New tools to search for diseases linked to gene changes

To find genes linked to disease, researchers often study the genes of people with a particular disease. They look for gene differences (variants) between people with the disease and people without the disease. Variants that show up more often in people with a disease are “linked” with that disease and studied further. This project does the reverse. Gene information in BioVU is linked to disease information in electronic medical records. This allows researchers to find patients with certain gene variants and look to see what diseases or conditions they may have. This offers a new way to discover links between genes and disease. This project may also provide clues about the possible common origins of multiple diseases.