Dr. Michael Rudnicki has initiated an international consortium to conduct third-generation research of the Human Genome Project. The consortium met for the first time last week in Ottawa.
This collaborative research project could have far-reaching implications in the fight against some of the most debilitating and deadly diseases.
Dr. Rudnicki, senior scientist at the Ottawa Health Research Institute and professor in the Department of Medicine, is one of the world’s leading authorities on genomics and stem cell research. Already, top researchers throughout the world have pledged their support for the initiative.
In 1990, the U.S. launched the Human Genome Project that sought to identify all of the approximately 30,000 genes in human DNA. A working draft of the entire human genome sequence was announced in June 2000. This discovery eventually led to a second generation of research to identify all the proteins encoded by the genes with a view to understanding their role in normal tissue and the protein alterations in diseased states.
The proposed initiative is a third generation genome project that will integrate all of this information. The project will define the genetic circuit board that controls the expression of genes in cells during the formation of all tissues and organs in the body.
