The Molecular Critical Care laboratory is in the new Children’s Research Institute facility located just west of the Children’s Hospital. This laboratory is overseen by Drs. Michael Quasney and Mary Dahmer and houses a variety of sophisticated equipment. The lab space includes five lab benches, a clean DNA extraction room, a tissue culture room, and a PCR room, three laminar flow and fume hoods, multiple freezers and refrigerators, several PCR machines and a 7500 Real Time PCR machine. Additional shared equipment is also available including multiple centrifuges, and a ABI 3130x1 genetic analyzer. Currently, research in this lab focuses on determining whether variations in DNA may explain the observed variability in the severity of disease, in the response to treatment, or in the development of complications observed in certain pediatric diseases. Drs. Quasney and Dahmer’s work involves genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in study participants. Identification of DNA polymorphisms or haplotypes associated with severity of disease may allow their use as markers, enabling the physician to better predict which children are more likely to develop more severe illness and/or which treatment is likely to result in the best response for a given individual. Current projects include investigating the influence of genetic variation in specific candidate genes involved in the regulation of lung function or innate immunity on the risk of severe lung injury in children with pneumonia, and characterizing mutations in the ABCA3 gene associated with lung disease. If you have any questions regarding the laboratory space and its capabilities, please feel free to contact Dr. Dahmer at 414-955-2374.