Request for Funding

Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2004

Mentor: Andrew Zinn, MD PhD
Department: McDermott Center/Internal Medicine
Room number: NB10.110
Mail Code: 8591
Phone number: 8-1615
E-mail: andrew.zinn@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: Positional cloning of a gene for X-linked reticulate pigmentary disorder

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): 0401-189

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects)

Patient-based/basic research

Brief Description of Project:

We have collected several families with a very rare X-linked pigmentary skin disorder with associated systemic inflammatory features and mapped the mutation to a small interval of the X chromosome. Multiple approaches are being used to identify the culprit gene, including comparative genomics, DNA sequencing, and gene expression studies.

Mentor: Zinn, Andrew
Department: McDermott Center/Internal Medicine
Room number: NB10.110
Mail Code: 8591
Phone number: 8-1615
E-mail: andrew.zinn@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: Cell culture model for hypothalamic obesity

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects)

Basic research

Brief Description of Project:

Studies in humans and mice have implicated the hypothalamic transcription factor Sim1 in the regulation of body weight. We have identified hypothalamic cell line that expresses Sim1 and are using it to investigate genes that potentially regulate Sim1 and genes that are potential Sim1 transcriptional targets using transfection and reporter assays and microarrays.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:

2003 Matthew Stevenson - X-linked reticulate pigmentary disorder: initial screening of candidate genes
2002 Anuj Goel - Physiology of obesity in sim1 mutant mice

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