Wellcome Trust expands support for genome-wide association studies
11 November 2008
Proposals are invited from individual investigators or consortia for genotyping of DNA samples from existing disease collections or cohorts. The Trust will provide support for the initial genome-wide association screen and appropriate replication studies.
Genome-wide association studies have emerged as a powerful new tool for identifying genetic variants related to common, complex diseases such as Crohn's disease and diabetes. Genome-wide association takes advantage of high-throughput genotyping techniques to screen entire genomes of large numbers of patients. Discovery of these genetic variants will hopefully lead to new molecular targets for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) achieved remarkable success with the genome-wide association approach, substantially increasing the number of genes known to play a role in the development of some of our most common diseases. The Trust awarded a further £30 million in January 2008 to support 27 new studies to extend the range of diseases or traits investigated.
The new call for proposals seeks to build on the success of the WTCCC by providing further support for genome-wide association studies in a wider range of diseases.
Investigators have the option of applying for awards either in collaboration with the WTCCC or independently. All investigators will have access to a validated set of genotypes from 6000 common controls collected across Britain. Those collaborating with the WTCCC will also have access to centralised DNA handling, quality control, genotyping and data analysis resources established within the consortium.
Applications are open from 25 November 2008 with a deadline of 15 January 2009. The first awards are expected in April 2009.
Further information and application procedures
Image: Neil Leslie, Wellcome Images