NEWS RELEASE
April 24, 2008
(Salisbury Cove, Me) – The Maine Neurogenetics Consortium, a multidisplinary group of scientists and physicians in Maine, will meet at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory tomorrow to discuss strategic initiatives for the upcoming Maine Neurogenetics Symposium in the fall. This is a pre-meeting of the 35th Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium.
The Maine Neurogenetics Consortium hosted by Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health has a common interest in advancing translational research in the neurosciences, especially in reference to stress, anxiety, acute brain injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This past year, through a competitive process, the consortium has funded basic animal and human research in stress exposure and disease risk highlighting the relationship to genetic susceptibility, immune function, cancer and cardiovascular risk, cognitive impairment, drug, tobacco and alcohol addiction for both adults and children.
Marie Hayes, PhD, professor, University of Maine, and allied senior scientist at the genetics institute, says, “This year, we established new collaborations and brainstormed across a wide variety of levels from bench science to translational research, including future efforts to increase access to neuroimaging for brain injury. Our consortium expertise in neuroscience is broad and interdisciplinary throughout the state, so provides a strong basis for research in brain injury and PTSD affecting many military families and also Maine families struggling with stress-related chronic disease.”
The Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health was founded by EMHS, EMMC, University of Maine, and The Jackson Laboratory. The institute conducts translational research to facilitate the introduction of innovations and discoveries to improve medical care and help resolve the challenges of health disparities in Maine’s rural communities. The institute’s primary research programs target cancer, and also hosts a multi-center neurogenetics consortium conducting research on neurosciences and substance abuse.
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