DF/HCC Program Affiliation

Cancer Genetics

DF/HCC Associations

Institutional Representative for BWH, Executive Committee
Member, Center Scientific Council

Research Abstract

The Morton Laboratory has as its research focus three projects which can be grouped under the area of human genetics. One effort underway is to identify and characterize genes involved in uterine leiomyomata (http://www.fibroids.net). These benign smooth muscle tumors are the most common indication for hysterectomy and provide a valuable system for dissecting critical molecular events that discriminate benign from malignant neoplasms. A genome wide scan is being performed to identify genes which predispose women to develop these tumors. Another ongoing project is to clone genes involved in hearing using a human cochlear library and to develop mouse models for human hearing disorders (http://.hearing.bwh.harvard.edu). A transcript map is being developed for the human cochlea providing positional candidate genes for deafness genes. A recent initiative is a project to use naturally occurring human chromosome rearrangements found in association with major congenital anomalies to identify genes critical in human development (http://dgap.harvard.edu). Various evolving genomics resources including an ordered BAC map of the human genome and the complete human DNA sequence will facilitate a high throughput identification of these developmental genes.

Publications

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