Finding Hope One Gene at a Time
Profiling Genes
In a cluttered lab on the UC Berkeley campus, John Ngai studies the genes in brain cells. Using powerful new robotic tools, he keeps watch over tens of thousands of genes at a time. He records which genes are active in a cell and what they’re telling that cell to do.
The task is mathematically daunting—in the human brain there are 35,000 genes at work in 3,000 different types of brain cells at any one time. Without today’s high-speed computers, such analysis would be impossible.
“It’s like building a profile of a cell,” Ngai says. “By learning which genes a given cell expresses, we get a better understanding of why cells do what they do.”
A leading figure in the fast-growing field of genomics, Ngai’s work opens doors of unlimited potential. With more detailed data about what’s happening at the cellular level, drugs can be developed to target and correct specific problems, leading to more effective treatment, with fewer side effects, for diseases ranging from cancer to multiple sclerosis.
“It’s exciting work,” Ngai says, “because if you can narrow down what makes cells different, you have a better way of getting at disease.”
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John Ngai, PhD, is an associate professor of Neurobiology and the Coates Family Professor of Neuroscience. He is also the chair of the Graduate Group in Neuroscience and the director of the Functional Genomics Laboratory.