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Past Projects
Pharmacokinetics of Nicotine in Twins Sponsor: National Institute on Drug Abuse Project Dates: 03/05/1998—02/28/2005 Principal Investigator: Gary E. Swan, Ph.D., Director, Center for Health Sciences, SRI International Despite the best efforts to date, 46 million people still smoke and 430,000 people die from tobacco-related illness annually. The question remains why some people smoke and not others. This study investigated the impact of genetics of nicotine and cotinine metabolism in healthy nonsmoking and smoking twins (identical and fraternal) to determine the genetic control of nicotine metabolism and genetic factors that may predispose an individual to tobacco addiction. Development of Facial Identification Technology Sponsor: A4Vision Project Dates: 08/01/2003—12/31/2003 The purpose of this project was to assist A4Vision in the accuracy testing of facial identification technology being developed by the company. A4Vision’s goal was to develop technology that could detect microscopic differences in facial features, not detectible to the human eye, in identical twins. The technology captured and measured critical points on each twin’s face and created a computer-based 3D “mask” that was used to identify each identical twin. The technology compared the images of a pair of identical twins to see if it could distinguish the difference between the twins. This technology has a variety of applications, including airport and building security and computer/Internet security.
Genetic Influence on Mutagen Sensitivity—A Twin Study Principal Investigator: Xifeng F. Wu, M.D., Ph.D., MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas Co-Principal Investigator: Gary E. Swan, Ph.D., Director, SRI Center for Health Sciences Evidence suggests that the carcinogenic process is driven by the interaction between exposure to environmental carcinogens and inherent genetic susceptibility. This grant seeks to determine why only a fraction of individuals who are exposed to cancer-causing agents develop cancer, when case reports document the clustering of cancer cases in families and population-based studies revealed some excess familial cancer aggregation for most cancer sites. A Study of Sleep Patterns in Twins Principal Investigator: Ian M. Colrain, Ph.D., Director, SRI Human Sleep Research Program Principal Investigator: Gary E. Swan, Ph.D., Director, SRI Center for Health Sciences The major goal of this study is to examine the extent to which genetics and environment affect sleep in children by studying monozygotic (identical) and dizygotic (fraternal) twin pairs. The hypothesis of this study is that changes in sleep seen across the second decade of life will largely be determined by genetic factors. Thus, monozygotic twin pairs will have greater within pair similarity in sleep architecture and microstructure, than dizygotic twin pairs. Members of the SRI Northern California Twin Registry between the ages of 9 and 17 are eligible for participation in this study. There is no cost to become a member of the Twin Registry. Impact of Genetics on Metformin Pharmacokinetics Sponsor: National Institute of General Medical Sciences Project Dates: 04/01/2000—03/31/2006 Principal Investigator: Kathleen M. Giacomini, Ph.D., Biopharmaceutical Sciences of the School of the School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco Co-Investigator: Gary E. Swan, Ph.D., Director, Center for Health Sciences, SRI International This study examines differences in the renal clearance of metformin (a drug used in the treatment of diabetes) in identical and fraternal twins. The study seeks to better understand the influence of heredity on inter-individual variation in renal elimination and to provide insight into the genes responsible for the variability. Impact of Genetics on Digoxin Pharmacokinetics Sponsor: National Institute of General Medical Sciences Project Dates: 04/01/2000—03/31/2006 Principal Investigator: Deanna Kroetz, Ph.D., Biopharmaceutical Sciences of the School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco Co-Investigator: Gary E. Swan, Ph.D., Director, Center for Health Sciences, SRI International Studies in identical and fraternal twins provide a unique resource for studying the relative importance of heredity and environment. In this study, investigators seek to determine if there is a relationship between a particular drug response gene and the metabolism and elimination of a heart medication known as digoxin.
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