RTI International - News Release - 4.20.2009
New Online 'Toolkit' Aims to Standardize Measures, Protocols Scientists Use in Genetic Studies
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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—Starting today, scientists who conduct genetic studies will have a new set of "tools" to refine estimates of disease risk and extend the findings of one study to other studies or across population groups.
The tools, a set of standard measures and research protocols, are part of a national effort designed to accelerate understanding of the complex genetic and environmental factors associated with cancer, heart disease, depression and many other common diseases.
Collectively called the PhenX Toolkit, the measures and protocols were developed as part of the three-year collaborative research effort, called PhenX (pronounced "phoenix"), which is a combination of the words phenotype and exposures.
The effort, being led by the independent, nonprofit research organization RTI International, is funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Human Genome Research Institute.
"The use of standard measures is vital to furthering our knowledge of the many complex relationships between genetics, environmental factors and common diseases," said Carol M. Hamilton, Ph.D., director of bioinformatics at RTI and the project's principal investigator.
The initial release of the toolkit includes the high-priority measures selected by panels with expertise in demographics; anthropometrics (measures of body size and proportion); and alcohol, tobacco and other substances.
Experts in the cardiovascular field, as well as those with expertise in nutrition and dietary supplements, are currently working to identify measures that will be added to the toolkit within the next few months.
In all, the toolkit is expected to include about 300 high-priority measures covering a range of conditions and exposures relevant to common diseases.
Users of the toolkit can browse measures and protocols, search using keywords, generate reports, and select measures for use in their studies.
The use of consensus measures in their studies allows researchers to pool study results, increase the capability to identify associations and faciliate comparison of different studies.
The initial measures and protocols were developed over the past 12 months by three expert panels, with contributions from more than 100 scientists from diverse scientific and health disciplines who participated or served as reviewers.