Kennedy Krieger Institute and Partek Incorporated Awarded $1.8M NIH Grant

Partek Incorporated announced that in collaboration with the Kennedy Krieger Institute it has been awarded $1.8M by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop commercial software to analyze human genetic changes that will illuminate chromosomal abnormalities that underlie conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

Previously Partek and Kennedy Krieger collaborated to develop a novel mathematical method that combined two commonly used genotype association approaches to reveal the opaque genetic distinction between individuals. While that study focused on estimating the relatedness between populations, this study will leverage that research and narrow its focus to families with one or more members affected by ASD. This will facilitate the development of analysis tools to identify chromosomal abnormalities with the goal of identifying individuals with ASD during infancy. Earlier diagnosis will allow treatment to be started sooner when it can best improve life-long cognitive and social skills. These same analysis tools will be able to be used in the early diagnosis of mental health conditions including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia––potentially enabling early treatment. “One in every 88 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and one in every four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder. We are excited to be working with researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute to build tools that are innovative, rigorous, and useful to the biomedical research community.” said Tom Downey, Principal Investigator and President of Partek Incorporated.