This website contains the Final Student Projects of the Fall 1998 Java Course at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Each student was asked to select a research topic in the area of genomics, and then, based upon his/her own research, to write a summary of the chosen topic. In addition to providing timely, high-quality, scientific content, each student was asked to use his/her own creative imagination to design and implement a website to exhibit their written text on the Internet. The purpose of the current webpage is to give a brief introduction sufficient for the reader, who may be unfamiliar with genomics, to benefit from the student projects. 

   A good way to get a feeling for a new scientific discipline is to try to acquire some of the basic terminology, together with an initial understanding of the corresponding definitions. A helpful first question is: "Where did the word 'genomics' come from and what does it mean?" According to [1], the word 'genome' was first used by H. Winkler in 1920, who created it by elision of  'GENes' and 'chromosOMEs' to signify the complete set of chromosomes and their genes. So, as succinctly described in [2], a genome is a complete set of instructions for making an organism. The word 'genomics' was first proposed by T. H. Roderick in 1986 as the name of the field devoted to the study of all genomes, but now the primary goal of genomics has become the promotion of human genome analysis in all its various facets [3]. The following link provides a nice visual key to basic genetics terminology:  Howard Hughes Medical Institute Image.

   The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a multinational effort, begun in 1988, whose aim is the production of a complete physical map of all human chromosomes as well as the entire human DNA sequence [4]. Genomes of other organism are also being studied in order to perfect sequencing methods so that they can be applied to the human genome. A good example of human genome analysis is the exciting work on the inherited disease cystic fibrosis (CF). Although CF was recognized relatively early in the 20th century, the genetic basis for the disease remained a mystery until 1989. The first breakthrough was the genetic mapping of CF to human chromosome 7 in 1985, which showed that the inheritance pattern of CF in families is closely correlated with the inheritance pattern of a particular DNA abnormality, a "spelling error", on chromosome 7. The next step was the physical mapping and DNA sequencing of the CF gene itself in 1989, from which it became possible to perform DNA diagnostics on individuals (e.g. prospective parents) to see if they carried the typical CF mutation. Now, with the recent advent of gene therapy, research is underway to cure the disease itself which occurs in the lung cells of  CF patients [5]. 

   In addition to detecting and treating genetic disorders, another promising new area of research is pharmacogenomics, which uses advanced genetic tools developed by the HGP to understand how variations in a person's DNA may diminish or amplify the effects of a drug, and possibly even produce a pharmaceutical toxin for certain individuals. In fact, it has recently been estimated that in 1994 adverse drug reactions were a leading cause of mortality in the United States, accounting for more than 2,000,000 hospitalizations and an astonishing 100,000 deaths.  Since the HGP's catalogue of genetic variations will include those that are involved in characterizing drug responses, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies want to use this knowledge to tailor drugs to certain groups of patients. A customized drug might eliminate life-threatening adverse reactions. Furthermore, knowing the differences in how genetically distinct individuals react to a specific compound may reduce both development costs and the cost of clinical trials by targeting only those patients most capable of receiving a positive therapeutic effect [6]. 

   I hope that this brief introduction will whet your appetite to further explore the fascinating new field of genomics, and in particular to visit our Student Projects. Please direct any comments or questions you may have to me, John Pais.