Archived Lecture: From Genomics to Biomarkers: A New Landscape in Sickle Cell Disease

Timothy A. Johnson Medical Scholar Lecture presented by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

Archived Lecture: From Genomics to Biomarkers: A New Landscape in Sickle Cell Disease

Date: Nov. 6, 2020
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Talk Abstract

Dr. Sheehan will describe her career as a physician scientist, and how her laboratory uses genomics to unravel the mechanisms of globin switching and the pharmacogenomics of hydroxyurea in SCD, in order to develop new fetal hemoglobin inducing agents to treat people with sickle cell disease. Her work has led to a clinical trial of metformin as a fetal hemoglobin inducing agent in patients with hemoglobinopathies. Dr. Sheehan has also developed rheology biomarkers for use in assessing cure in gene based therapy, and collaborates with Dr. Gang Bao to assess the safety and efficacy of CRISPR /Cas9 based gene therapy in SCD.

Additional Details

This is a free event hosted by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. The Timothy A. Johnson Medical Scholar Lecture Series hosts clinician scientists who are exploring frontiers of medicine. These lectures are principally intended for Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine students and Virginia Tech students in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health graduate program. Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic faculty, staff, and students may also attend.

You May Also Be Interested In...

Home Item

The New Era in Alzheimer's Diagnosis and Treatment , home
May 14, 2026, 5:30 p.m. (Reception at 5 p.m.) | John C. Morris, M.D., Friedman Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Director, Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine | Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture
Home Item

Spatial Disorder in the Aging Brain , home
May 15, 2026, 11 a.m. | Paul Laurienti, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Human Neuroscience Research
Home Item

Unraveling Mechanisms of BCAA Compartmentalization and Crosstalk in Cardiometabolic Disease , home
May 29, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Phillip J. White, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, & Nutrition, Duke Molecular Physiology Institute, Duke University School of Medicine | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Exercise Medicine Research
Home Item

The Symphonic Biology of Exercise , home
June 4, 2026, 5:30 p.m. (Reception at 5 p.m.) | R. Sanders Williams, M.D., Professor and Dean Emeritus, School of Medicine, Senior Advisor for Science & Technology, Duke University | Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture