MENDELIA – Canine DNA Health and Breed Genetics

to identify breed DNA, traits and possible breed-related health risks for pet owners. 

 

Be among the first to grasp the future in this exclusive interview with Founder and President, Matthew Markus, conducted by Linda D. Witouski.

 

LDW:

Matthew, would you mind giving us a brief introduction to Mendelia?

 

MM:

Sure, Mendelia is a small biotechnology company located in St. Louis, Missouri. We are in business to develop genetic tests and to make genetic information available to owners of companion animals. Right now, we are exclusively focused on canines.

 

LDW:

Why are you working with canines?

 

MM:

There are three reasons why we are working with dogs. First, the Broad Institute recently released an assembly of a sequenced female Boxer's genome to the public. This is the canine equivalent of the Human Genome Project, and a great help to small, research-oriented companies like ours. The second reason for our interest in dogs is that there are over 40 million dog-owning households in the United States. Since most of these households take a great interest in the health and well-being of their animals, we are confident that our services will have some appeal. The final reason for our work in dogs is that dogs are just great animals. Every day, I am excited about our work and feel good about potentially giving back to man's best friend.

 

LDW:

What was the impetus for starting Mendelia?

 

MM:

My co-founder, Jason Robarge, and I, went to graduate school together. When we graduated in 2005, we both realized that the cost of examining variations in DNA sequences was rapidly decreasing. In some ways, this reminded us of the cost decreases seen in computer components in the early 1980s. Prior to that 80s, only Ph.D.'s in universities worked with computers. Then, along came companies like Apple Computer. At that point, everything changed. Individuals were finally able to use computer technology and society experienced an upsurge in creativity and connectivity. We started Mendelia because we feel that this is the start of a new era, an era in which individuals will benefit from direct access to genetic technology. We hope to play a small role in bringing genetic information directly to dog owners and we are sure that they will use this information in new and interesting ways to benefit dogs and society.

 

LDW:

What problem is Mendelia trying to solve? Does Mendelia plan on working with kennel clubs and veterinarians or does it plan to compete against them?

 

MM:

These are good questions. Mendelia's approach to canine genetics fits in somewhere between kennel clubs and veterinarians. Kennel clubs use genetics to identify dogs and to verify their parentage. They do this to ensure that their registries are accurate and, in so doing, they maintain the integrity of breeds. Veterinarians use genetics in a prescriptive manner. That is, they may use the results of a genetic test to recommend a specific treatment or an exact dosage of a drug. These tests address very specific and important questions. Yet, rarely does the owner get to see this genetic information or play a part in its use. That is OK under these testing situations, but Mendelia believes that there is room for dog owners to directly access and use genetic information to learn about their animals.

 

Through Mendelia, we hope that dog owners can use genetics in an inquisitive manner. For instance, a dog owner might use Mendelia to find out about the breed composition of their mixed-breed dog. Another dog owner might use Mendelia to discover what ailments his dog is predisposed to, study the symptoms associated with these ailments, and, then, watch for early signs of disease in his dog. Nothing like this really exists today.

 

LDW:

What will be Mendelia's first genetic test, and when will Mendelia introduce this test?

 

MM:

We have been working on a breed differentiation test that we hope to introduce in 2008. Once this test is operational, Mendelia will be able to provide a customer with the composition of his or her canine in terms of one or more official American Kennel Club breeds. We feel that this test is beneficial since it has the potential to give mixed-breed dog owners an understanding and appreciation of purebreds.

 

LDW:

What further work must be done before Mendelia can bring its first genetic test to market?

 

MM:

We have developed a proof of concept system that can differentiate breeds of chicken. Our next move is to test our system on canines. In order to do this, we are attempting to obtain DNA samples from various purebred canines.

 

LDW:

How does Mendelia obtain DNA samples for its research and development efforts?

 

MM:

We have been using e-mail to ask responsible dog fanciers for DNA sample donations from AKC registered dogs. If a fancier agrees to help us, we send them one or more DNA test kits. Each test kit contains a brush or swab that the fancier uses to collect cheek cells from a dog. For each donation, we provide a small cash payment to the fancier as a token of our appreciation.

 

LDW:

How can Mendelia afford to pay purebred dog fanciers for canine DNA samples?

 

MM:

How can we afford not to? Building Mendelia is like building a house, and each DNA sample is like a brick. One cannot just take bricks, build a house, and sell it back to the brick makers! Unfortunately, many of our corporate competitors seem to have a different attitude. It is surprising how much genetic material is collected under the auspices of government and university research programs only to end up benefiting corporations. Mendelia will always provide something of value for each DNA sample that we receive. For now, this value mainly comes through monetary awards. In the future, it could come through discounts on tests, free testing, or valuable test results. We are able to do this because we keep our expenses low by contracting out lab work and running a virtual office.

 

LDW:

From what breeds is Mendelia collecting DNA samples?

 

MM:

Mendelia is currently collecting DNA samples from 61 breeds. These breeds are generally considered to be "popular" breeds with many AKC registrations per year.

 

LDW:

How is the DNA sample collection going? Is Mendelia experiencing any difficulties?

 

MM:

We have faced a few difficulties. Initially, we encountered a lot of healthy skepticism, particularly from the English Bulldog community. We also encountered a problem with mold growth on swabs that we received during our first round of sample collection. This was a setback, but we were fortunate to find an article in the American Journal of Epidemiology that detailed how a team from the University of Iowa and the Yale School of Medicine dealt with a similar problem.

 

LDW:

Does Mendelia have a Privacy Policy? What is novel about Mendelia's Privacy Policy?

 

MM:

Yes, Mendelia has a privacy policy governing how Mendelia treats the personal information and biological material that it receives for test development. Our privacy policy is pretty standard although, we do have a unique promise in there. Basically, our pledge is that we are not in business to sell or share any donated biological material with other companies. We think that this allows the fancy to retain a degree of control over the DNA samples that are donated to us. Samples will stay within Mendelia and only support the development of Mendelia's technology. Samples donated to Mendelia cannot be passed to another company, especially one with a different agenda, even if that company comes along and buys or takes control of Mendelia.

 

LDW:

What is Mendelia's position on Breed Specific Legislation and its associated technology? Do you feel that DNA might be used at some later date by groups intending to pressure legislatures into the banning of more breeds?

 

MM:

We don't support BSL. Our technology is designed to empower individual dog owners, not bureaucrats. We are cognizant of the fact that breed differentiation tests have the potential to act as a supporting technology to BSL by detecting supposedly "dangerous" breeds within mixed-breed dogs. We are attempting to build many safeguards into our technology to prevent it from being used in mandatory testing scenarios. For example, we are currently not collecting any samples from American Staffordshire Terriers, a common target of BSL. This way, our test will not be able to detect a genetic signature for American Staffordshire Terriers. Additionally, as I previously mentioned, we designed our privacy policy to prevent a competitor from acquiring Mendelia's DNA samples in order to advance questionable research projects.

 

LDW:

Matthew, what sort of technical background do you have? I know you have several degrees, what are they?

 

MM:

I am mainly a computer and math guy. In the past, I have been involved in Internet and privacy issues. For instance, my previous company, PrivacyBank.com, was an electronic wallet company that graded privacy policies on e-commerce websites and allowed individuals to populate web forms with their personal information via a single mouse click. Later, when I had the opportunity, I went back to school in order to learn how to apply mathematics and statistics to problems in biology. I have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science/Mathematics, a Master of Engineering Management, and a Master of Science in Genetic Epidemiology.

 

LDW:

Matthew, what is your role at Mendelia?

 

MM:

Technically, I am the President; however, we pride ourselves on running a lean company, which means that I serve in many capacities. Lately, my main role has been Dog Research Project Coordinator. In that role, I basically contact purebred fanciers and walk them through our canine cell donation process.

 

LDW:

Matthew, I know you are family man. Do you own any dogs?

 

MM:

An embarrassing question. No, I do not personally own any dogs. I frequently babysit a Chocolate Lab, though, and we have a lot of fun together - walks, belly rubs, hide-the-toy, you name it, it's a blast. Once Mendelia gets further along in its development, I will probably get a dog. I especially like Rhodesian Ridgebacks, but that might be too much dog for me to handle.

 

LDW:

What are Mendelia's long-term plans?

 

MM:

In the future, we hope to explore diseases shared by both humans and canines. Many of these diseases are complex in nature, such as diabetes and cancer. It is interesting, but I just read that a mutation that gives rise to progressive rod-cone degeneration in dogs may also give rise to a form of retinitis pigmentosa in humans. Clearly, there is a lot of promise in translating research between canines and humans.

 

LDW:

Where can our readers find more information on Mendelia?

 

MM:

You can visit our website at http://www.mendelia.com where we have a list of frequently asked questions and other materials. We will be updating our website over the next several months as we announce new initiatives and continue our work.

 

LDW:

Matthew, thank you very much for your time!  I'm sure we will be doing this again in the near future!  Please do keep me updated on your progress so I can let our readers know!

 

MM:

Thank you, Linda, and your readers, for the opportunity to allow us to let people know who we are and what we are all about.  I, too, am sure we will do this again and I will be happy to keep you up to date!!

 

by Linda D. Witouski 

---

 

MORE ARTICLES REGARDING RESEARCH:

Cancer Study Samples  Cancer Research Projects Need Blood Samples.  List of Cancers, who to contact, etc.  And the flip side of such studies so you know what to ask. Double bonus, another related Canine Cancer Project also provided, Courtesy of DogCare @ TheDogPlace.org