The National Institutes of Health awarded an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) scientist $2.4 million to study disease-causing genetic mutations.
Gaurav Varshney’s lab uses zebrafish to study the effects of genetic variants. That’s because more than 80% of disease-causing genes in humans are also found in zebrafish, and their transparent bodies make it easier to track organ development through testing.
Varshney aims to research mutations more efficiently and on a larger scale with the four-year grant. He committed to studying 80 genes related to neurological disorders, hearing loss and musculoskeletal diseases. But he said he thinks he could get closer to studying 200 genes over four years.
Dr. Patrick Gaffney, who chairs OMRF’s Genes & Human Disease Research Program, said in a press release Varshney’s work will benefit scientists studying these disorders through zebrafish.
“His approach will help fill the gap between discovering disease genes and understanding their functional impacts,” Gaffney said.
Varshney’s work could pave the way for potential drug therapies.
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