Jason Karnes

My long-term research goal is to identify biomarkers that can be translated into early diagnostic and preventive strategies and to provide mechanistic insight into the pathogenesis of HIT and other immune-mediated adverse drug reactions (ADRs). I began to pursue this goal during my pharmacy training, which provided me with the expertise to develop clinically-oriented research hypotheses and a desire to overcome unmet clinical needs for prevention of ADRs. My graduate research training was supervised by Drs. Julie Johnson and Rhonda Cooper-DeHoff (University of Florida), who are world-leaders in cardiovascular (CV) pharmacogenomics. My projects focused on pharmacogenomics of adverse metabolic effects of CV drugs and allowed me to garner skills in pharmacogenomics, human subjects research, statistics, bioinformatics, and translational science. My training continued as a research fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Dan Roden (Vanderbilt University), also a world-leading expert in CV pharmacogenomics. My postdoctoral projects employ genome-wide association study and rare variant analysis techniques to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) and other ADRs, empowered by BioVU, Vanderbilt's DNA biorepository coupled to electronic medical records. During my postdoctoral experience, I came to realize the unmet clinical needs of immunologic ADRs and the incredible potential of genomics for clinical impact in this area. I continue to pursue research related to pharmacogenomics of ADRs on faculty at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy.