This award is part of a larger initiative announced today by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the NHGRI, the grants, which total $32 million, aim to advance the development of innovative sequencing technologies, reduce the cost of DNA sequencing, and expand the use of genomics in biomedical research and health care.
The new Scripps Research grant, titled "Single-Molecule DNA Sequencing with Engineered Nanopores," is a collaborative effort between the laboratories of Scripps Research Professor Reza Ghadiri, Ph.D., and Oxford Professor Hagan Bayley, Ph.D. The goal is to develop technology that enables scientists to sequence a single piece of DNA -- something that isn't yet possible.
Over the past decade, DNA sequencing costs have fallen more than 50-fold, fueled in large part by tools, technologies, and process improvements developed as part of the successful effort to sequence the human genome. However, it still costs about $10 million to sequence 3 billion base pairs the amount of DNA found in the genomes of humans and other mammals. Ultimately, NHGRI's vision is to cut the cost of whole-genome sequencing to $1,000 or less, which would enable the sequencing of individual genomes as part of routine medical care.
"Just as our fingerprints are unique, we have genetic fingerprints that are unique as well," says Ghadiri.
Ghadiri, Bayley, and their colleagues aim to engineer a device with the ability to recognize a nucleotide on the basis of changes in electrical current as it passes through a nanopore -- a naturally hollo
'"/>
Contact: Jason Bardi
jasonb@scripps.edu
858-784-9254
Scripps Research Institute
9-Aug-2005