College of Veterinary Medicine - Cornell University

Medical Genetics & Genomics

Many diseases have a genetic basis with either simple (one gene) or complex (many genes) inheritance. Breeds of companion, domestic or lab animals often have genetic predisposition to diseases as an inadvertent consequence of inbreeding. Researchers at Cornell are using modern genomic technologies to pinpoint genetic variants that underlie a variety of breed-specific diseases of animals, such as cancers and heart diseases of dogs, immune diseases in horses, and reproductive disorders in mice. Ultimately, our researchers hope to use the genetic discoveries for early intervention, stem cell treatment, selective breeding, and application to human disease.

Faculty	Research area	Graduate Field Membership (Follow links to the Biological & Biomedical Sciences Fields)
Doug Antczak	pregnancy immunology; immunogenetics; equine immunology	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Immunology & Infectious Disease; Genomics; Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Kathryn Boor	bacterial responses to environmental challenges; food microbiology; food safety; differentiation and characterization of virulence determinants in E. coli 0157: H7 and Listeria monocytogenes	Microbiology; Environmental Toxicology; Food Science & Technology
Dr. Adam Boyko	genomic investigation of dogs as a model of genetic disease and evolutionary genetics	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Computational Biology; Genomics; Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Sharon A. Center	liver and kidney diseases of small animals	Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Yung-Fu Chang	mechanisms of infection, particularly leptospira and salmonella	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Zoology & Wildlife Conservation
Ruth Collins	pharmacology; cancer cell biology; small GTPase regulation of intracellular traffic and cellular growth control	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Microbiology; Pharmacology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Genomics; Neurobiology & Behavior
Scott Coonrod	reproductive physiology; molecular and cellular physiology; epigenetic reprogramming during the egg-to-embryo transition; mechanisms by which specific histone modifications are dynamically regulated during hormone-dependent gene transcription in breast cancer cells	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Matthew DeLisa	molecular biotechnology; protein biogenesis and folding pathways; protein engineering	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Microbiology; Biomedical Engineering; Chemical Engineering
Maria Julia Bevilaqua Felippe	cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in B-cell response; neonatal immunology and response to vaccination; immunomodulation using biologic response modifiers; cancer immunotherapy; characterization of primary and secondary immunodeficiencies	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Immunology & Infectious Disease
Maria Garcia-Garcia	developmental biology in mice and flies; genetics of developmental mechanisms that influence embryonic morphology	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Genetics, Genomics and Development
Michael I. Kotlikoff	muscle biology; mouse genetics; molecular imaging; ion channels; physiological genomics; cellular signaling; genetic cell sensors; conditional gene targeting	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Pharmacology; Biophysics; Genomics; Neurobiology & Behavior
Natasza Kurpios	tissue morphogenesis; cell shape and architecture; organ development; gut morphogenesis; mammary gland biology; breast cancer	Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Pharmacology; Genetics, Genomics and Development
Siu Sylvia Lee	molecular genetics of aging; signaling pathways of nutrient sensing; molecular basis of stress response	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Computational Biology; Genetics, Genomics and Development; Nutrition
David Lin	axon guidance and target selection during development of mouse olfactory systems using genetics in vitro and genomic approaches; developmental biology; olfaction; axon guidance	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Pharmacology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Genetics, Genomics and Development; Genomics; Neurobiology & Behavior
Vicki Meyers-Wallen	inherited canine diseases; reproductive tract disorders	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology
N. Sydney Moise	arrhythmias; Sudden Death Syndrome; cardiology	Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Alexander Nikitin	genetic modeling of human cancer in the mouse; early detection and monitoring of carcinogenesis; neoplasms of reproductive and endocrine systems	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Environmental Toxicology
Kimberly O'Brien	calcium metabolism and bone health; control of maternal/fetal nutrient; partitioning and cellular mineral transport; micronutrient status in international settings; development of mass spectrometric methodology; pediatric bone health; pregnancy and mineral metabolism in adolescents	Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Nutrition
Ling Qi	transcriptional control of metabolic syndrome; unfolded protein response; obesity and diabetes	Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Genetics, Genomics and Development; Nutrition
John Schimenti	mouse genetics and functional genomics; genomic instability; genetic recombination; genetics of gametogenesis and development; use of ES cells to mutagenize the mouse genome	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Genetics, Genomics and Development; Genomics
Kenneth W. Simpson	gastroenterology	Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Michael Stanhope	molecular evolution and comparative genomics of infectious disease organisms	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Genomics
Nathan Sutter	genetic regulation of growth in the canine; identification of genes related to risk of specific cancers in particular canine breeds; study of genes that contribute to body size in the dog	Zoology & Wildlife Conservation; Genetics, Genomics and Development
Rory J. Todhunter	canine hip displasia; genetic linkage analysis; osteoarthritis	Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Gary R. Whittaker	Pathogenesis of influenza viruses, coronaviruses and arenaviruses. Host range and receptors, activation of membrane fusion, macrophage- and neuro-tropism, anti-viral therapeutics, diagnostic tests, virus-bacteria co-infections	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Immunology & Infectious Disease; Microbiology; Pharmacology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology
Mariana Wolfner	molecular, developmental, and genetic studies of Drosophila reproduction; embryogenesis and nuclear envelope; function and evolution of reproductive genes	Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; Genetics, Genomics and Development
Andrew Yen	leukemia; cell growth and differentiation; oncogenes/genetics	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Environmental Toxicology