NIH launches sequencing center

NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) launched the Centers for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG), a new genomic sequencing and analysis center to investigate mutations associated with common diseases. NIH said that pending availability of funds, NHGRI would commit about $240 million over four years to CCDG, which intends to sequence "tens of thousands" of genomes for each common disease evaluated.

CCDG initially will focus on cardiovascular, metabolic and neuropsychiatric diseases. NHGRI eventually will select additional diseases for study, which it said may include Alzheimer's disease, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and bone and skeletal disorders. Research will be conducted at Washington University in St. Louis, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Baylor College of Medicine and New York Genome Center. NIH's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) will contribute an additional $20 million to CCDG. ...