The transcriptomic revolution and radiation biology

Abstract

Purpose

This article will briefly review the origins and evolution of functional genomics, first describing the experimental technology, and then some of the approaches applied to data analysis and visualization. It will emphasize application of functional genomics to radiation biology, using examples from the author’s work to illustrate several key types of analysis. It concludes with a look at non-coding RNA, alternative reading of the genome, and single-cell transcriptomics, some of the innovative areas that may help to shape future research in radiation biology and oncology.

Conclusions

Transcriptomic approaches have provided insight into many areas of radiation biology and medicine, and innovations in technology and data analysis approaches promise continued contributions to radiation science in the future.

Keywords:

• Ionizing radiation
• gene expression
• transcriptomics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The preparation of this manuscript was financially supported in part by NCI [R01 CA256840] and by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [U19-AI067773] to the Center for High-Throughput Minimally Invasive Radiation Biodosimetry.

Notes on contributors

Sally A. Amundson

Sally A. Amundson is an Associate Professor in the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. She is a member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academy of Science, and at the time of writing is serving as Vice President of the Radiation Research Society.