WELCOME

With the completion of the draft sequence of the dog genome, scientists now have powerful tools for understanding the relationship between genes and behavior.

Dr. Steven Hamilton and Dr. Karen Overall have joined efforts to develop genetic projects focused on canine behavioral conditions. Dr. Steven Hamilton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute. His research is focused on mapping genes for complex traits. Dr. Karen Overall is a world-renowned animal behaviorist and researcher at the Center of Neurobiology and Behavior at University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. They are particularly interested in studying dogs suffering from panic, anxiety related disorders, and aggression.

For one part of this project, much needed dog DNA is being requested from the dog community to understand the genetic diversity across breeds. Participating dogs of all pure or mixed breeds are welcomed. This approach, particularly useful in looking at common traits that appear to affect all or most dog populations, relies on using a diverse array of dogs. In this case, having a large number of dogs with the trait being studied is helpful.

The other major component of this project is to identify pedigrees from purebred dogs in which behavioral problems, such as anxiety and/or aggression, are apparent. Why purebred dogs? Genetic mapping of traits, whether coat color, cancer, or behavioral conditions, is often facilitated by using "genetically homogeneous" populations. This means that the shared genetic background of purebred dogs is circumscribed, or simply put, was handed down from a limited number of founder dogs for the breed. This ensures that all or most of the dogs with a trait within a breed are more likely to share the same genetic variation or mutation. This dramatically simplifies the process of finding the genes for these traits.

To help with the any changes or updates with this project, we have created this web site for your information. You will be able to be kept up to date on our projects and results, tell you about our researchers, provide links to related projects, and let you know how you can become involved.