title: The Fourth National Institutes of Health Symposium on the Functional Genomics of Critical Injury: Surviving stress from organ systems to molecules.
abstract: Recent strides in computational biology and high-throughput technologies have generated considerable interest in understanding complex biological systems. The application of these technologies to critical illness and injury offers the potential to define adaptive and maladaptive programs of gene expression induced by infection, shock, trauma, or other inflammatory triggers, and to detect biomarkers and genetic polymorphisms linked to these responses and outcome. A systems biology approach is timely because despite substantial effort, treatment approaches directed at a single mediator or inflammatory pathway have met with little success in altering outcomes of critically ill or injured patients. Highlights from the Fourth National Institute of Health Functional Genomics of Critical Illness and Injury Symposium are described herein, in addition to deliverables for the field identified during panel discussions. Next steps for the community and suggestions for future research are presented.
authors.affiliation: Center for Critical Illness and Health Engineering and the Department of Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA. cobb@wustl.edu
authors.forename: J Perren
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cobb
authors.forename: Anthony F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Suffredini
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Danner
mesh_terms: D019295:Computational Biology; D003422:Critical Care / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D010597:Pharmacogenetics; D040901:Proteomics; D012106:Research / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D049490:Systems Biology; D014481:United States; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy