The Gairdner Awards are Canada’s foremost international awards, given to outstanding medical researchers who have made a significant contribution to the quality of human life. The 2011 recipients include Dr. Michael Hayden, Dr. Jules Hoffmann (who also won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) and Dr. Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh. Nicole (@narbour) caught up with Dr. Bird in Toronto to talk about his work and UK-Canada relations:
Dr. Bird has a long list of awards and distinguished appointments, but here we’re going to focus on the research that so impressed the Gairdner Foundation: “pioneering discoveries on DNA methylation and its role in gene expression”. DNA methylation is a normal biochemical process that alters gene expression by adding methyl (-CH3) groups to certain base pairs. This is an epigenetic change – it alters gene function, but does not change the underlying DNA sequences. In the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome, a mutation in a gene known as MECP2 disrupts the normal production of the protein MeCP2, which binds specifically to methylated DNA. This disruption results in the abnormal functioning of nerve cells, leading to developmental regression and autism- or cerebral palsy-like signs and symptoms. Dr. Bird showed in a mouse model that restoring the function of the MECP2 gene could reverse the effects of the mutation and potentially lead to a cure.
In essence, Dr. Bird has shown (in mice) how changes to DNA fit into our understanding of Rett syndrome, and how we might create therapies to cure it.