SANTA CRUZ, CA--In May 1985, a group of eminent biologists gathered at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to discuss a radical proposal put forth by molecular biologist Robert Sinsheimer, then chancellor of the UCSC campus. His idea was to launch a massive project to determine the complete DNA sequence of the human genome. It would be five years before the Human Genome Project was officially launched, and ten more before project leaders announced with great fanfare the completion of a working draft of the human genome sequence.
This summer, many of the participants in the historic 1985 meeting will gather again at UC Santa Cruz along with other eminent scientists to discuss future directions for research on the human genome, now that the sequence is in hand.
A public forum will be held in conjunction with this scientific workshop, featuring a presentation by Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, and a moderated discussion by a panel of experts. The forum will address research on the genome and its implications for the future of medicine and society. It will take place on Saturday, August 25, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. in the Music Center Recital Hall on the UC Santa Cruz campus. Admission is free.*
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*Note to reporters: While the forum is open to reporters and the general public, the scientific workshop will be closed to all but the invited participants. The proceedings and conclusions of the workshop will be published at a later date.
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The panelists will include Sinsheimer; Collins; Eugene Myers, vice president of informatics research at Celera Genomics; and Mary-Claire King, professor of medicine and genetics at the University of Washington. National Public Radio science reporter Richard Harris, a UCSC graduate, will serve as moderator.
The human genome sequence--spelled out in 3.2 billio
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Contact: Tim Stephens
stephens@cats.ucsc.edu
831-459-4352
University of California - Santa Cruz
19-Jun-2001