The city of Huntsville experienced a tragedy on February 12th, 2010, when a biology professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville shot six of her colleagues, killing three of them, during a department meeting.

This shooting’s impact reached far beyond Huntsville’s city limits, making national news and leaving millions in disbelief of the cruel acts perpetrated right here at our local university.

As we approach the 15th anniversary of this atrocity, we mourn the victims and all of those affected by this dark day in our city’s history.

However, in the midst of the grieving and hardship, there is still hope for a better future.

Dr. Joseph Ng attended the meeting in which the shooting unfolded and he survived. In the time following the event, Dr. Ng noticed varying responses and reactions from the other survivors.

This inspired him to begin research on the relationship between trauma, the body, and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Dr. Ng’s findings led him to his current position as Chief Science Officer at iXpressGenes (iXG), a biotech company based at HudsonAlpha that specializes in testing for and treating trauma-related illness.

The Huntsville Business Journal sat down with John Schmitt, the newly appointed CEO of iXG, to discuss the company’s recently developed trauma autoimmune indicator (TAI) screening.

Schmitt is a twenty-year Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq and has suffered from PTSD himself.

The TAI screening tests patients for dysregulation of RNA, specifically in T-cell receptor transcriptome sequences.

“Dysregulation is disease,” Schmitt said. By identifying any dysregulation, preventative measures can be taken to combat the development of trauma-related illnesses.

After a patient is screened, they are placed in one of three categories: low, medium, and high risk.

Low risk means that no dysregulation was detected and the patient’s immune system is operating properly. Medium risk indicates that a level of acute stress or inflammation was detected and needs to be managed and monitored. If a patient is at high risk, they have an exceedingly unfavorable amount of dysregulation related to trauma and are in danger of developing trauma-induced illnesses.

By analyzing this data produced by the TAI screening, oxidative stress and inflammation induced by trauma can be detected well ahead of conventional techniques.

Additionally, oxidative stress and inflammation can be linked to depression and anxiety, which are hallmark symptoms of PTSD.

The TAI screening also has the potential to save patients with PTSD money in regards to healthcare spending. Several studies show that, on average, people with PTSD spend more on healthcare than individuals without the disorder.

Early intervention with the TAI screening could prevent these extra expenditures by detecting a patient’s risk for the development of PTSD and other stress-induced illnesses.

“Nobody is talking about prevention of PTSD, and we’re gonna do it,” Schmitt told the Huntsville Business Journal.

Schmitt stated iXG’s long-term goals are to get full FDA approval for the TAI screening, in hopes that the test will eventually become routine, similar to a cholesterol exam where levels are checked annually.

He believes that iXG’s greatest challenge moving forward will be eliminating preconceived notions and the stigmas associated with PTSD.

The work being done at iXG will assist people in recovering and maintaining their physical and mental health after experiencing trauma.

Although the roots of iXG are here in Huntsville, the company’s efforts will expand far beyond the city and spread throughout the country.

“For this team, we all have our histories of trauma. This is so much more than a business, this is our life’s work. This town has a history of peoples’ life work changing the world, and we’re excited to give it a go one more time,” Schmitt stated.