Artyom Grigoryan, assistant professor of
electrical and computer engineering
Research Close-up: Artyom Grigoryan has gone FISH-ing
(May 22, 2002)--Artyom Grigoryan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is principal investigator for the project "3-D Spot-Counting Algorithm," funded by the Texas Electrical Engineering Society.
Could the outcome of current genetic research at UTSA affect the way we receive medical treatment in the future? The automated detection and accurate counting of gene copy number-alterations is becoming increasingly important for better prediction of prognosis and therapy response in cancer patients.
Engineers here have developed a computer software program that may hold promise in this area. The program employs a three-dimensional, spot-counting algorithm designed to identify and tally gene copies' alterations in specimens of tumor tissue using a technique called fluorescence in situ hybridization, or FISH.
Highly specialized equipment is used to capture a 3-D FISH image of the specimen
and count the number of fluorescent signals, or spots, that will be produced
by each chromosome containing the target DNA sequence in every cell. Detectable
alterations include loss and gain of DNA copy-sequence numbers, or a variation
in the increase or decrease rates among the genes in a certain cell.
Next, researchers attempt to identify which specific genes in a virus have
multiplied. With this knowledge, it is theoretically possible to stop the
virus from replicating or mutating, defusing cancer at the genetic level.
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Research Close-up: Artyom Grigoryan has gone FISH-ing
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2002