On January 16, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the NIH, launched the Centers for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG) to study the genetic factors that make up common and uncommon human diseases. The CCDG is an extension of the NHGRI’s flagship Genome Sequencing program, which focused on wide ranging genome sequencing projects. Researchers at the CCDG will study select groups of diseases to determine how genomes play a role in their development and inhibition. NHGRI also announced the next phase of a complementary program, the Centers for Mendelian Genomics (CMG), which will continue efforts in understanding the genomic makeups of rare and inherited disorders. For each disease that CCDG studies, researchers will sequence thousands of genomes from populations with and without the illness, creating a data pool of healthy and diseased genomes to draw from for analysis. NHGRI is planning to invest $240 million and $40 million into the CCDG and CMG, respectively, over a four-year period. A new Coordinating Center will also receive $4 million funding over four years for research collaboration, data analysis and program outreach facilitation.

Source: NIH