The Provincial Government of South Tyrol in 2009 took the political decision to institutionalize cooperation between research and the local healthcare system, jointly establishing the Institute for Biomedicine, in order to use their synergies for better healthcare in and for the competitiveness of the region. Today the Institute for Biomedicine is a team of international researchers and collaborators with various backgrounds. They all work with passion to achieve our mission and vision. On the local level they work in close cooperation with the local healthcare system, on a global level they are participating in many international research consortia.
How did we become the Institute for Biomedicine
Medical research at EURAC started in 2001. Following a foundational project neuro-epidemiological research (NEPT), started in 1996 by a network of South Tyrolean neurologists and general practicioners, EURAC initiated the research program GenNova, an important program studying health among the population in South Tyrol. In 2004 GenNova became the Institute of Genetic Medicine focusing its studies on genetic-epidemiological analyses among the South Tyrolean population isolates. And in 2009 then the institute functioned as nucleus for the development of today's Institute for Biomedicine.
Research highlights
| 2012 | Our researchers contributed to a consortium of genetic research institutes led by Oxford University's Medical Science Division and helped to find 38 new genetic locii associated with glucose and insulin levels. The finding contributes to the identification of genetic mechanisms behind diseases such as type 2 diabetes. (Published in Nature Genetics) |
| 2012 | The Center for Biomedicine was front and centre in a new study on the genetic factors of chronic kidney disease published in March 2012's edition of 'PLoS Genetics'. EURAC's researchers were involved in the identification of six new regions of the human genome that affect kidney function. |
| 2011 | An international consortium including the Center for Biomedicine at Eurac Research recently conducted a study to identify genes responsible for the production of blood platelets. The work has contributed to the understanding of these biological mechanisms and the role they play in thrombotic and hemorrhagic diseases. 68 regions within the human genome that regulate the formation and structure of blood platelets have been identified. (Published in Nature) |
| 2011 | MICROS* data is used in a major international consortial effort that identifies many genetic variants and novel pathways that influence blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk. (Published in Nature) |
| 2011 | Our researchers participate in studies that successfully identify novel genetic variants that correlate with the cardiac biomarkers CRP, and NT-pro-BN. (Published in Human Molecular Genetics and Circulation) |
| 2010 | Our researchers contribute to a study using functional animal model screens run by IMBA researchers that identify conserved regulators of heart function (published inCell) and to an additional consortia identifying novel genes related to heart function as revealed by the EKG trait, QRS interval. (Published in Nature Genetics) |
| 2010 | Our researchers contribute to several studies discovering hundreds of new genes underlying major heart disease risk factors—body mass index, blood cholesterol and lipid levels, glucose/diabetes, and kidney function. (Published in Nature and Nature Genetics) |
| 2009 | Ten genetic loci that modulate QT interval duration and may predispose to sudden cardiac death identified using data from the MICROS* alongside other studies. (Published in Nature Genetics) |
| 2008 | A re-evaluation of the nature of seeking informed consent in the genomics era. (Published in PLoS Medicine) |
| 2006 | Mapping of a novel locus for restless legs syndrome on chromosome 2q (RLS4). (Published in American Journal of Human Genetics) |
| 2005 | Identification of the largest pedigree of Parkin-mutation carriers identified to date, which is continuing to provide valuable research resources to study important molecular pathways in Lewy body Parkinson's. (Published in Annals of Neurology) |
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*MICROS (Micro-Isolate study in South Tyrol) is one of the building blocks of the GenNova program |
