About the Webinar
Substance use disorders (SUDs) are extremely complex, with genetics influencing risk and treatment success. The National Institute of Drug Abuse Genetics Consortium (NIDA GRC) was founded in 1999 to coordinate efforts of investigators studying substance use disorders and addictive behaviors. Biological samples from this resource have been used to develop genomics-based data sets to understand abuse disorders and create genetic tools to predict disease and the efficacy of behavioral treatment. BioRealm has developed Smokescreen, a custom genome-wide platform to comprehensively understand and screen the genetics of SUDs. Since its launch, researchers have made use of the platform to screen over 50K participants. Concurrently, the platform has been used in conjunction with artificial intelligence (AI) to identify combinations of genotypes that can help predict opioid treatment success and assist smokers in quitting. This presentation will discuss both the NIDA genetics resource and the Smokescreen platform as it relates to NIDA’s mission.
About the Presenter
Dr. Andy Brooks serves as the Chief Scientific Officer for Brooks Life Sciences. Dr. Brooks is also the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Technology Development of RUCDR Infinite Biologics at Rutgers University. As the Chief Operating Officer of RUCDR Infinite Biologics, Dr. Brooks oversees the operations of all laboratories within RUCDR, ensuring consistent and superior quality standards for all services. RUCDR Infinite Biologics, is the world’s largest university-based biorepository with a focus on creating and implementing technologies for biomaterial quality control and sample chain of custody. Dr. Brooks is a molecular neuroscientist, whose research focuses on deciphering the molecular mechanisms that underlie memory and learning. Dr. Brooks is a well-recognized genomicist and has been involved in the development and implementation of cutting-edge molecular-based technologies for both nucleic acid and protein analyses. He has worked to automate and develop the service infrastructure to provide high-throughput sample management and analysis for DNA, RNA, and protein-based technologies to hundreds of labs globally.
