Transomics Research Core
Overview
The Transomics Research Core (TrRC) was formed to capitalize on recent revolutionary advances in biomedical research brought about by the genome projects and leverages significant investments made at UNC in genome sciences. Concurrent with development of, first the human and subsequently, mouse and rat genome sequences, there has been a renewed awareness that new high-throughput technologies are needed to query the output of genomes at an equivalent scale as is represented in their primary DNA sequence.
The first of these new technologies to gain wide acceptance was transcriptional profiling using microarrays to assay and describe the content of RNA within cells. Since its inception, microarray analysis has lead to exciting new advances in our understanding of environmental exposure and toxicological risk assessment.
Because of the early successes of transcriptional profiling, there has been a push to apply other powerful technologies to environmental health research. Although other technologies have been slower to mature and to be deployed at the genome-level, several are on the verge of having an equivalently important role in large-scale biological investigations. The two major technologies that are ripe to provide powerful new insights into environmental health and susceptibility research include proteomics and metabolomics, both of which are based upon strong foundations of technological development.
Individually, these omics technologies will be powerful tools to aid our understanding of environmental exposure.
However, combined, they offer an unprecedented ability to query the entire biological system and the first hope to understanding how genetics, environmental exposure, and age-related cumulative changes bring about disease processes and how individuals differ in their response to environmental insults (Fig. 1). To fully capitalize on these advances, an equally important contribution is being developed in the statistical and bioinformatic sciences. These computational tools will stimulate new ways to assimilate, archive, integrate and mine biological data collected at the genome-scale.
Thus, unlike the other research cores, the TrRC will not focus on a specific biological phenotype or process. Rather, this core will focus on developing genome-driven, high-throughput technologies to bear on current and future research activities of TrRC members and on bringing these technologies to the other research cores within the Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility. Supporting these applications, the TrRC will also foster the development of computational tools and aid the delivery of bioinformatics mining algorithms to optimally use the large data outputs from the omics technologies for new hypothesis-driven research. Along these lines, the TrRC will also enhance data integration for mining multi-dimensional transomic data from a variety of sources and technology platforms. As a consequence, the TrRC provides new opportunities to develop and deliver cutting-edge genome-scale technologies in an integrated fashion to current and future environmental health and susceptibility research projects.
Objectives
The Transomics Research Core has the following objectives:
- to develop and deploy contemporary genome-scale ‘omics’ technologies;
- to support and expand collaborations applying omics technologies to environmental health and susceptibility research activities;
- to educate center members about new omics technologies and their applications to environmental health research;
- to integrate large data collection with computational analysis;
- to promote and support interdisciplinary research through pilot projects; and
- to sponsor visits by innovators of existing and future omics technologies.
Transomics Research Accomplishments - 2006
