Scotland secures £15m genome investment
12 Jan 2015
Experts from the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow will partner with genome sequencing firm Illumina to establish the Scottish Genomes Partnership (SGP).
Utilising a £15 million investment, the SGP will install 15 Illumina HiSeq X sequencing instruments to be divided between two hubs within the two universities.
Scientists and clinicians from both universities will be able to access this equipment which has the ability to decode the entire genetic make-up of a person for less than £750.
“Scotland is uniquely placed to make a significant contribution to the field of genomics medicine
Jonathan Seckl, University of Edinburgh VP
Through this investment, researchers will be able to study the genomes of both healthy and sick people on a large scale, enabling more precise molecular diagnoses for patients in the Scottish NHS, a University of Glasgow statement said.
According to researchers, linking clinical information with genetic data will lead to more personalised treatments and safer selection of drug therapies, while also revealing unique understanding of the causes of both rare and common diseases.
Jonathan Seckl, vice principal at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Scotland is uniquely placed to make a significant contribution to the field of genomics medicine. It has well established and approved methods of linking electronic health records to medical research programmes, governed by NHS and academic regulations.
“Edinburgh is also home to the UK’s national supercomputer facility, which will provide the high performance data processing ability needed to analyse the vast volume of information that will be generated from this research. This affords an exceptional opportunity for Scotland’s outstanding researchers and clinicians to transform the way medicine is practiced in the coming years.”
Meanwhile, Jay Flatley, chief executive officer of Illumina, expressed his eagerness to work alongside both universities to help create the SGP.
“By unlocking the power of the genome, we can better understand cancer and rare diseases and ultimately transform how they are diagnosed and treated,” Flatley said.
The SGP will initially focus on very rapid screening of cancer patients, diagnosing childhood illnesses, disorders of the central nervous system and population studies.
