Pharmacogenetics is the study of the role of inheritance in individual variations in drug response and in the occurrence of adverse drug reactions.

This laboratory studies the pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics of enzymes that catalyze the metabolism of drugs, other xenobiotics, neurotransmitters and hormones. For example, we have shown that inherited differences in methyl and sulfate conjugation of drugs are responsible for large individual differences in drug metabolism, drug response and adverse reaction to drugs. The techniques used include those of pharmacology, biochemistry, molecular biology and genomics. Specifically, this research involves the development of enzyme assays, enzyme purification, the cloning of cDNAs and genes for these enzymes, the identification of genetic polymorphisms and study of their relationship to inherited differences in drug metabolism or human diseases. Our molecular genetic experiments have resulted in the cloning of cDNAs and genes for a series of methyltransferase and sulfotransferase enzymes -- as well as the development of molecular tests that make it possible to protect patients with leukemia and transplantation recipients from life-threatening, genetically-mediated adverse drug reactions. This research is designed to increase our understanding of the role of inheritance in individual variation in response to drugs and in the pathophysiology of human diseases.