$200M Boosts Cancer Research

A Harvard-affiliated research center has received close to $200 million for research geared towards understanding cancer and other human diseases.

The Broad Institute, a Harvard-MIT collaboration whose mission is to apply emerging genomics research and technology towards medical application, was awarded a grant yesterday from the National Institute of Health’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to pursue initiatives involving whole genome DNA sequencing over the next four years.

The Broad Institute was selected as a grant recipient through a “competitive, peer-reviewed process,” according to the NHGRI Web site.

The funding will go towards major initiatives in both the medical applications of sequencing and research into technology that may revolutionize sequencing in terms of cost and efficiency, according to a NHGRI press release.

“It is gratifying that our sequencing centers are going to play a major role in bringing the promise of personalized health care closer to reality,” NHGRI Director Francis S. Collins said in a statement.

NHGRI—a leading player in the international effort to sequence the entire human genome, which was completed in 2003—has now shifted its focus towards “understanding the structure and function of the human genome and its role in human disease,” according to its mission statement.

In a press release, Broad Institute Director Eric Lander described DNA sequencing as “transforming biology and medicine by shedding light on such diverse problems as cancer, infectious disease, metabolic disease, gene regulation and evolution.” Because DNA carries all of the biological information that defines an organism, a more in-depth understanding of the genomic sequence, such as how it differs for different organisms and for various genetic diseases such as cancer, stands to revolutionize our approach to human health.

The Washington University School of Medicine and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston also received grants.