Gene Environment Interactions - by Moyra Smith (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Gene Environment Interactions: Nature and Nurture in the Twenty-first Century offers a rare, synergistic view of ongoing revelations in gene environment interaction studies, drawing together key themes from epigenetics, microbiomics, disease etiology, and toxicology to illuminate pathways for clinical translation and the paradigm shift towards precision medicine. Across eleven chapters, Dr. Smith discusses interactions with the environment, human adaptations to environmental stimuli, pathogen encounters across the centuries, epigenetic modulation of gene expression, transgenerational inheritance, the microbiome's intrinsic effects on human health, and the gene-environment etiology of cardiovascular, metabolic, psychiatric, behavioral and monogenic disorders.

Later chapters illuminate how our new understanding of gene environment interactions are driving advances in precision medicine and novel treatments. In addition, the book's author shares strategies to support clinical translation of these scientific findings to improve heath literacy among the general population.

Review Quotes

"The author is a pediatric and medical geneticist who has compiled an encyclopedic collection of information on gene-environment interactions. Her book contains 12 lengthy chapters, each with about 50 to 80 useful references on the topics she discusses. I was impressed by the immense amount of reading the author did in order to put this book together. Smith stresses recent findings and not the historical paths leading up to the findings, making this a useful reference for relating disorders and their variants for differential diagnosis. She identifies hundreds of genes of significance for developmental and systemic disorders and ties them togetherin her 12 chapters. Her tables of genes involved in major illnesses and systemic failures will be useful for genetic counselors and for those teaching human or medical genetics courses. Those teaching genetics will find the references especially helpful for backing up their generalizations with numerous facts that provide support and detail." --The Quarterly Review of Biology

"There are several books on epigenetics available in the market. However, this book is extremely well done. The information presented is unique, mainly due to Dr. Smith's perspective. This is a must-read book for geneticists in general, but it is of great utility to all those interested in epigenetics. Congratulations to Dr. Smith on a job well done." --Doody