PGFI News and In the Press

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PGFI Co-Director awarded NIH Pioneer Award (September 2008)

James Eberwine, PhD, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Professor of Pharmacology and codirector of the Penn Genome Frontiers Institute, has been awarded the National Institutes of Health Pioneer Award, which provides $2.5 million over the next five years. Learn more here.

PGFI and The Institute for Regenerative Medicine Launch a New Project
(March 2008)

The PGFI and the Institute for Regenerative Medicine (IRM) are proud to announce the opening of the Genomic Cell Based Screening Lab operating on the Research and Development third floor of the Lynch Laboratories. Genomic Cell Based Screening is a suite of powerful methodologies that can enable researchers to probe cellular pathways at the genomic level, says John Hogenesch, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Associate Director of the PGFI, who will serve as Scientific Director of this laboratory. Current capabilities and infrastructure include an automated miniprep robot, a plating robot, and both whole well and high content imaging systems, the latter of which is being guided by Sara Cherry Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Microbiology, who will serve as Associate Scientific Director. This infrastructure will be used to conduct arrayed cDNA expression screening, siRNA screening, pilot small molecule screening of pharmacologically active compounds, as well novel genomic cell-based screens a big part of this, maybe 95%, is in helping people through the assay development process, said Dr. Hogenesch. Once the assay is developed, running the screen becomes almost a trivial matter -- and then the hard work (and fun) begins the follow-up biology. Julie Baggs, Ph.D., will serve as Director of the Genomic Cell Based Screening Lab, while Jeanne Geskes will oversee the robotics and operations of the lab. as custom libraries to probe various signaling pathways in cell-based screens. Our primary goal is to help investigators at the University of Pennsylvania develop.

Penn Genomics Institute Changes Name, Will Emphasize Interdisciplinary Genomics (January 2008)

In January 2008, the Penn Genomics Institute (PGI) changed its name to the Penn Genome Frontiers Institute (PGFI). The new name, according to PGFI officials, more accurately reflects everything taking place under the PGFI umbrella - genomics, computational biology, systems biology and the development of interdisciplinary technologies with scientists throughout the University of Pennsylvania.

"Many people believe that a genomics insititute works on genome-wide association studies and SNP analysis," said James Eberwine, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Co-Director of PGFI. "While this is a component of genomics, PGFI endeavors to broaden this definition to include disciplines other then solely genetics."

For example, Eberwine continued, PGFI has funded research efforts spanning cell biology, nanotechnology and molecular biology, as well as the traditional genetics. "The PGFI emphasis on promoting cutting-edge research in live cell genomics and the development of technology geared towards functional analysis of multiple gene and gene products simultaneously are more readily encompassed under our new name, Penn Genome Frontiers Institute."

Penn Awarded $2 Million Grant from Keck Foundation for Fundamental Research on Parkinston's Disease- February 06, 2007

Penn Names First Phase of Life Sciences Complex for Trustee Carolyn Hoff Lynch -February 2005

Database Lets Researchers Worldwide Access the Genome of the Malarial Parasite Plasmodium falciparum- October 20, 2002

Penn Establishes Genomics Institute; Invests Over $75 Million In University-wide Genomics Initiatives- February 05, 2001