A commitment of $100,000 from former Dean Gil Omenn and his wife Martha Darling will kick-start an Institute for Public Health Genetics research project fund, Dean Howard Frumkin has announced.

Professor Karen Edwards has led the effort with IPHG faculty in creating two pilot projects that will focus broadly on interactions between genetic and environmental factors. At the same time they will address the ethical, legal, and social issues involved in translating research findings into actionable steps.

These two projects will launch a new IPHG research agenda and were selected because they involve all core IPHG disciplines and provide opportunities to establish collaborations with new partners, Frumkin said. The gift from Gil Omenn and Martha Darling will allow IPHG faculty to begin one of the two projects and will focus on the first step in evaluating potential gene and drug interactions, identifying potential associations between long-term use of medications and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

"Their donation will be an incredible boost to the program, enable us to leverage additional funds, and renew collaborations internally and externally," Frumkin added.