The agreement partners TGen's computational and genomics technology -- ranked among the most powerful in the world -- and scientific expertise with one of the leading children's medical research institutes in the country. It also pairs organizations run by two internationally renowned researchers in the area of cancer genomics.
"This partnership will enable us to build a world-class genomics program that will profoundly impact human health and accelerate the rate of discovery into the molecular components of childhood diseases," said Mary J.C. Hendrix, Ph.D., president and scientific director for the Chicago-based Children's Memorial Institute for Education and Research, and professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.
Hendrix said the two institutes would conduct critical research on a broad spectrum of problems, including brain disorders such as schizophrenia, behavioral disorders, autism, multiple sclerosis, cancer, developmental defects, and autoimmune diseases. Employing the latest in DNA microarray technology, research will focus on detecting genetic markers, and finding ways to move discoveries from the laboratory into the clinical setting as soon as possible.
"Our collaboration with Children's Memorial further strengthens TGen's mission to advance research in an expedited manner. The sequence of the human genome has fueled a rapid increase in gene discovery and gene analysis and our work with Children's Memorial will hopefully answer a number of questions surrounding childhood disease," said Jeffrey Trent, Ph.D., TGen's president and scientific director.
Genomics is the study and
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Contact: Julie Pesch
jpesch@childrensmemorial.org
773-880-6908
Children's Memorial Hospital
12-Mar-2004