Advancing the Strategic Plan 2020 - Spring 2018

DATA-DRIVEN DISCOVERY
“UTA will focus on research that integrates big data from multiple fields and will develop data
analytics and science that explore data from a wide variety of sources. We will use data to discover
and share new knowledge, as well as enhance current knowledge.”
UTA RESEARCHERS ARE USING GENOMICS TO STUDY…
JOE BOLL (biology): massive-scale
screening of antimicrobial drugs and
compounds to fight multidrug-resistant
bacteria
SUBHRANGSU MANDAL (chemistry):
epigenetics, gene regulation, and noncoding
RNAs in human disease
TODD CASTOE (biology): regenerative
organ growth, fundamental relationships
between genome structure and function,
and the roles of adaptation in the process
of speciation
JEFF DEMUTH (biology): fundamental
aspects of genome structure and content
that impact disease, sex determination,
and the origin of new species
LAURA MYDLARZ (biology): coral
immunity and coral disease, relevant to
understanding coral decline worldwide
ZUI PAN (nursing): calcium signaling in
cancer and in muscle and heart diseases
MATTHEW FUJITA (biology): the patterns
and processes that generate biodiversity
and the evolution of parthenogenesis and
vision
JON WEIDANZ (biology): the biology of
the immune response and how the immune
system can be used to develop new cancer
therapeutics
JEAN GAO (computer science and
engineering): the genomic mechanisms
driving disease diagnosis, progression, and
prognosis
SEN XU (biology): patterns of mutation
and recombination in eukaryotic genomes,
the genetic mechanisms for the origins of
asexual reproduction
NORTH TEXAS GENOME CENTER
UTA, in partnership with the University of North Texas Health Science
Center, is bringing massive genome sequencing capabilities to North
Texas with the new North Texas Genome Center (NTGC). In addition to
enhancing health care delivery in Texas and the surrounding six-state
region, the NTGC will provide important facilities and equipment to
spur growth in DFW’s rapidly expanding biotech sector. The center
will be critical for research in drug development, disease prevention,
cancer treatments, and fundamental aspects of genetics, such as
cancer immunogenics, neonatal diagnoses, and cures for conditions like
cystic fibrosis. NTGC Interim Director Jon Weidanz has already made
headway with AbeXXa Biologics, which uses genetic information to
drive cancer immunotherapy. UTA also expects the NTGC to boost the
local economy through patented inventions, company startups, and job
creation.
NTGC RESEARCH
CAPABILITIES
DNA SEQUENCING SERVICES:
Whole Genome Sequencing,
Whole Exome Sequencing, Single
Cell Sequencing, Targeted Panels
RNA SEQUENCING SERVICES:
Gene Expression, Whole
Transcriptome, 16s rRNA,
microRNA
BIOINFORMATICS SERVICES:
Data Analysis and Interpretation
CLINICAL SERVICES:
Pharmacogenomics
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THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON