Welcome to the SOUTHWESTERN Program in Genomics Applications. We are creating genomic and proteomic resources relative to heart disease research and the providing education on their use.

The Southwestern Program in Genomics Applications (PGA) is one of 11 Centers funded nationally by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. The overarching mission of the PGAs is to facilitate the use of genomics to improve health. This is being done by the PGAs through creation of new data, new resources related to genomics and education on using these resources and data.

The mission of the NHLBI PGA is being fulfilled in the Southwestern PGA in a variety of ways around the theme of heart disease.

Resources

• We are finding new SNPs that might be causative in heart disease.
   
• We are analyzing expression data in tissues and conditions modeling heart disease.
   
• We are creating new computer programs for predicting the likelihood of mutations that might be associated with heart disease.
   
• The SNPs we discover are being analyzed, in collaboration with Sequenom, in the large Dallas Heart Study population to determine associations of mutations with disease.
   
• We have developed a system to make antibodies to the genes associated with heart disease as well as any others needed by the NHLBI research community.

Education

• Short courses are conducted on gene building and antibody production
   
• Web-based tutorials are offered on how to use our software programs and how to analyze SNP data in large populations
   
• Explanatory slide shows and manuals are posted
   

Principal Contacts

Stephen Albert Johnston, Principal Investigator
Skip Garner
Jonathan Cohen
Kim Hoggatt Krumwiede, Education Coordinator