Jeffrey C. Murray, MD
Research Profile

Other projects include strategies to identify and characterize genes involved in several inherited human disorders with a major emphasis on cleft lip and palate. We have found several genes and gene/environment interactions that add to the burden of clefts. Many of our studies are carried out using large population and epidemiologic studies of children, particularly from the Philippines, Japan, Denmark and Brazil, and we work in close collaboration with investigators in these countries. We are also involved in studies of the prevention and better treatment of children with birth defects on several clinical trials.

Combining our molecular and developmental expertise with studies of epidemiology and environmental causes, holds out the promise for developing a better understanding of pediatric disorders. We hope to move into developing strategies for prevention that might include manipulation of genes or gene-environment interactions to prevent the primary occurrence of these tragic disorders.

Graduate students, residents and postdoctoral fellows in my laboratory serve in leadership roles for these projects and have primary responsibility for project design and implementation. We are strongly committed to providing opportunities for students in the classroom, the laboratory and in fieldwork to develop their interests and expertise in the application of genetic tools to an understanding of human disease and to clinical trials to improve outcomes.

Our People

• Adela Mansila
  
• Aimee Buhr
  
• Aline Petrin
  
• Azeez Butali
  
• Beth Davidson
  
• Brandon Alleman
  
• Dee Even
  
• Elizabeth Leslie
  
• Erin Brothers-Smith
  
• Farah Alul
  
• Jackie Leung-Heras
  
• Jamie L'Heureux
  
• Jennifer Rigdon
  
• Jennifer Standley
  
• Jinsil Kim
  
• Kate Durda
  
• Katy Mueller
  
• Kelli Ryckman
  
• Laura Knosp
  
• Laura Henkle
  
• Lindsey Rhea
  
• Nancy Davin
  
• Nansi Boghossian
  
• Raul Petrin
  
• Sarah Wente
  
• Susan Berends
  
• Susie McConnell
  
• Tamara Bush

Active Funding

• A family and population approach to gene discovery for preterm birth
  
• A Population, Genomic and Environmental Variable Approach to Prematurity
  
• Biochemical and Folate Pathway Gene Correlation in Orofacial Clefts
  
• Brain Structure, Function, and Growth in Children with Oral Clefts
  
• Craniofacial Anomalies Research Center
  
• FaceBase Management and Coordination Hub
  
• Genetic Studies of Maternal/Fetal Effects in Prematurity
  
• Genome-wide Association Studies of Prematurity and its Complications
  
• Identification of Maternal and Fetal Genetic Factors in Preterm Birth
  
• Innovative gene discovery for cleft lip and palate
  
• Molecular Genetic Epidemiology of Cleft Lip and Palate
  
• Myopia Development in Children
  
• National Children’s Study
  
• Oral Cleft Prevention Program
  
• Predicting children’s response to distraction from pain
  
• Preterm Birth Planning
  
• The Genetics of Specific Language Impairment
  
• The Role of Cholesterol in Preterm Birth
  
• University of Iowa Clinical and Translational Science Program
  

Affiliations:

• Department of Pediatrics
• Department of Epidemiology in Public Health
• Department of Biology
• College of Dentistry
• Murray Lab

Model System:

Humans material and clinical trials

Recent Publications:

Survival and morbidity outcomes for very low birth weight infants with Down syndrome. Boghossian NS, Hansen NI, Bell EF, Stoll BJ, Murray JC, Laptook AR, Shankaran S, Walsh MC, Das A, Higgins RD; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Pediatrics. 2010 Dec;126(6):1132-40.

Maternal genes and facial clefts in offspring: a comprehensive search for genetic associations in two population-based cleft studies from Scandinavia. Jugessur A, Shi M, Gjessing HK, Lie RT, Wilcox AJ, Weinberg CR, Christensen K, Boyles AL, Daack-Hirsch S, Nguyen TT, Christiansen L, Lidral AC, Murray JC. PLoS One. 2010 Jul 9;5(7):e11493.

Role of polymorphic variants as genetic modulators of infection in neonatal sepsis. Abu-Maziad A, Schaa K, Bell EF, Dagle JM, Cooper M, Marazita ML, Murray JC. Pediatr Res. 2010 Oct;68(4):323-9.

A genome-wide association study of cleft lip with and without cleft palate identifies risk variants near MAFB and ABCA4. Beaty TH, Murray JC, Marazita ML, Munger RG, Ruczinski I, Hetmanski JB, Liang KY, Wu T, Murray T, Fallin MD, Redett RA, Raymond G, Schwender H, Jin SC, Cooper ME, Dunnwald M, Mansilla MA, Leslie E, Bullard S, Lidral AC, Moreno LM, Menezes R, Vieira AR, Petrin A, Wilcox AJ, Lie RT, Jabs EW, Wu-Chou YH, Chen PK, Wang H, Ye X, Huang S, Yeow V, Chong SS, Jee SH, Shi B, Christensen K, Melbye M, Doheny KF, Pugh EW, Ling H, Castilla EE, Czeizel AE, Ma L, Field LL, Brody L, Pangilinan F, Mills JL, Molloy AM, Kirke PN, Scott JM, Arcos-Burgos M, Scott AF. Nat Genet. 2010 Jun;42(6):525-9.

FOXE1 association with both isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate, and isolated cleft palate. Moreno LM, Mansilla MA, Bullard SA, Cooper ME, Busch TD, Machida J, Johnson MK, Brauer D, Krahn K, Daack-Hirsch S, L'heureux J, Valencia-Ramirez C, Rivera D, López AM, Moreno MA, Hing A, Lammer EJ, Jones M, Christensen K, Lie RT, Jugessur A, Wilcox AJ, Chines P, Pugh E, Doheny K, Arcos-Burgos M, Marazita ML, Murray JC, Lidral AC. Hum Mol Genet. 2009 Dec 15;18(24):4879-96.

Maternal contributions to preterm delivery. Boyd HA, Poulsen G, Wohlfahrt J, Murray JC, Feenstra B, Melbye M. Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Dec 1;170(11):1358-6

Determination of genetic predisposition to patent ductus arteriosus in preterm infants. Dagle JM, Lepp NT, Cooper ME, Schaa KL, Kelsey KJ, Orr KL, Caprau D, Zimmerman CR, Steffen KM, Johnson KJ, Marazita ML, Murray JC. Pediatrics. 2009 Apr;123(4):1116-23.

Mutations in BMP4 are associated with subepithelial, microform, and overt cleft lip. Suzuki S, Marazita ML, Cooper ME, Miwa N, Hing A, Jugessur A, Natsume N, Shimozato K, Ohbayashi N, Suzuki Y, Niimi T, Minami K, Yamamoto M, Altannamar TJ, Erkhembaatar T, Furukawa H, Daack-Hirsch S, L'heureux J, Brandon CA, Weinberg SM, Neiswanger K, Deleyiannis FW, de Salamanca JE, Vieira AR, Lidral AC, Martin JF, Murray JC. Am J Hum Genet. 2009 Mar;84(3):406-1

See the complete list of our publications.