Thursday, August 14, 2025 – 8PM Eastern.
Zoom link below.
Join us for a FREE informational webinar with Dr. Micah Halpern, PhD, Founder and Principal Scientist of Gensol Diagnostics. Dr. Halpern has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, an M.S. in Industrial Chemistry with a focus on Forensic DNA Analysis from the University of Central Florida, and a B.S. in Biology from the Florida Institute of Technology.
Prior to establishing GenSol, Dr. Halpern worked as a Senior Scientist at Midwest Research Institute (MRI) where, he managed projects ranging from forensic science to pathogen detection. Dr. Halpern also worked as a laboratory researcher at the Brookfield Zoo Conservation Genetics Laboratory in Brookfield, Illinois studying the genetic diversity of wild and captive animal populations.
Dr. Halpern has co-authored peer-reviewed journal articles in research areas ranging from forensic science to microbiology to conservation biology. He has published viral genome sequences and has multiple pending patents. He has also served as a reviewer for a number of scientific journals and as a peer reviewer for national grant funding agencies.
Dr. Halpern will speak to BFdBCA regarding the DNA tests available to help breeders make informed decisions with their breeding programs. This will include both health related tests for conditions like hip dysplasia and POAG and cosmetic factors like coat color, coat length or furnishings. He’ll discuss the concepts of risk-based association/ incomplete penetrance as well as clear vs. carrier vs. affected status.
Dr. Halpern will spend time discussing the inheritance of coat color. As amazing as it might seem, there are only two pigments known as eumelanin and phaeomelanin that make up all possible dog coat colors. The eumelanin pigment can be found in black or brown versions and the phaeomelanin pigment can be found in yellow or red versions.
While some mutations produce a single coat color (black, brown, yellow, and red), there are other mutations that can then act on this base coat color and lead to other colors and patterns. D-Locus and I-Locus mutations can affect the distribution or saturation of color in a dog’s coat. This causes the color to be less distributed throughout the coat which leads to dilution of black, brown, and yellow to colors like blue, charcoal, grey, lilac, or champagne. I-Locus will also dilute a dog’s coat color but only for a dog with a yellow to red base color. There are even mutations like S-Locus that blocks the production of pigment cells all together and lead to white coloring in a range from patches to an all-white coat depending on how many copies of the mutation the dog carries.
Dr. Halpern’s presentation will be followed by a Question & Answer period. The presentation will be recorded so that it can be shared and watched at a later date.
Thursday, August 14, 2025 – 8PM Eastern
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81800781607?pwd=yIIKxhZWzeTFzn8316E3LWOu9daYeI.1
