifer Dobner, a former locating TTGa “thinAC GG and GGA CTAAG AGAGG AGAG GGCAC ACTCT TCTGG GATCT AGAGG G A C C G T T T G A G C C C A AT CTAA CA prevent GAC CCTA GAGGG GGCA AGGC CAG GGA ness” GGT obesity. TGG GTCTG GATCTA AGG G G G T G T A longtime Associated Press reporter T gene to T G G C A C G G C C C A A A G T GGG CCTAA GGAG AGGGC GCACT TTGGT TTTGG GCCTA GGGAG AGAGG GCAC CTCTT GTCTG CTAAG AGG T G G G A C theTeffects G A A G G A G G A G A T G T G and editor, is now a Salt Lake CityC Meanwhile, A G A G G G G G C T C A G T A G G G G C AA AGGG AGGC GGCA CTCT GTT ACCTA TAAGA AGAG GGCAG CACT GGTCT GATCT AGAGG TCT G A A TGruling CA Court G G G C A T G C T A G G T G G G G T based freelance writer and a frequent C T GGA GCCTA AGGGA ofAthe Supreme C G A T G TC GA ATC TC GG CG GA GCA GTC ACT GAG G G TGG CTAAG GGGA AAGGG GAGC CTTGG GTTTG CCTAA AGAGG AGAG GGCAC TCTTG TCTGG TCTAA AGG G A C A contributor to Continuum. G A T T should help drive down the G G G A G A G A G G G C T TA C G AC TGG TCTAA AAGGG GAAGG AGGCA ACTCT TCTGG GGCC AAGAG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT GTCTG ATCTA TAAGAG G A G G G C T C G A A G G C C G T G G G T C G T G C G gathering TT TG CC AAGGcosts GAT AAGA GG GTT TCT AGG Cgenetic AGof TCT GAG GGC CGA GGG TA GAG AGGG GCACT TCTTG GTTTG CTAAG GGGA AGGCA GGCAC CTTGG GTCTG GATCT AGAGG TTT GGCC GAGGinformation, A C G T C A ultimately G G A G G T A G A C A TA A G T C T T A C A G G C G TG GG AGG AA TCT TCTG ACCTA GAGG AGAGG AGGC CACTC TGGTC GGATC GAGG CGA CAC GTT GATCT TAAAGbenefiting A G T C T A AG GGGpatients G G G A C G G C in terms A G G T G G G T T T T G C G A G T GG A C T G T G TC GGC AAGAG GGGAA GGGCG CACTC TGGTC GGACC TAAGA GGAGA GAGGC GGCAC TCTTG TGGAT TAAGA G G T T G A T C T T C G G C C A G A A T C C T T C of both access and overall A C A A C A G G A T G T T G G G G A A C A G A G A G G C A G G G A TGG GCCT AAGGG GAGGC AGGCA TCTTG TCTGG ACCTA AAGAG GAGA GCAGG CTCTT GTCTG ATCTA GAGG C T A and well-being, G G G A G C AA GG GG GG GG CCTA health AC CT GGG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT GTCTG GGGC TAAGA GGAGA CAGGC ACTCTT GGTCT GATCT TTT A TGG TTGGG TAAGA C T G C TT GC predict. TG TG AG GAGG T C C G G T T C G G C G G U researchers G G G T T C C A A T G G A A T T G G G A G C TTG CTGGA CTAAG GGGA AGGCA GGCAC CTCTT GTTTG GGCCT AGGGA GAGGC GGCA TCTTG A T T AG itGcosts CA Currently, CA about TTG TTTG CTAAG GGGA AGGCA GCAC G G C TGG CTGGA TCTAAG A G T G A GAG GAGA GGGCG AGCAC CTTGG GGAC TAAGA GGAG GGCAG GT G to have a private lab T T G genetic testing with helping prevent cancer in his family. C Gregg Johnson credits TTG TCTGG ATCTAA$8,000 GAG GGGAA GGGCG AGCAC TGGTC GGAC TAAGA GGAGA G A G G A G T T T T T G G C A G C C A C A C C A CT T C T T T G A A G G GA GG AC TA GG AA GG GG CTT GTCTG GGGCC AAAGG GGAAG CAGGC ACTCTT GGTCT GACCT T G G G T T G C C T T TCT TGGTT TGGGC TAAAG GAGAG GCAGG ACTCT TGGTC G T T G CT GC CC ACT TTGGT TTGGG TAAGAG GGAGA GCAG CACTC G 30 C G AGContinuum TC AG14 AGA ACT TTGGT GGAspring CAG CTA GAGGG AGAGG TC GTCT T C A A G G C G AA CTG CTT AGG TCT ACT TTGGT TGGA CTAAG C C T T T A CAC CTTGG TCTGG T CAC CTTGG Continuum_Spring14_Genetics.v3.indd 30 2/19/14 2:49 PM T CAC
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Visit continuum.utah.edu to watch a video about U genetics research and
the Utah Genome Project.
G AT GC CTCT TGGT AA AG A AGG TCT TGG T GAG AAG GGA CTAAG AGGGA CAGGC CACTC TGGTC GATCT AGAGG T A GG GGAT TAAG GAGG CAGG TCT GTCTG ATCTA GAGG A C AT G A G G CAC TGG TGGAT GAGGG GAGAG CAGG TCTTG GTCTG ATCTA AAGAG T G G AC GA GG GG GG AA CTG GACCT AAGAG GGAGA CAGGC ACTCTT GGTCT TGGATC TAAGA G G G C T C G C G CT TCT TGGAC TAAGA GAGAG CAGG ACTCT TTGGT TGGAT TAAGA G C C G C C C G T C T G T G G C A T G A G A A C G G AG GCA G GA GG TAAG TG GGA TAA CTG G TCT GGC TCT GG GGT GGACC AAGAG GGAGA AGGCA GCAC CTTGG TGGATC TAAGA AGG T G T T C G C G G GTC GGACC TAAGA AGGGA AGGCA GGCAC TTGGT TGGAT TCTAA AGG T G G A C A C C G C A T G T C C A T G G G A C G TAA AGG A G T G A T G G C GG T C G C C T A G T GT GA AG GA AC CT AG GG TC GGT TCTGG CCTAA GAGGG AGGCA GCAC TCTTG GTCTG ATCTA AGG AC AG GA GG TG GG AG AA AG CTT GTCTG GACCT AGGG GAGGC CAGGC ACTCT GGTCT ATCTA GAGG T G G C A G G T G A T G G G AA T G C A T A G G T T T C CT GG A C G T C G C C T A C AGA GA AGA GG TGG GG GGT GAC GG GCA TCT GTCTG ACCTA AAGAG GGAGA GCAG CTCTT GTCTG GATCTA TAAGA G G G A T G G C G G G T A C A C T G T T A T G A T G G C T C G C A A G A C G T C A ACT CTA CTG GGG TGG GGT CTA GCA TGG CTT TGGTC GGGC TAAGA GAGAG CAGGC ACTCT TTGGT TGGAT AGAGG GG G TC TC CC GG CT GC GA TTT CTA ACT TTGG TTGGG AAGAG GGAGA GCAG GGCAC CTTGG TGGAT TCTAA G T C T G A G T A T C G C C A A G G C T A C A C G A A A AG TG TG AG GG AGGC GG TGG CTA GTC TCT GGG CTA CTT AGA AGG CAC TTGGTC TGGAC TAAGA AGGG GAGGC GCACT TCTTG TGGAT CTAAG GAGG A A T C G TC C AG AC CC ACT TTGGT TGGA GCCTA GAGGG AGGCA AGGC CTTGG CTGGA GATCTA AGAGG C C T C A T G T G A G T G G A C A T G T G T C G G A A C A G C TC TT GG TC TG TT GAG GGC GAG GAG AGG GGA TCT GGT TGG G CTC CAC CTCTT GTTTG CCTAA AGAGG GAGGC GGCA ACTCT GGTCT ATCTAA AAGAG A G T A A A C A T G C T T T C G G G C T G C G C G G T G G G T C T C G A T A T C G C A GA AGAG GTC TGGG AGA CAC GGC GGT GG GCA GAG A CTG GAG CTCTTG TGGTT ACCTA AGAGG GGAGA GCAG CTCTT TTGGT GATCT TAAGA G G A G T G G A C A A C TC AGAG G T A T C T C G A T G T C G C C G A G C G T A C A C G G T A G CTA GCA TGG G GCA TCT GGA GGC TCT TGG AGG CGA ACTCT GGTCT TGGGC CTAAG GAGAG AGGCA ACTCT CTTGG CTGGA AAGAG C T T G T T T C C G G T C T G G C G A G AGG T G G A A G A T C AG CACTC CTTGG TTGG TAAGA AGGG A G C T TG TC GG GG T AGG CTA AGG GCACT CTTGG GGACC CTAAG GGAGA AGGC GGCAC TTGGTC TGGAT TAAGA G C G A T G A C T C G C A G G A T C C T A C T G A T G C G G G A G C A G G G G A GG GAGC TTG GGTTT ACCTA AAGAG GAGAG AGGCA CTCTTG GTCTG ATCTA GAGG G C C T GG GCAC CTT TCTGG GGCCT AGAGG GAGGC GGCA TCTTG TCTGG ATCTAA AGAG G A A G ACT A GCA GAGC CTTGG GTTTG GCCT AGGGA GAGGC GGCAC TCTTG TCTGG GATCT AGAGG G A C A G T G G G G C A T T G G C T C A G A G C T T C A G G T A C G AT AAGAG GC GT TC GGTT ACCT GAGG AGAG CT T AGG TGG CAG T TTG A CAC ACT GGC CGAG ACTCT TCTGG ACCTA GAGGG AGAGG AGGC CACTC TGGTC GGATC GAGG A G T G C T A C G G G AGG GCGAG TCTTG GTCTG ACCTA GAGG AGAGG GCAG CACTC TGGTC GATCTA AGAGG T C A G G G G A G G A G C A A G T G G G T T T T C G G T A C T AC GGTC CC AGAG GGGA AA CAGG AT AAGAG TC GGTC GC G T GGA GGC G TGG T A TA TT CAC GAG GAG CAGG ACTCT GGTCT GGACC CTAAG GGGA AGGCA CACTC TGGTC GGATC TAAGAG G T T A T C C G T G C T C G G C G A G T C G T C A A T G G A T G A G C A G G G G C TA CT GG GCA TTT TTG CTG GGC GAG CTT AGG GCA GCC AGA GCAG CACTC CTTGG TTTGG CCTAA GGAG GGCAG GCACT TTGGT T G G C A G G G G A A C T G G G GAG GGCA GAGCA TCTTG GTTTG CTAAG GGGA AGGCA GGCAC A A C C G C GAG AGGG GAGCA TCTTG CTGGA CTAAG GGGA AGGCA C A G T C AC GA GGG AAGGG GAGC CTTGG CTGGA CCTAA AGGGA G A G GT GC CACT A G G G G A G T G T G T T G C AGG GAA GTC CTC GAC GGG GAGGC AGGCA TCTTG GTCTG C A C G A G GG AGAGG AGGC CTCTT A G GC AGG GAGAG CAGGC G G G G GA GA GGA GAG
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University of Utah students Sara Fauver, left, and Karlee Stokes, both of whom are currently participating in the U's ACCESS program, work on a laboratory assignment.
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Connected for
Success
The U’s ACCESS program has helped dozens of women thrive in science and math fields. Story by Heather May
E
ven more than two decades later, Hugo Rossi can still recall the woman standing in his office, crying over math. The then-University of Utah mathematics chairman was teaching a remedial algebra course in the late 1980s and noticed that some of his nontraditional female students who had entered college years after high school were unnecessarily anxious. They were among the best students in the class, but they’d end up in his office, fearing for their grades. They reminded him of his own daughter, who loved math but couldn’t be persuaded, even by him, that she could make a career of it. “I remember very distinctly one woman saying, ‘I know the time is going to come when I won’t be able to do it.’ I asked her, ‘How do you know that?’ Basically, they had been told that by their parents and their teachers: ‘OK, it’s cute you have a little interest in mathematics, but it’s not really for women.’ ” After Rossi became dean of the U’s College of Science, he set about overhauling that damaging stereotype. In 1991, he launched the ACCESS Program for Women in Science and Mathematics, which since then has helped hundreds of women enter and succeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Of those who have graduated, 76 percent earned a degree in science or a science-related field, with 15 percent receiving an advanced degree in a science-related field. Data gathered
Photos by August Miller
by the program show ACCESS students graduate with a higher grade point average than other College of Science graduates (3.62 versus 3.38 from 2000 to 2010) and have higher graduation rates (70 percent versus 52 percent from 2000 to 2009). The program now has more than 500 alumnae, and ACCESS graduates have gone on to become professors, doctors, and teachers. One woman is a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and works as the tactical activity planner for the Mars rover Opportunity. “We’ve got superstars all over the country,” says Lisa Batchelder, the ACCESS program’s coordinator. Pierre V. Sokolsky, dean of the U’s College of Science, was so impressed by the program Rossi created that he doubled its enrollment after he became dean in 2007. It’s now a $150,000 a year program funded with $40,000 from the U and the rest from private contributions, including a large grant from Chevron. The ACCESS program currently recruits 42 high school graduates—up from 12 in its first year—to spend the summer before their freshman year on campus for a seven-week intensive science program. With help from a scholarship, the students live at the Donna Garff Marriott Honors Residential Scholars Community building and study physics, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, and biology with top U professors. The students develop a
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network of peers and mentors and are introduced to campus life. In addition to the scholarship that covers their summer program and housing, they are given a $2,000 stipend during their freshman year that they can use for expenses. “It makes all the difference in the world to have someone who they feel is on their side,” says Rosemary Gray, who has been the ACCESS program’s director since 2006. “It really helps with retention. It helps them feel more connected to the University.” Instead of attending lecture courses during that first summer, the students work on research experiments and spend time “getting their hands dirty,” Sokolsky says. “There’s a lot of dry things that [science majors] have to do. That’s not what [science] is about. That’s learning the language. Sometimes I tell my students, ‘Why are you learning French? Because you want to learn French or you want to spend time in Paris?’ A lot of students get stuck because they don’t see that it leads to a trip to Paris,” he says. “The earlier you can get them to see what it’s really about, the more motivated they’ll be to get through the hard parts.” During their freshman spring semester, ACCESS students also work as assistants in research labs and present their findings at a symposium, an experience most students don’t get a chance to do until they are juniors. And though the ACCESS program’s formal activities finish at the end of the students’ freshman year, most students continue their connections with one another during their subsequent years at the U.
Rossi says the U program was inspired by the Emerging Scholars Program developed by Philip Uri Treisman at the University of California, Berkeley. While a graduate student, Treisman—an eventual MacArthur Fellow and now director of the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, which works on helping underserved students succeed in college—saw that minority students weren’t doing well in freshman calculus even though they excelled in high school. His study of the reasons why led him to conclude it was because they were isolated on campus, not because they weren’t motivated or smart enough. He developed a program that helped students connect with fellow students and professors through an honors mathematics course, as well as with the campus at large. The University of Utah program Rossi developed from that model is now well known, and about 100 applicants each year compete for the 42 slots. The selected women have an average GPA of 3.97. But in 1991, the students were largely recruited by Rossi and others involved in creating ACCESS, he says. Stacy Firth BS’95 MS’98 was in the inaugural ACCESS class, which she joined after her junior year in high school. She had already taken Advanced Placement calculus that year and was persuaded by Rossi to try the U’s summer program. She made good friends and loved campus life. While Firth knew she liked math and science, “ACCESS was pivotal in solidifying that interest. I could have been dissuaded if I had been plopped into a massive freshman/sophomore-level course where there are tons of students and not had the connections I made through ACCESS.”
University of Utah math professor Hugo Rossi, left, who founded the ACCESS program in 1991, discusses an equation with student Joza Ibrahim.
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She went on to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, and she recalls three other ACCESS students attended the U with her in that field. “There was a really good cohort of us going together and feeling like, ‘We’re not foreigners here,’ ” she says. “For any student, if they feel like they’re by themselves and nobody has their back, it’s really hard to go into more challenging fields.” She believes that had she not had peers and professors from ACCESS to rely on when she struggled, she might have wrongly believed she wasn’t capable of the work and changed majors, instead of realizing she could rise to the challenge. Firth went on to receive master’s and doctoral degrees (the latter at UT Austin) in chemical engineering. Today, she teaches a survey of engineering class at Olympus High School in Holladay, Utah, that she helped design as an associate
instructor in the U’s College of Engineering. The course, for highschool freshmen or sophomores, introduces them to the field of engineering by tackling real-world engineering problems at the school or in the city and conducting fun experiments such as building a spectrometer and bioreactor to create biodiesel. Firth’s female students clearly have a role model and encouragement to pursue math and science. Yet just three girls are enrolled among the 41 high-school students in Firth’s current engineering courses. That’s why Firth believes the U’s ACCESS program is still necessary. Sokolsky agrees that the situation at Olympus isn’t unique. “It’s getting better, but talk to these young women. There’s a lot of pressure to be a homemaker or to go into business or do other things that are typical Pierre Sokolsky expanded of women,” he says. the ACCESS program when “Science is about talent. he became dean of the U's It’s about discovery. We College of Science in 2007. need all the brains we
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can get. Ignoring half the world simply doesn’t make any sense.” The percentage of women obtaining bachelor’s degrees at the U from the colleges of engineering and science has grown since the program’s creation in 1991, but women are still outnumbered. The number of female engineering U biology professor Rosemary graduates has stayed Gray has been the ACCESS flat, at 9 percent. The program's director since 2006. number of women graduating with bachelor’s degrees in the sciences, meanwhile, has grown from 23 percent to 34 percent, but only in the field of biology does the proportion of females begin to approach the number of males, with about 46 percent of graduates being female. Nationally, male high school students are more than twice as likely as female students to be interested in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. By 2016, 45 percent of high school boys are forecast to enter those fields, compared with less than 15 percent of girls, according to a report by the college planning service My College Options and the resource site Stemconnector. While the number of women earning bachelor’s degrees nationally in science and math fields has grown dramatically since the 1960s, men still outnumber women, except in biological and agricultural sciences and chemistry, according to the American Association of University Women. When it comes to engineering, physics, and computer science, women obtain just 20 percent of the degrees. The gap persists and is more dramatic in the workforce, the association says. Sokolsky believes that ideally, every freshman should have a chance to enroll in a program like ACCESS, to transition them from high school to college. For now, the U has also created an ACCESS-like program for refugees and minorities, called Refuges, which includes a summer science bridge course. And each department has its own way of trying to keep students engaged, including the Curie Club in the Department of Chemistry, which was recently created to inspire women to become scientists and to help women scientists balance family and work life. Sokolsky also thinks the U should hire more female professors to provide role models to students. The College of Science currently has 25 female professors and instructors out of its total of 156 faculty members, up from one female faculty member in 1990. He says the tenure process needs to take into account the balance of work and home life, and he imagines a time when faculty members could temporarily take part-time appoint-
ments but still be taken seriously. “If we’re going to be successful in integrating women in a real way, we have to come to grips with the fact that life is not just writing papers and research,” he says. “You have to change the attitude that you’re not serious if you care about your family.” Current students in the U’s ACCESS program say resistance to women in science and math is subtle when it surfaces. Sophomore Sara Fauver says she felt like she had to prove herself more than boys did in her AP calculus and biology classes at Utah’s West Jordan High School. Karlee Stokes says she was one of few girls in upper-level science classes at Morgan High in northern Utah, and she was the only girl who competed in her region to be a science Sterling Scholar. “I had a lot of people who told me I wouldn’t ever win,” the U freshman recalls. She ended up beating those so-called “genius boys” in the regional contest. Seeing friendly, female faces in college classes can make a difference, students in the U ACCESS program say. Fauver knows of girlfriends in physics and engineering at the U who changed majors because there were few women in their classes. She believes the ACCESS program gave her an edge. In addition to the peer support and the professors’ mentoring, her freshman research lab experience led her to join two other undergraduate research programs. “I’m really grateful for all the doors this has opened,” she says. Stokes recollects that in an introductory biology class of 200 students, she sat by ACCESS friends every day. “To already know them going into the class, to have someone to study with, that was why I did so well in the class.” Stokes, a biology major, credits the program with helping her toward greater success. “It changed my life,” she says. “Without it, I would still be in science. But with it, I’m excelling more than I ever would have. We’ve had so many opportunities that we wouldn’t [otherwise] have had.” —Heather May is a former Salt Lake Tribune reporter who now works as a Salt Lake City-based freelance writer.
Visit continuum.utah.edu to watch a video about how the ACCESS program helped a student who is now in medical school.
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14-0130
First Imagine, Then Do:
One Student’s Story “The U Futures Scholarship gave me the time and resources so I could focus on school while still being a husband and father,” Glen Bailey says. “That has meant so much to me and my family and I want to express my sincere gratitude for the support I’ve received at the U.” Glen Bailey is a first generation college student. He attended junior college in his native Sacramento before moving with his wife, Kelsey, to study political science at the University of Utah. Now, a senior in his third year, Glen juggles being a father to The Bailey Family: Finn, Kelsey, Glen, and Miller. two boys, ages two and four, within three semesters of graduation as an incentive to while working and studying full-time. Needless to say, it’s complete their education. With the U Futures Scholarship a lot to juggle. With a U Futures Scholarship award, Glen Fund, life’s challenges no longer have to derail completion was able to stay in school. Once he graduates this spring, of a student’s college degree. his University degree will make all the difference to his young family’s future. For more information about how you can make a difference through the U Futures Scholarship Fund, please contact Established in 2012 by members of the University of Erica Marken, Director, Undergraduate Advancement at Utah Board of Trustees and other generous donors, the U 801-581-8388 or erica.marken@utah.edu. Futures Scholarship provides awards to students who are Learn more about the great things your contributions accomplish at giving.utah.edu
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alumni a s s o c i at i o n n e w s Six Honored With 2014 Founders Day Awards
Frederick Kempe
Kem Gardner
Donald Yacktman
Ted Jacobsen and Charlotte Garff Jacobsen
The accomplishments of five outstanding graduates of the University of Utah and one honorary alumnus were recognized with 2014 Founders Day awards in February. Award-winning journalist and foreign-policy expert Frederick Kempe BA’76; real estate and higher education leader Kem Gardner BS’67 JD’70; stock fund manager Donald Yacktman BS’65; and Ted (BS’65) and Charlotte Garff Jacobsen (BA’64), both of whom had primary roles in development of the U’s Lowell Bennion Community Service Center, each received the Distinguished Alumnus/a Award. John Bloomberg was presented with an Honorary Alumnus Award. These awards are the highest honor the University of Utah Alumni Association gives to U graduates and friends, respectively, in recognition of their outstanding professional achievements and/or public service, as well as their support of the University. Kempe, who after the U went on to receive a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, spent more than 25 years as a reporter, columnist, and editor for The Wall Street Journal. Since 2006, he has served as president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy think tank and public policy group based in Washington, D.C. He is the author of four books, including New York Times best seller BERLIN 1961, and is a regular media commentator in Europe and the United States, contributing to, among others, CNBC and the BBC. At The Wall Street Journal, Kempe won national and international awards, including participating in two Pulitzer Prizes. Gardner was cofounder and served as president of The Boyer Company for more than 30 years, and he has served since 2005 as chairman of The Gardner Company, a private commercial real estate firm. He has helped develop major corporate, John Bloomberg
residential, and retail facilities, including the Myriad Genetics corporate campus and The Gateway shopping mall. A former chair of the Utah State Board of Regents, he remains active in higher education, serving on the U’s National Advisory Council. He and his wife, Carolyn, have given significantly to the U, including support for the Honors College and its engaged learning initiative, and annual support of the J.D. Williams scholarship endowment. Yacktman received his bachelor’s degree in economics, magna cum laude, at the U before going on to an MBA with distinction from Harvard University. He is president and portfolio manager of Yacktman Asset Management, which he founded in 1992. As head of what remain two of the world’s best-performing stock funds, Yacktman was ranked by Morningstar at No. 2 for domestic fund manager of the decade for 2000 to 2009. Highly respected in his industry, he is regularly interviewed by entities such as Bloomberg News and CNBC, and he has also shared insights with students and deans at the U. The Jacobsens have given countless hours of service to the U and have financially supported many U entities for decades. Ted, who after his bachelor’s degree went on to a master’s of science degree from Stanford University, headed Jacobsen Construction for 30 years, helping create buildings such as the Jon M. Huntsman Center, the Warnock Engineering Building, and The Grand America Hotel, as well as Mormon temples throughout the western hemisphere. Charlotte’s service to the U includes membership on the U’s National Advisory Council. Ted is the immediate past chair of the U College of Engineering’s National Advisory Council. Bloomberg (BS’57, Amherst College; MBA’62, Harvard University) is a former Wall Street research analyst and competitive skier. After his vision began rapidly deteriorating, he was introduced to Dr. Randall J. Olson with the University of Utah’s Department of Ophthalmology and John A. Moran Eye Center. In gratitude for surgery by Olson that Bloomberg has credited with saving his vision, Bloomberg and his wife, Toni, began generously contributing funds and art to the Moran Eye Center. The John and Toni Bloomberg Ophthalmology Library at the eye center is named in their honor. He has served on the Department of Ophthalmology Advisory Board, the College of Science Advisory Board, the College of Fine Arts Advisory Board, and the President’s Club Committee.
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alumni
a s s o c i at i o n n e w s
Founders Day Scholar Aims for Medical School Juliet Louise Kanyana, a University of Utah premedical student majoring in Health, Society and Policy, has been selected to receive the 2014 Founders Day Scholarship. Kanyana, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, came to the United States as a refugee with her family in 2011. After finishing a year of high school in Salt Lake City, she went on to the University, where she is now a sophomore. Her aim is to become a physician and eventually return to Africa to help people there who don’t have access to quality medical care. The University of Utah Alumni Association awards the $6,000 Founders Day Scholarship annually to students who have overcome difficult life circumstances or challenges and who have given service to the University and the community. Kanyana was four years old when militants attacked her village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and amid the bloodshed and chaos, she and her family were forced to flee. They eventually reached a refugee settlement in Uganda in 1998, when
she was five years old. While still a child, she was forced to work as a laborer to survive. “Though I was still young, I remained strong and committed myself to my study, so that I can have a better future and help others,” she says. As a teenager, she attended a boarding school that was several hours away from the refugee settlement. Most girls in the refugee camp dropped out of school after primary school because their families believed they would get married and didn’t need much education, and some girls were forced into early marriage. Kanyana was able to attend secondary school because the leaders of the nonprofit group COBURWAS—founded by young refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Sudan— helped convince her parents of the importance of educating a girl. In April 2011, Kanyana, her parents, and her eight brothers were resettled in Salt Lake City. She enrolled at the University of Utah in 2012. Kanyana maintains good grades while also being involved in student groups on campus, including the Alpha Epsilon Delta Premedical Honor Society and the Association of Future Female Physicians, and she is vice president of the African Student Union.
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alumni a s s o c i at i o n n e w s University Effort Yields Record 433,346 Pounds of Food Dozens of University of Utah alumni and student volunteers helped organize and coordinate the U’s 20th annual Food Drive, which ran from November 8 to 30, and the final results are in: Utah supporters generously donated more than $51,000 and a record 433,346 pounds of food. The annual Food Drive, spearheaded by the U Alumni Association and its Student Alumni Board, has grown to become a vital part of holiday efforts benefiting the Utah Food Bank. “We are thrilled to represent the University and the Alumni Association in the community on such an important program,” says Julie Barrett BS’70, chair of the Alumni Association’s Community Service Committee. “What better cause than addressing the needs of the hungry in Salt Lake. The student efforts were terrific.” The food drive was developed 20 years ago as a friendly competition
between the alumni associations of the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. The initial competition tested which school’s fans could bring more pounds of food to the football stadium. Soon the competition grew to include monetary donations. While the rivalry component no longer exists as part of the drive, each dollar donated still allows the Utah Food Bank to fulfill specific needs such as transportation and purchases of perishable food. The Utah Food Bank turns $1 of cash into the equivalent of eight pounds of food. The U Alumni Association’s Student Alumni Board and MUSS Board members collected food and cash donations at football games and local grocery stores.
One reason for the record amount of food collected in the most recent food drive was that more than 45 local schools were recruited to join in the food drive. “We were overjoyed to observe that of the 433,346 pounds collected in this year’s record-breaking food drive, 84,204 of those pounds came from schools,” says U graduate student and Student Alumni Board member Brooke Foster BS’13.
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through the years
A Bold
Rescue All photos courtesy Jenny Wilson
By Ann Floor
forged ahead, and Rohovit became an executive producer on the project. The resulting 52-minute documentary film, The Grand Rescue, had its world premiere this past November at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in Salt Lake City and is now making the film festival circuit around the country, most recently at the Anchorage International Film Festival in December. Wilson also plans to enter the movie in the Telluride Film Festival this summer. The documentary tells the story of the three-day rescue of an injured climber and his partner off the north face of the Grand Teton, the highest mountain in Grand Teton National Park. The film focuses on the rescuers, who Six of the seven men who participated in the 1967 rescue of an injured climber gather for a reunion included six Jenny Lake rangers—four in the Tetons: from left, Ted Wilson, Pete Sinclair, Ralph Tingey, Mike Ermarth, Rick Reese, and Bob Irvine. of them Salt Lake City natives and U graduates—as well as one expert climber who wasn’t a ranger. “The essence of this hen Jenny Wilson BS’88 turned to the events of 1967 and a diffirescue was a group of individuals who was growing up, she and cult and daring rescue that Ted and his came together with a job to do and found her brother Ben HBA’87 ranger friends had made. within their bond a new power,” Ted JD’90 would pack their “What touched me over the years Wilson says in the movie. bags each summer, get in the family was not only the heroics on the mounAs a first-time filmmaker, Jenny station wagon with their parents, Ted tain, but also the passion and bond of Wilson learned on the fly. Most recently Wilson BS’64 and Kathy Wilson ex’66, friendship among the men,” Jenny Wilson the executive director of institutional and head from their home in Salt Lake says. “Their story was an inspiration. advancement at the Moran Eye Center City to the Tetons in northwest Wyoming. Their connection with each other has at the University of Utah, she previously Ted had been a Jenny Lake Ranger in the lasted all this time, and I’ve been influhad served as a member of the Salt Lake 1960s—part of a team of Grand Teton enced by that.” County Council and chief of staff to then National Park climbing rescue rangers— In 2009, when her husband Trell Utah Congressman Bill Orton. She also and the Wilsons gathered at Jenny Lake Rohovit BS’88 suggested that the story worked for the Salt Lake Organizing to be with friends. As the group sat should be made into a film, it gave Committee for the Olympic Winter around the evening campfire, talk often her just the incentive she needed. She Games of 2002 and for the Sundance
W
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through the years Institute. To get started on her film, she secured some financial backing and then raised close to the final amount needed through Kickstarter, an online funding platform for creative projects. She brought on a cinematographer and a full crew for the film shoots. She also asked a friend, Meredith Lavitt, to join her as director and producer. Lavitt had prior experience in film production and currently works for the Sundance Institute in a non-filmmaking capacity. The making of The Grand Rescue brought together for the first time since the 1967 event the six surviving team members and Lorraine Hough, who was climbing on August 22, 1967, with Gaylord Campbell when a rock slide knocked Campbell over and caused a double compound fracture of his lower leg. The two were stranded on a ledge at an altitude of 13,000 feet. The young national park rangers quickly went to work, and the resulting successful rescue was the first on the Grand Teton’s north face. It was unprecedented for its time, due to the climber’s severe injuries, the challenging terrain, and the much more rudimentary climbing and rescue gear of the time. One year after the rescue, then Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall awarded the rescue team a citation for valor for “courageous action involving a high degree of personal risk under conditions of extreme severity and hazards.” Among the rescue team, ranger Mike Ermarth’s quiet leadership raised confidence in the others. He recently retired as a distinguished professor of modern German history at Dartmouth College. Bob Irvine BA’62 MA’66 knew the Tetons well, having climbed them since his teens. After the 1967 rescue, he remained as leader of the Grand Teton National Park mountain rescue team for the next 28 years and had an accomplished career as professor of mathematics at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
Leigh Ortenburger, the one member of the team who wasn’t a ranger, knew the mountain best due to his years researching first ascents for his guidebook, A Climber’s Guide to the Teton Range. He had a long career as a From left, Ted Wilson, Pete Sinclair, Ralph Tingey, Mike Ermarth, Rick Reese, mountaineer and and Bob Irvine, in a photo taken in 1967, the year of their daring rescue. award-winning Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s chief photographer. He died in the Oakland, environmental advisor and worked California, wildfires of 1991. as director of governmental relations Rick Reese BS’66 was a problem for Talisker Corporation. He now is solver with climbing skills that were executive director of the Utah Clean Air critical to the rescue effort. A Woodrow Partnership. Wilson Fellow, he went on to teach at As for Jenny Wilson, she is Carroll College in Helena, Montana. He continuing her work on the film’s also founded the Greater Yellowstone distribution. She also is running for the Coalition and served as director of the Yellowstone Institute and of community at-large seat on the Salt Lake County affairs for the University of Utah. He now Council, a position she previously held from 2005 to 2010. She aims to continue lives in Bozeman, Montana. to produce films. Pete Sinclair is the author of We Aspired: The Last Innocent Americans, —Ann Floor is an associate editor of Continuum. published in 1993, which includes a chapter on the 1967 Grand Teton rescue that provided the framework for the Visit continuum.utah.edu to view the documentary script. He now is a retired professor of English at Evergreen College trailer for the movie, as well as a gallery with more photos. in Olympia, Washington. Ralph Tingey BA’67 became a permanent park ranger at Grand Teton after the 1967 rescue and later was an assistant park superintendent of Denali National Park and superintendent of Lake Clark National Park, both in Alaska, as well as assistant superintendent of Grand Teton National Park. Now retired, Tingey lives in Ouray, Colorado, and continues to climb several days a week. Ted Wilson BS’64 went on to serve as mayor of Salt Lake City and later as director of the Hinckley Institute of U alum Jenny Wilson, right, worked with producer Politics at the University of Utah as well and director Meredith Lavitt on the new film. as the Utah Rivers Council. He also was
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through the years
Blossoming Into Her Own By Marcia C. Dibble conclusion. There, besides the period pieces that are her love, Maynard also leapt at other opportunities, including performing improv and studying with Second City. She later appeared in the comedy-horror film Moonshine, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival, before starring in Aaliyah Miller’s short film After The Headlines, about a mother coming to terms with her daughter’s murder, which won several awards on the independent film festival circuit. But Blossom has become her passion, and its namesake, her muse. “She was a self-producing artist, and she created an independent record label way back in the ’70s; no one was doing it back then,” says Maynard. After Dearie died in 2009, Maynard tracked down her songbook and began developing it into a show, and she eventually acquired Dearie’s last apartment piano on eBay. Maynard called on her longtime friend Dorian DeMichele BFA’84 to help her produce the show, and it had its theatrical debut in 2011 in the United Solo Theater Festival, in New York. The show has since been recognized as a Pick of the Week by the International Review of Music. “I know I’m going to be doing this for the rest of my life; maybe not the Blossom Dearie songbook, but this niche of jazz cabaret where you are expressing yourself truthfully through the story of song,” Maynard says. Photo by Matthew Karas
“I am definitely a retro woman,” says Jaye Maynard BFA’85, who has been receiving accolades for her musical homage to the late jazz singer-songwriter Blossom Dearie. Maynard’s nickname is JayeBird, and her show Bird Amongst the Blossom: A Tribute to the First Blossom Dearie Songbook— styled as a midcentury-modern New York supper club act a la 1962—features Maynard on vocals, replicating the “wised-up baby-doll jazz stylings” of Dearie, with backup on piano and upright bass, interpreting songs written for and by Dearie in collaboration with such artists as Johnny Mercer, Dave Frishberg, and Bob Dorough (with whom Dearie worked on the popular children’s educational series Schoolhouse Rock!). Maynard is hoping to bring her Blossom show to Utah this year as the opener for her friend John Ciccolini’s comingof- age musical-comedy Frank Sinatra Screwed Up My Life. That double-header had its premiere this February at the M Bar—“red leather banquettes and Italian food,” Maynard notes fondly—in Hollywood, California. A Midwest native, Maynard spent more than 10 years in southern California after graduating from the U (finding her niche by looking “more East Coast amongst a sea of blondes”) before moving to New York about 15 years ago. Maynard’s master’s thesis in vocal performance at New York University (completed in 2002) was called “Jaye Sings: The Barbie Show,” in which she wore a recreated Barbie dress and performed songs including numbers from a “Barbie Sings!” collection put out by Mattel in 1961. Early this year, she moved back to Madison, Wisconsin, her hometown, as a “bicoastal” base and to take her show around the Midwest. Maynard was theatrical from childhood and says she has always been fascinated by the 1950s and early ’60s era in which her parents grew up. “I like to fantasize I was reincarnated from a 1940s big band singer turned ’50s housewife,” she says. A recent participant at the renowned International Cabaret Conference at Yale University, Maynard runs her own PlaidBird Productions, and she is also a producer with Angry Girl Gang Productions, which she co-owns with fellow U alum Mark W. Knowles BFA’85, a longtime friend and collaborator. Maynard was attracted to the U in great part because it offered “an actual musical theater program,” with classes from dance to music to theater and the chance to earn an Equity card at the same time. She performed in regional productions, including four shows with Pioneer Theatre Company, before being handpicked for a tour of Pirates of Penzance, and then moved to LA after the tour’s
—Marcia Dibble is managing editor of Continuum.
Visit continuum.utah.edu to view a gallery with more photos.
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through the years
’70s Kent A. Nelson BS’75 was recognized as one of eight outstanding community lenders in the nation for 2013 by the Independent Community Bankers of America, one of the nation’s largest banking industry trade groups, and was profiled in the group’s Independent Banker magazine. Recently named executive vice president of Brighton Bank in Salt Lake City, he will continue serving as branch manager and commercial loan officer of the City Center office. He has been employed by Brighton Bank since 1986 and has more than 30 years of banking experience, with an emphasis in management, business development, and commercial real estate loan production. At the University of Utah, he completed a double major in finance and management.
’80s Neil E. Hendriksen BMu’85 was selected by the National
Federation of State High School Associations’ music committee to receive a Section Award, representing Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. The award recognizes deserving high school or college band, choral, or orchestral directors, supervisors, and adjudicators who have had a significant impact on high school activities and programs. The regional award, presented to Hendriksen in February, also qualifies him for the next several years to be considered for a national award. For the past 28 years, he has been the director of choral activities at Woods
Cross High School in Woods Cross, Utah, and the school’s madrigals and concert choir have earned superior ratings at the regional and state level for 27 consecutive years. Hendriksen is chair of the Utah High School Activities Association music committee and a past president of the Utah Music Educators Association. William Wade BA’82, president and chief executive officer of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) was named the Satellite Executive of the Year in
Asia-Pacific, at the 2013 Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council Awards held in Hong Kong. The award is given to an
individual who has made outstanding contributions and achievements to the satellite industry during the year. AsiaSat, based in Hong Kong, is a commercial operator of communication spacecraft. Wade was appointed president and chief executive officer of AsiaSat in August 2010. Prior to that, he served as the company’s deputy chief executive officer for 16 years. He has more than 26 years of experience in the satellite and cable television industry. Before joining AsiaSat, he was with Hutchison Whampoa, also based in Hong Kong. Earlier, Wade served as executive director for Echosphere International (Echostar), where he established the company’s permanent Asian operations in Singapore while managing its activities in Asia and the Middle East. Wade, who speaks Mandarin, received his bachelor’s degree in humanities from the University of Utah and a master’s degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
LM Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association AM Annual Member of the Alumni Association
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James D. Walker BS’83 MA’87 PhD’88, a scientist in Southwest Research Institute’s mechanical engineering division, has received the 2014 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award, given by the Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas. The O’Donnell Awards recognize rising Texas researchers “whose work meets the highest standards of exemplary professional performance, creativity, and resourcefulness,” according to the academy. The award honored Walker’s efforts on the Space Shuttle Columbia accident investigation and NASA’s return-to-flight program, as well as his work that has contributed to the safety of U.S. military forces.
Walker’s research centers on personnel protection ranging from vests worn by soldiers and police officers to designs for ground vehicles, the International Space Station, and satellites. Currently, he is the principal investigator and manager of a $5.1 million project to analyze vehicle response to land-mine blasts and other weaponry. Walker received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Utah in mathematics.
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through the years
’90s Thomas G. Fazzio BS’97, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, recently was recognized as a rising scientific star by President Barack
Obama with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The presidential award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early phases of their research careers. Fazzio was one of 102 scientists and engineers chosen for this year’s award. Presidential awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service. A faculty member at Massachusetts since 2010, Fazzio’s research focuses on understanding how DNA is packaged into tiny chromatin structures inside the nucleus of stem cells. He has uncovered previously unknown processes governing how the chromatin structure of a cell’s DNA influences gene expression in stem cells, conferring on spring 14 Continuum 46
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these cells the unique ability to replicate and differentiate into many different types of cells. A 2011 Pew Scholar, he received his doctorate from the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 2004 after completing a bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Utah.
’00s
Naomi E. Levin PhD’08, an assistant professor of earth and planetary science at Johns Hopkins University, has received the 2013 Young Scientist Award (Donath Medal) and a cash prize of $10,000 from the Geological Society of America. The award recognizes outstanding achievement by scientists ages 35 and younger who have contributed to geologic knowledge through original research that marks a major advance in the earth sciences. Levin’s research centers on
understanding how terrestrial landscapes and organisms responded to ancient climate change. She has focused on reconstructing environments of about 5 million years ago from sedimentary and
isotopic records preserved in the East African rift. Levin has been a faculty member at Johns Hopkins since 2009. She received a doctorate in geology from the University of Utah after completing a master’s degree in geology at the University of Arizona and two bachelor’s degrees, in geology and anthropology, at Stanford University. Shigeki Watanabe BA’04 PhD’13, a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Utah, has been awarded the Society for Neuroscience’s
inaugural Nemko Prize for his accomplishments as a young scientist. The new annual prize recognizes a young scientist’s outstanding doctoral thesis advancing the understanding of brain function. Watanabe works in the laboratory of U biology professor Erik Jorgensen and is studying how nerve cell vesicles—tiny bubbles that contain neurotransmitter chemicals—are recycled after they help send a nerve signal from one nerve cell to the next. His studies also have revealed that vesicles move faster than previously imagined. He received both his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Utah in biology.
’10s Maria Graefnings BS’12, one of Sweden’s top female distance skiers, has joined Team Sysarb, the mid-Swedenbased cross country ski team. Graefnings has competed in long and short distance races in both skate and classic disciplines. She has achieved multiple International Ski Federation Cross-Country World Cup starts and two victories in the NCAA. She is the reigning NCAA 5-km freestyle champion, the first NCAA title of her career. Among the many honors Graefnings has received are being named Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Female Skier of the Year in 2011, FasterSkier. com 2011 Women’s Collegiate Skier of the Year, and Ski Racing magazine’s 2011 Nordic Collegiate Skier of the Year. Graefnings
received a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science from the University of Utah.
We want to hear from you! Please submit entries to Ann Floor, ann.floor@utah.edu.
LM Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association AM Annual Member of the Alumni Association
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andfinally
The Campus Rostrum The century-old rock has a colorful and mysterious past. By Roy Webb
A
Photo courtesy Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah
big chunk of rock has be painted without endangering been part of University infrastructure. of Utah campus history By 1944, though, the repaintfor a century, yet its ings had become nightly, rather whereabouts during some of that than annual, with “nurses, Army, time remain a mystery. The Rostrum, and neighborhood vandals” visiting a large granite boulder, started out as the rock to make their mark, even a feature in a pep rally for a 1913 footcovering it with stripes or polkaball game against the University of dots, according to the Chronicle. Colorado at Boulder. Festooned with U administrators decided to move a “Bust Boulder” sign, the rock was it into a glass case in the baseloaded onto a wagon by freshmen and ment of the Park Building. But the paraded around Presidents Circle. The move didn’t stop the painters. Staff parade continued through downtown members came in one day to find Salt Lake City, where the boulder fell that the glass had been removed and off the wagon and onto the streetcar the rock once again painted green. tracks. It was shoved aside and later By 1946, the rock had become was moved to a spot near the flagpole such an annoyance that some in front of the U’s Park Building (then administrators wanted to remove it under construction). Since freshmen and “bury it in a field,” the Chronicle A speaker attempts to hold forth on the Rostrum in 1915, a were required to wear green beanies noted. In 1953, the Chronicle wrote as a mark of their lower-classmen that the rock had been taken to the time of turmoil over free speech issues at the University. status, the boulder soon sported a mountains and dumped several coat of green paint and the year of their class. U administrators years earlier. Nonetheless, it (or a replacement) was brought and upper classmen, however, weren’t pleased, and the freshmen back to the base of the flagpole, only to be removed yet again, were required to clean off the paint and numbers and construct a however, and this time supposedly “destroyed by dynamite.” concrete base for the boulder. A few years later, the Rostrum had A 1964 Chronicle article notes that a new boulder was placed taken on such an air of tradition that the junior class affixed a in Presidents Circle, while “the original rock has never again bronze plaque to the boulder with the word “ROSTRUM” and the appeared, but is believed to be buried somewhere on campus.” year the plaque was added, “1916.” By 1967, students were again being urged to use the Rostrum The Rostrum had by then begun serving its namesake funcas a speaker’s platform. “Many are the student voices searching tion of providing a place for public speaking. For Senior Chapel for a platform, and you don’t have to buy a press or rent a building Day in 1915, a crowd gathered to hear the junior class perform to use the rock,” the Chronicle wrote. “It is one school tradition we “the burial rites of the rightly deceased Seniors,” according to the shouldn’t lose.” Utonian yearbook. Also in 1915, a time of great turmoil at the U Questions remain regarding possible whereabouts of the regarding free speech issues, a group of “Democratic speakers” original Rostrum. But in historical photos from 1915 to 1991, the attempted to hold forth on the rock but were told to leave the rock appears identical. So if it was removed from campus in the campus by the U’s president, Joseph Kingsbury, according to 1950s, was the same rock at some point recovered and returned a satirical account in the Utonian. A 1955 Daily Utah Chronicle to a place of honor on Presidents Circle? The Rostrum sits there article noted: “Here it was that all candidates for school office still, if you want to wander by and take a look. could have their say by simply standing on the rock. A crowd —Roy Webb BA’84 MS’91 is a multimedia archivist with the gathered immediately to hear the speech-maker.” J. Willard Marriott Library. The tradition of painting the rock in the school colors— crimson with a large white U—also became firmly established over the years, but the Rostrum was still frequently splashed Visit continuum.utah.edu to view a gallery with green paint by the freshmen, only to be repainted. In 1937, of more historical photos of the Rostrum. the Rostrum was moved away from the flagpole, where it could spring 14 Continuum 48
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