Major Grant Program Announced by Australian led Human Variome Project

Paris, 12 June — During the opening session of its 4^th Biennial Meeting today, the Human Variome Project announced the establishment of a major grant program to be administered in collaboration with the Human Variome Project Chinese Node. The Human Variome Project/China Country Development Program will provide grants of $75,000 to projects that promote knowledge exchange across national boundaries in the areas of medical genetics and genomics.

“Now, more than ever, we are living in a world where our individual genetic makeup will determine the course of the medical treatment we will undergo,” said Professor Xitao Li, Director of the Human Variome Project Chinese Node and a member of the Board of Directors for the International Human Variome Project, while announcing the HVPCCDP. “But more importantly, we are living in a world that is beginning to realise that every piece of information discovered about our genes and their function will have tremendous impact on a number of people all around the world.”

The aim of the Human Variome Project/China Country Development Program is to support the growth of a viable, sustainable network of HVP Country Nodes across the world. This growing network will support the achievement of the broader aims of the Human Variome Project including ensuring that all information on genetic variation can be collected, curated, interpreted and shared freely and openly, and that this open sharing will result in speedier, better and cheaper diagnosis and treatment of genetic disorders.

“By focusing on projects involving partnerships of art least two countries we will increase opportunities for collaboration in the field of medical genetic and genomics. In particular, we want to build and strengthen existing collaborations between HVP Consortium members that have been operating for some time,” said Li.

ENDS

About the Human Variome Project

The Human Variome Project is an international consortium of scientists and health professionals working to improve global health through the free and open sharing of genetic variation information. It was established in 2006 at a meeting in Melbourne, Australia, with the support of UNESCO and WHO.

The Human Variome Project acts as an umbrella organisation across multiple countries, institutions and initiatives. It works to encourage communication and collaboration around it central vision—the improvement of global health trough the sharing of genomic knowledge.

The Human Variome Project has four roles: to establish and maintain the standards, systems and infrastructure necessary for the worldwide collection, curation, interpretation and sharing of information across the genome; to advocate and promote ethical behaviour in the field of medical genetics and genomics; to share knowledge about our genome and its function in determining health; and to assist individuals and nations build their capacity to address genetics aspects of individual and global health.

The Human Variome Project is an offical NGO Partner of UNESCO with consultative status. The International Coordinating Office is located in Melbourne, Australia.

More information on the HVPCCDP and the Human Variome Project, including high-resolution photos and a transcript of Professor Xitao Li’s speech, can be found on the Human Variome Project website (www.humnvariomeproject.org) or by contacting the International Coordinating Office via Timothy D. Smith (tim@variome.org; +61 419 357 589).