UO's Postlethwait to pursue Fanconi anemia work in Germany

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Oct. 3, 2008) -- University of Oregon biologist and neuroscientist John Postlethwait will spend 2009 in Germany studying molecular mechanisms involved in Fanconi anemia under a Humboldt Research Award given to him last year.

The prestigious Humboldt award is presented to as many as 100 academic scientists each year by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation located in Bonn, Germany. It recognizes a researcher's entire achievements and whose work has had a significant impact on his or her discipline. Award winners are invited to spend up to one year on a long-term research project with specialist colleagues at a research institution in Germany.

Postlethwait, beginning in January, will collaborate with professors Holger Hoehn and Manfred Schartl at the University of Wurzburg. Hoehn and Schartl nominated Postlethwait for the honor.

Fanconi anemia, a recessive disorder, is among inherited anemias that lead to bone marrow failure. According to the Eugene-based Fanconi Anemia Research Fund Inc., which was founded by UO President Dave Frohnmayer and his wife Lynn, if both parents carry a mutation in the same disease-related gene, each child has a 25 percent chance of inheriting the defective gene from both parents. When this happens, the child will have Fanconi anemia. At least 13 genes have been linked to the disease.

Postlethwait's project in Germany will build directly on his research at the UO.

"I will be working on the molecular, genetic mechanisms of Fanconi anemia, a disease that causes catastrophic bone marrow failure, leading to fewer red and white blood cells and an alarming increase in risk of leukemia," Postlethwait said. "We will investigate zebrafish models for this disease, trying to find therapies that will cure the disease in zebrafish."

Postlethwait's UO team previously had developed mutational models for Fanconi anemia in zebrafish. If the research is successful in Germany, he said, the research should provide strong leads to the development of therapies that will cure Fanconi anemia in people. "The development and genetics of zebrafish are very similar to that in humans. We have isolated mutations in zebrafish versions of the human genes, and these zebrafish mutants have symptoms related to their human counterparts."

Postlethwait joined the UO biology department in 1971. He has been instrumental in the worldwide acceptance of zebrafish as a model for human health and disease. He developed the first genetic map for zebrafish and mapped the first mutants. He discovered a genomic duplication in the zebrafish lineage that is shared by all teleost fish. Understanding the consequences of this genomic event has been essential for relating the actions of zebrafish genes to human disease.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Media Contact: Jim Barlow, director of science and research communications, 541-346-3481, jebarlow@uoregon.edu

Source: John Postlethwait, professor of biology, 541-346-4538, jpostle@oregon.uoregon.edu

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