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SGC
News
Canada-UK
Genome consortium launched
From Genome Canada, April 18, 2003
Click
here
to read this article in PDF format.
Unravelling the structure of hundreds of
human proteins will be the goal of an
ambitious C$95-million partnership that brings together British and
Canadian health researchers under the direction of an internationally
renowned Canadian scientist.
The newly formed Structural Genomics Consortium
(SGC) is a three-year initiative led by Canadian scientist Dr Aled Edwards,
a world-leading expert in proteomics and structural genomics research at the
University of Toronto's medical research department.
It is the first consortium of its kind, focussing its efforts on determining the
three-dimensional structure of more than 350 human proteins. One of the
objectives is to encourage the development of new and improved drugs and
other healthcare benefits. It represents the first funding partnership among
the UK-based research charity the Wellcome Trust, four Canadian research
funding organisations (Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund and
the Ontario Innovation Trust, Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research) and the global pharmaceutical company
GlaxoSmithKline.
'Canada is extremely pleased to lead this outstanding endeavour which seeks
to open new avenues for treating deadly diseases and demonstrates the
world-class quality of Canadian scientists and researchers,' said Industry
Minister Allan Rock, announcing the agreement April3. The Minister noted
that it is also good news 'for patients around the world who will one day
benefit from their discoveries.'
The SGC will utilise the vast resource of
the Human Genome Project (HGP), which has given medical researchers and
scientists a sequence of the 30,000 to 40,000 genes in the human body.
Although genes are frequently associated with disease, biologically speaking
they usually exert their influence through the proteins they encode. With
the HGP nearing completion, the SGC will move on to the vital next step of
exploring the structure and function of proteins, providing information
about their role in health and disease.
'This is truly a remarkable partnership that will further science and
medical discovery on both sides of the Atlantic,' says Professor Robert J.
Birgeneau, president of the University of Toronto. 'I congratulate the
Wellcome Trust, GlaxoSmithKline, Genome Canada, the provincial government
and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for their exceptional
leadership and support of this project. In particular, I want to single out
Aled Edwards whose vision and expertise have led to the creation of this
outstanding Canadian-British consortium - its research will profoundly
impact on the future of medical science.'
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© 2003 Structural Genomics Consortium. All rights reserved. |
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