About
Genetic foundations for inherited susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, including diabetes, scleroderma and multiple sclerosis; impact of genetics on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The goal of the research in our laboratory is to understand the genetic basis for inherited susceptibility to viral infections and to autoimmune diseases, including diabetes, scleroderma and multiple sclerosis. We also have a long-standing interest in the genetic architecture of ALS. In our work, backcross and F2 progeny are screened for alleles at many genetic loci. The inheritance of these alleles is compared to the inheritance of the phenotype (“linked”) and a preliminary assignment of the location of incidence and quantitative trait loci (QTL) is made. The QTL are confirmed in subsequent crosses, or are fixed in the genome by selective breeding, for positional cloning and identification of the disease gene itself.