TGen Talks

In part two of TGen Talks Live, we continue our conversation on precision aging with Drs. Matthew Huentelman and Nicholas Schork.

Aging encompasses a variety aspects—both physical and mental—a fact made evident by the topics covered and the research presented. Where Huentelman’s work covers the brain and the more cognitive aspects of aging, Schork’s work focuses on the physical changes we undergo as we age.

This month, in part two of our live show, our guests talk about how the COVID pandemic affected our bodies and brains, and how we can best separate fact from fiction when it comes to anti-aging supplements.

TGen offers listeners a deeper dive into a particular biomedical-related topic or program through its monthly podcast TGen Talks. Each free-flowing episode allows a TGen scientist to connect with a broader audience by explaining the finer details involved in their research at a listener-friendly level.

December’s episode escapes the sound booth for a live event in front of a studio audience. The inaugural TGen Talks Live features Drs. Matthew Huentelman and Nicholas Schork who join our host Karie Dozer for an in-depth conversation on precision aging.

A continuation of TGen’s 20th Anniversary celebrations, the event, hosted by the TGen Foundation and sponsored by Phoenix IDA and Bell Bank, took place at the Center for Positive Media.

Aging encompasses a variety of aspects—both physical and mental—a fact made evident by the topics covered and the research presented. Where Huentelman’s work covers the brain and the more cognitive aspects of aging, Schork’s work focuses on the physical changes we undergo as we age. Topics discussed included how genetics influences aging, current research, lifestyle choices and the benefits of off-the-shelf supplements and whether they live up to the hype.

Can't wait for part II? Catch the full taping on TGen's YouTube channel at: https://youtu.be/N29DaTB8Jg8

Humans have been searching for the fountain of youth (a mythical endless supply of waters that purport to keep us young forever) for thousands of years—but there’s no such thing in the world of science.

At TGen, scientists are working toward a virtual fountain of youth, and they call it precision aging.

On this month’s TGen Talks, Matthew Huentelman, Ph.D., helps us understand precision aging a bit more clearly, as he explains the concepts behind the process, and discusses just a few of the benefits it may hold for our future. This month’s podcast also tees up a first-ever TGen Talks Live event slated for December, where Huentelman and his colleague, Nicholas Schork, Ph.D., join our host Karie Dozer for a deeper dive into precision aging, and how genomics may hold the answers for a longer and healthier life

Cancer is the number one worry of pet parents, and it's no wonder. More than half of all dogs older than 10 will be diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is hard to treat in many dogs, and is often diagnosed when it's too late to treat. Americans spent more than $120 billion on their pets just last year. One TGen subsidiary is putting its science to work for pet parents, so that cancer in dogs is diagnosed before it's too late. Vidium Animal Health is a wholly owned subsidiary of TGen and it works to diagnose and treat canine cancers.

With COVID infections and deaths on the decline worldwide, many researchers are turning their attention back to a familiar foe. Tuberculosis (TB) was the number one infectious disease killer before the emergence of COVID-19, and it is number one again today.

  Although most Americans are not at risk of contracting TB, it continues to be a danger worldwide. TGen researchers are trying to find better diagnostics for this very stubborn bacterial infection, and combat antibiotic resistance so that doctors everywhere can better treat this ancient illness.

  TGen North research scientist Megan Folkerts joins TGen Talks to discuss TB’s history, Egyptian mummies, TGen North's efforts to design better diagnostics, learning how antibiotic resistance stunts treatment, and improved ways to overcome its effects on new or current therapies.

  All this and more on TGen Talks.

For Crystal Hepp, PhD, the newest member of the TGen North team, understanding how different pathogens move over time and space and through different populations is all in a day’s work. Recently, that work has centered heavily on RNA viruses, and given that the translational aspects of her work aligned seamlessly with the TGen North team and its mission, the decision to join the team came fairly easy.

Spread through the bite of the common house mosquito, West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States. Hepp discusses her work with county vector control agencies throughout the southwest to collect and test mosquitoes, work that helps identify locations that are viral hot zones.

Additionally, Dr. Hepp discusses a unique method for collecting local wastewater samples across wastewater treatment plants, local school districts, and university residence halls testing for COVID —a partnership between the City of Flagstaff, Coconino County Health Services, Northern Arizona University, and TGen— and plans for a study to look for coronaviruses in different animal populations to understand which populations might be able to be reservoir species, then estimate when or if spillover back into humans could occur.

All this and more on TGen Talks.

This episode of TGen Talks takes the listener along I-17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff, where our host, Karie Dozer, sits down with David Engelthaler, Ph.D., professor and director of TGen’s Pathogen and Microbiome Division, more commonly known as TGen North.

  Whereas TGen uses genomics to solve complex problems such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease, the scientists at TGen North use these same tools and technology to focus on infectious disease … the microbes, the bacteria, the viruses, the fungi that cause some of the greatest problems around the world. 

  Engelthaler provides the listener an inside look at the research underway across the division, and the community work with different tribal nations and hospitals to understand what’s most important to them and how TGen North can apply their expertise to support those needs.

  Whether it's Cryptococcus, tuberculosis, superbugs in our hospitals, or other bad things like plague, West Nile, Valley fever, COVID, or the latest efforts around pathogen intelligence, TGen North’s goal is and always has been to rapidly identify and help stop the spread of potentially dangerous outbreaks.

  All this and more, on TGen Talks.

Dr. Johanna DiStefano joins TGen Talks to discuss nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, a condition that causes excess amount of fat in one’s liver cells. As evidenced by its name (which could use an update, according to our guest) NAFLD covers a wide-range of liver conditions with the “alcohol” portion somewhat misleading, as it’s not always that cut and dry.

  Different factors, such as genetics, lifestyle, and diet could also play a role in NAFLD. It could also be one’s gender or one’s stage in life. For example, the risk increases for women following menopause.

  Dr. DiStefano discusses her labs focus on the genetic factors that influence the development of NAFLD and increasing awareness of this population among clinicians. 

  How does nonalcoholic fatty liver disease develop? How does the liver communicate with other cells in the body, other organs in the body? 

  The long-term goal, of course, is identifying better ways to detect and treat fatty liver disease. And that means new tests and new drugs. 

  All this and more on TGen Talks.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of TGen's founding on what at the time was a relatively unknown idea outside the circles of academia and scientific research, precision medicine. The concept of using a person's own genome to diagnose and treat disease at an individual level, to move beyond the one-size-fits-all treatment plans that had dominated the medical landscape for decades, where drugs and therapies considered large groups of people with the same disease, and what worked for the majority.

A true public-private partnership, TGen came to fruition through the work of tribal leaders, CEOs, philanthropic trusts, foundations, individuals and university presidents, all united toward an extraordinarily high-risk goal: Forming and funding an institute based on the just-completed Human Genome Project and placing it not in Boston, San Francisco or Washington, D.C., but in Phenix, Arizona.

TGen founder, Dr. Jeffrey Trent, joins TGen Talks to discuss the institute’s beginnings as well as how over the past 20 years, TGen faculty have leveraged the human blueprint to advance the diagnosis and treatment of various cancers, neurologic and metabolic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and rare disorders.

Applied mathematics dramatically advanced the field of finance in the 1970’s, where its application allowed for the modeling of financial markets by mathematicians highly skilled in quantitative analytics. Today, these highly sought-after mathematicians are making a name for themselves in the field of applied science as their skills are increasingly providing solutions in many areas of biomedical research. 

  The genomic sequencing routinely employed by TGen in precision medicine platforms generates data on a massive scale. Applying mathematical modeling, statistical methods, and machine learning, to these complex datasets has the potential to transform longitudinal (i.e., the same patient sampled over time) genomics data into new predictive biomarkers of disease or response to treatment. 

  In the latest edition of TGen Talks, Dr. Cristian Tomasetti discusses his mathematical grounding, how applied mathematics influences modern biology, his work at TGen and City of Hope, and the role of somatic mutations on cancer.

  All this and more in under 20 minutes.