Mayo scientist receives $11 million to study pharmacogenomics

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a Mayo Clinic researcher $11.2 million to study how analyzing human DNA can improve patient response to drugs.

Dr. Richard Weinshilboum is one of 21 researchers across the country to receive a collective $161.3 million over the next five years to study pharmacogenomics.

The scientists will use genome sequencing techniques to identify genetic variants that predict how patients suffering from breast cancer and depression respond to drugs. Based on that information, researchers could adjust doses to maximize therapy and reduce side effects.

“Our ability to use this kind of science to apply drug response has turned out to already be penetrating clinical practice in rather dramatic ways,” Dr. Weinshilboum said in a statement. “We want to be sure that patients who come to Mayo can benefit from the application of this science, which is moving at warp speed.”

Mayo also received a $3.1 million grant for its Pharmacogenomic Ontology Network Resource and a $2.3 million award for next generation DNA sequencing.

“Thanks to breakthroughs in genome sequencing technologies and our growing understanding of genetic variation among individuals, there has never been a better time to propel the field of pharmacogenomics,’’ NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins said in a statement. “Through these studies, we are moving closer to the goal of using genetic information to help prescribe the safest, most effective medicine for each patient.”

Mayo is also one of six medical research centers in the United States tapped by the NIH to study the long-term reactions of human immune systems to diseases and vaccines.

NIH hopes the five-year, $100 million effort, funded by the federal stimulus law, will help researchers design better vaccines to treat diseases like influenza, pneumococcus and the West Nile virus.