molecular genetics

In this episode of PDXPLORES, Ken Stedman, Professor of Biology at Portland State University, discusses his distinguished virology career. From discovering his love of extreme viruses at Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Munich, Germany, to heading the Advanced Molecular and Cell Biology Research Laboratory and the eXtreme Virus Lab, Steadman has investigated extreme virus structures, function, genetics, and evolution for more than 25 years. He is the co-founder of the research lab Center for Life in Extreme Environments as well as the Chief Scientific Officer of StoneStable, Inc. Adding to his scientific accomplishments and accolades, Professor Stedman is this year’s recipient of PSU’s Presidential Career Research Award.

Follow PSU research on Twitter: @psu_research and Instagram: @portlandstateresearch

Time Stamps

00:00 Podcast Intro

00:42 When is a genetic test useful?

02:15 What situations would genetic testing not be helpful for?

03:15 Since pharmacogenomic testing isn’t useful for every drug, how do we know when it is useful? 

05:15 I’ve seen commercials for genetic testing. Can you talk about these?  

05:55 So, you’re saying that a private citizen could get some genetic testing performed?  

06:32 I imagine you have gotten a couple of phone calls from people asking what do to with their results? Do people sometimes call you about this?

07:44 Can you talk about the differences between what you are going to do in your lab when you’re doing pharmacogenomic testing and what might be available to a patient as a direct-to-consumer?

09:32 That makes me curious, does that mean that some of these direct-to-consumer tests are including alleles that are only for the white population? Or, are they including ones that are relevant to Latino, African-American, Asian communities too?

11:00 Is there genetic testing that can talk about what type of diet I should follow and what type of exercise I should be doing? 

12:45 Will everyone have their genomes sequences in a few years? 

15:18 Can you explain what you mean when you say the test is getting better overtime?

18:00 What is the role of the laboratory in performing a genetic test?

22:58 Outro

Additional Resources:
·  CPIC webpage http://cpicgx.org to see guidelines for pharmacogenomics

·  Genetic Testing Registry https://www.ncvi.nlm.nih.gov/gtr/ 

On this week’s The Sci-Files, your hosts Chelsie and Danny interview Kyle Card and Jasper Gomez.

Kyle is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program. His mentee, Jasper, is a recent graduate from the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program. They use bacteria from a long-term experiment to study how evolution in an antibiotic-free environment affects bacteria’s potential to gain resistance when these drugs are introduced. They focus on the role that strain genetic context plays in resistance evolution, with particular attention to patterns of repeatability and contingency in this process. Their future goal is to translate their findings to a clinical setting to slow the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections and improve patient treatment. Also, both Kyle and Jasper are from underrepresented minority groups; a status that has greatly enriched their mentorship relationship.   

If you’re interested in talking about your MSU research on the radio or nominating a student, please email Chelsie and Danny at scifiles@impact89fm.org. Check The Sci-Files out on Twitter @SciFiles89FM and Facebook!

Bjarne Udd discusses the myotonic dystrophies.

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