November 20, 2006: NHGRI Funds Large-Scale Sequencing Centers
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announces the results of the recent competition for support of its three large-scale sequencing centers, strengthening efforts to use the power of DNA sequencing to unlock the genomic secrets of human diseases.
October 25, 2006: Scientists Publish Analysis of Honey Bee Genome
A research consortium, supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces the publication of a high-quality draft genome sequence of the western honey bee, finding that its genome is more similar to humans than any insect sequenced thus far.
October 16, 2006: NIH Announces Two Integral Components of The Cancer Genome Atlas Pilot Project
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), both parts of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announce another two of the components of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Pilot Project, a three-year, $100 million collaboration to test the feasibility of using large-scale genome analysis technologies to identify important genetic changes involved in cancer.
October 4, 2006: NHGRI Aims to Make DNA Sequencing Faster, More Cost Effective
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces the latest round of grant awards totaling more than $13 million to speed the development of innovative sequencing technologies that reduce the cost of DNA sequencing and expand the use of genomics in medical research and health care.
September 28, 2006: NHGRI Funds Assessment of Public Attitudes About Population-Based Studies on Genes and Environment The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces it has awarded $2 million to the Genetics and Public Policy Center of the Berman Bioethics Institute at Johns Hopkins University to conduct a public discussion about future potential large U.S. population-based studies examining the roles of genes and environment in human health.
September 13, 2006:National Institutes of Health to Map Genomic Changes of Lung, Brain, and Ovarian Cancers The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), both part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announce the first three cancers that will be studied in the pilot phase of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. The cancers to be studied in the TCGA Pilot Project are lung, brain (glioblastoma), and ovarian.
September 7, 2006: Statement from the National Institutes of Health on Cancer Genetics Findings at Johns Hopkins University Systematic, genome-wide scans of two types of cancer - breast cancer and colorectal cancer - have revealed important new findings about the genetic underpinnings of these diseases, a team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, an NCI-designated Cancer Center, reports in the September 7 online issue of Science.
September 7, 2006:NIH Launches Knockout Mouse Project The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today awarded a set of cooperative agreements, totaling up to $52 million over five years, to launch the Knockout Mouse Project. The goal of this program is to build a comprehensive and publicly available resource of knockout mutations in the mouse genome. The knockout mice produced from this resource will be extremely useful for the study of human disease.
August 21, 2006: NHGRI Awards $54 Million to Three Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces grants totaling $54 million over five years to establish one new Center of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS) and continue support for two existing centers.
August 15, 2006: New Findings Offer More Complete View Of Breast Cancer Gene Mutations in U.S. Population A large study funded by the National Institutes of Health has provided the clearest picture yet of the prevalence in the U.S. population of mutations in two genes associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. The genes are called Breast Cancer 1 (BRCA1) and Breast Cancer 2 (BRCA2). In addition, the study identified key predictors for assessing which women are most likely to carry these genetic mutations.
July 24, 2006:New Paradigm Will Help Identify Leads for Drug Discovery A new screening approach can profile compounds in large chemical libraries more accurately and precisely than standard methods, speeding the production of data that can be used to probe biological activities and identify leads for drug discovery, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Chemical Genomics Center, part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research's Molecular Libraries and Imaging Initiative, reports.
July 19, 2006:NHGRI Announces Latest Sequencing Targets The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces several new sequencing targets including the Northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys), setting the stage for completing a quest to sequence the genome of at least one non-human primate genome from each of the major positions along the evolutionary primate tree and making available an essential resource for researchers unraveling the genetic factors involved in human health and disease.
July 16, 2006: Researchers Uncover Genetic Clues to a Common Form of Age-Related Dementia Researchers find that genetic alterations originally identified in people suffering from a rare disease may also be an important risk factor for the second most common form of dementia among the elderly.
June 12, 2006:NIH Launches Effort to Place More Knockout Mice in Public Repositories As part of its ongoing effort to build a public, genome-wide library of "knockout" mouse models for the study of human disease, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards $800,000 to two public mouse repositories to acquire genetically engineered mouse lines not yet widely accessible to researchers.
June 7, 2006:NIH Expands Initiative to Encourage Bench-to-Bedside Research The National Institutes of Health has awarded nearly $4 million to fund 19 bench-to-bedside medical research projects designed to speed translation of promising laboratory discoveries into new medical treatments. The National Human Genome Research Institute is among the four teams funded to target minority health and health disparities.
April 25, 2006:Genetic Finding Suggests Alternative Treatment Strategy For Common, Complex Skin Disorders and Asthma A genetic finding by researchers at the National Institutes of Health provides new insight into the cause of a series of related, common and complex illnesses - including hay fever and asthma as well as the skin disorders eczema and psoriasis - and suggests a novel therapeutic approach.
April 17, 2006:Genomic Researchers Head To New England Schools for National DNA Day On April 25, the fourth annual National DNA Day, researchers and professionals from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) will serve as DNA Day Ambassadors and fan out across the nation, with an emphasis this year on New England.
March 29, 2006: Genetics Experts Join Together to Support Efforts To Identify Remaining Hurricane Katrina Victims A multi-institution team of experts, coordinated by geneticists from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is supporting efforts to identify more than 70 bodies still unidentified in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
March 15, 2006:NHGRI Announces New Sequencing Targets The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced its latest round of sequencing targets, with an emphasis on enhancing the understanding of how human genes function and how genomic differences between individuals influence the risk of health and disease.
March 15, 2006:Gene Influences Antidepressant Response Whether depressed patients will respond to an antidepressant depends, in part, on which version of a gene they inherit, a study led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has discovered.
February 28, 2006: U.S. Surgeon General Urges Spanish-Speaking Americans To Know Their Family Health History Calling on all Spanish-speaking Americans to "know their family history," U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., announces the availability of an updated version of a free, computerized tool in Spanish, designed to help Spanish-speaking families gather their health information.En Español
February 9, 2006:Researchers Assemble Second Non-Human Primate Genome A multi-center team has deposited the draft genome sequence of the rhesus macaque monkey into free public databases for use by the worldwide research community, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announces.
February 8, 2006:Two NIH Initiatives Launch Intensive Efforts to Determine Genetic and Environmental Roots of Common Diseases The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the creation of two new, closely related initiatives to speed up research on the causes of common diseases such as asthma, arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.
January 10, 2006:NHGRI Names Co-Chiefs of Inherited Disease Research Branch The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announces the appointment of a husband-and-wife scientific team, Joan E. Bailey-Wilson, Ph.D., and Alexander F. Wilson, Ph.D., as the new co-chiefs of its Inherited Disease Research Branch, one of the seven research branches in NHGRI's Division of Intramural Research.