Prof. Andrew Clark, molecular biology and genetics, studies the molecular basis of deadly diseases by creating models of certain organ systems. Due to the promising nature of his research, the University named Clark the first Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences.

Last May, Nancy ’62 and Peter Meinig ’61 donated $25 million to Cornell University in support of innovative and productive research in the Life Sciences.

At a dinner last May, Peter Meinig said “We want this gift to set an example for all who are, or soon, will think about their own contributions to Cornell at this very important moment in our history.”

The competitive selection process examined Clark’s background, achievements and research initiatives, which altogether spoke loudly of his work.

“It is this huge sort of liberation,” Clark explained, with surprise and a sense of humility. “There are so many grants now, but this unrestricted money really opens up your imagination.”

Beyond recognition, the award includes direct financial support for each Investigator’s future research projects, amounting to $300,000 a year for a five-year period.

The exact allocation of the grant will be determined, but Clark currently operates various research projects, extending from the evolution of the Y chromosome in Drosophila, the fruit fly, to the identification of the nucleotide sequences of complex diseases.

“We work in the area of complex traits,” Clark asserted.

Clark’s most extensive research attempts to identify the causes of highly complex disorders, which are caused by mutations in various gene families. Examples of diseases that result from such a drastic mutation are cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Unlike Huntington’s disease and multiple sclerosis, mutations in a whole gene family cannot be generalized, since gene locations and sequences could act independently and specifically.

“Human genetics is incredibly effective in finding genetic defects,” Clark related, “but if it is a disease that doesn’t fit into a single gene defect, like heart disease, it requires a bit more [effort].”

In order to identify these families of defective genes, Clark must transition from an individual’s physical traits, the phenotype, to their molecular code, the genotype.

“So people have tried a variety of methods to map these families,” Clark described. “One [scientist] simply goes into a population and collects information on the roles of diet, exercise, and other factors,” a method only provided a modest and incomplete image of the causes of such complex diseases, he argued.

“The trick now is to add genetics to the [studies],” Clark insisted, noting that this approach would require him to compare multiple representatives of a population and consider correlations between phenotypes and genotypes and computing the frequency of certain traits to the frequency of specific genetic sequences, referred to as gene families. He ultimately hopes to use his results for diagnostic and preventative purposes f common diseases.

However, because individuals differ by over three million nucleotide pairs, Clark is faced with the challenge of distinguishing direct correlations from mere coincidence.

Clark also leads the Drosophila lab in the Biotech building, where he studies multiple features of the male-specific Y chromosome, its palindrome-like sequences and specific enzymes that it codes for. The goal of his particular study is to ultimately understand the origin and implications of this unique chromosome.