The Genome Center
Encyclopedia
The Genome Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
, is one of three NIH funded large-scale sequencing
centers in the United States
. Affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine
, The Genome Institute is creating, testing and implementing new approaches to the study of genomics
with the goal of understanding human health and disease, as well as evolution
and the biology of other organisms.
, ultimately contributing more than 25 percent of the finished sequence. Following completion of the working draft of the human genome in 2000, and the finished human genome sequence in 2003, The Genome Institute turned its sequencing and analysis skills to determining the genomes of many other organisms in order to provide the first reference sequences for these species.
Richard K Wilson
, Ph.D., Director: Dr. Wilson is an expert in molecular genetics and large-scale DNA sequence analysis, and his laboratory at the Washington University School of Medicine
is among the world’s leaders in genome analysis. They have sequenced and analyzed billions of bases of DNA from the genomes of bacteria, yeast, roundworms, plants, vertebrates, primates and humans.
Elaine Mardis
, Ph.D., Co-Director: Dr. Mardis’ work leading the Technology Development group at The Genome Institute has played a pivotal role in the evaluation, optimization and application of new sequencing instrumentation, chemistry and molecular biology toward improved genome sequencing cost, throughput and quality.
George Weinstock
, Ph.D., Associate Director: Dr. Weinstock applies high-throughput DNA sequencing, genome-wide analysis, bioinformatics
, and other genetic methods to the study of human, model organisms and microbial genomes. He is a leader of the Human Microbiome Project
, studying the collection of microbes that colonize the human body.
Timothy Ley
, Ph.D., Associate Director: Dr. Ley is a hematologist, oncologist and cancer biologist. Dr. Ley’s research group was one of the first to focus on the reference sequence of the human genome to systematically identify the mutations responsible for the initiation and progression of cancer, focusing primarily on acute myeloid leukemia
(AML).
De Novo Assembly: The De Novo Assembly Group is responsible for taking the sequenced pieces of various species’ genomes and putting them together as contiguously and accurately as possible.
Microbial Genomics: The Microbial Genomics Group represents a range of activities from sequencing individual bacteria to population genomics studies of microbial species to analysis of complex metagenomic samples.
Targeted Re-sequencing: The Targeted Re-sequencing Group sequences specific regions of genomes using several different methods including PCR as well as hybrid selection techniques.
Transcriptomes: The Transcriptomes Group works on the various aspects of sequencing and analysis of transcriptomes, based on next-generation sequencing of RNA.
As per the NHGRI’s data release policy, all users must acknowledge The Genome Institute as the data source.
’s Minority Action Plan. Since its inception, Outreach has conducted activities that serve to educate K-12 students and the community at large regarding genomics and the role The Genome Institute plays in this field. Outreach has hosted thousands of patrons through tours, presentations, science fairs and various off-site visits. The department established Opportunities in Genomics Research whose purpose is to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who obtain Ph.D.s in the field of genomics/genetics. Two programs have been implemented under OGR, which provide research opportunities for undergraduates (Undergraduate Scholars) and recent college graduates (Extensive Study).
The Genome Institute has a separate data center located across the street at 222 Newstead Avenue. The $20 million, 16,000 square-foot data center was built with fully redundant power and cooling systems capable of housing over 100 racks of high-density computation and storage systems.
The Genome Institute's data center is the first "green" building on the School of Medicine's campus and has received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status by the U.S. Green Building Council. The data center also houses a legacy 1200 square feet (111.5 m²) server room equipped with raised floors, redundant power and cooling.
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, is one of three NIH funded large-scale sequencing
Sequencing
In genetics and biochemistry, sequencing means to determine the primary structure of an unbranched biopolymer...
centers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine , located in St. Louis, Missouri, is one of the graduate schools of Washington University in St. Louis. One of the top medical schools in the United States, it is currently ranked 4th for research according to U.S. News and World Report and has been listed...
, The Genome Institute is creating, testing and implementing new approaches to the study of genomics
Genomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
with the goal of understanding human health and disease, as well as evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
and the biology of other organisms.
History
Founded in 1993, The Genome Institute began as a key player in the Human Genome ProjectHuman Genome Project
The Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...
, ultimately contributing more than 25 percent of the finished sequence. Following completion of the working draft of the human genome in 2000, and the finished human genome sequence in 2003, The Genome Institute turned its sequencing and analysis skills to determining the genomes of many other organisms in order to provide the first reference sequences for these species.
Projects
- The Cancer Genome AtlasThe Cancer Genome AtlasThe Cancer Genome Atlas is a project to catalogue genetic mutations responsible for cancer, using genome analysis techniques started in 2005...
compares DNA sequences of adult cancer patients and their tumors to identify the genetic changes important to cancer. - Human Microbiome ProjectHuman microbiome projectThe Human Microbiome Project is a United States National Institutes of Health initiative with the goal of identifying and characterizing the microorganisms which are found in association with both healthy and diseased humans . Launched in 2008, it is a five-year project, best characterized as a...
is sequencing the genomes of microbes involved in human health and disease. - 1000 Genomes Project seeks to catalog the immense human variation written into the genetic code.
- Washington University Cancer Genome Initiative provides for hundreds of tumor and normal sample genomes to be sequenced.
- Pediatric Cancer Genome Project is a collaboration with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to identify the genetic changes that give rise to some of the world’s deadliest childhood cancers.
- Medical Sequencing targets sequences from diseases such as metabolic syndromes and vision-related disorders to help individualize patient treatment.
Staff
The Genome Institute employs over 300 full-time faculty and staff from a variety of disciplines. Core staff include:Richard K Wilson
Richard K Wilson
Richard K. Wilson is an American Professor of Genetics and Professor of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis and Director of The Genome Institute. He is an expert in molecular genetics and large-scale DNA sequence analysis...
, Ph.D., Director: Dr. Wilson is an expert in molecular genetics and large-scale DNA sequence analysis, and his laboratory at the Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine , located in St. Louis, Missouri, is one of the graduate schools of Washington University in St. Louis. One of the top medical schools in the United States, it is currently ranked 4th for research according to U.S. News and World Report and has been listed...
is among the world’s leaders in genome analysis. They have sequenced and analyzed billions of bases of DNA from the genomes of bacteria, yeast, roundworms, plants, vertebrates, primates and humans.
Elaine Mardis
Elaine Mardis
Elaine R Mardis is an American Professor of Genetics, with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Molecular microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis and Co-Director of The Genome Institute. Dr...
, Ph.D., Co-Director: Dr. Mardis’ work leading the Technology Development group at The Genome Institute has played a pivotal role in the evaluation, optimization and application of new sequencing instrumentation, chemistry and molecular biology toward improved genome sequencing cost, throughput and quality.
George Weinstock
George Weinstock
George M Weinstock is an American Professor of Genetics and Professor of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis and associate director of The Genome Institute. Before joining The Genome Institute, Dr...
, Ph.D., Associate Director: Dr. Weinstock applies high-throughput DNA sequencing, genome-wide analysis, bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
, and other genetic methods to the study of human, model organisms and microbial genomes. He is a leader of the Human Microbiome Project
Human microbiome project
The Human Microbiome Project is a United States National Institutes of Health initiative with the goal of identifying and characterizing the microorganisms which are found in association with both healthy and diseased humans . Launched in 2008, it is a five-year project, best characterized as a...
, studying the collection of microbes that colonize the human body.
Timothy Ley
Timothy Ley
Timothy J Ley is an American hematologist, oncologist and cancer biologist. He is the Lewis T. and Rosalind B. Apple Professor of Oncology in the Department of Medicine, is chief of the Section of Stem Cell Biology in the Division of Oncology and is Professor of Genetics at Washington University in...
, Ph.D., Associate Director: Dr. Ley is a hematologist, oncologist and cancer biologist. Dr. Ley’s research group was one of the first to focus on the reference sequence of the human genome to systematically identify the mutations responsible for the initiation and progression of cancer, focusing primarily on acute myeloid leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia , also known as acute myelogenous leukemia, is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells. AML is the most common acute...
(AML).
Activities
Whole Genome Re-sequencing: The Whole Genome Re-sequencing Group focuses on developing and optimizing sample intake, production 'sequencing, and sequence analysis pipelines for human disease genomic research, with a major emphasis on cancer.De Novo Assembly: The De Novo Assembly Group is responsible for taking the sequenced pieces of various species’ genomes and putting them together as contiguously and accurately as possible.
Microbial Genomics: The Microbial Genomics Group represents a range of activities from sequencing individual bacteria to population genomics studies of microbial species to analysis of complex metagenomic samples.
Targeted Re-sequencing: The Targeted Re-sequencing Group sequences specific regions of genomes using several different methods including PCR as well as hybrid selection techniques.
Transcriptomes: The Transcriptomes Group works on the various aspects of sequencing and analysis of transcriptomes, based on next-generation sequencing of RNA.
Data
The Genome Institute makes all sequence data available to the research community, pending appropriate quality analysis. Some of this data is preliminary and is subject to omissions and errors. Data also changes based on the availability of new data and assembly versions.As per the NHGRI’s data release policy, all users must acknowledge The Genome Institute as the data source.
Outreach
The Genome Institute’s Outreach Department was established in 2003 in response to the National Human Genome Research InstituteNational Human Genome Research Institute
The National Human Genome Research Institute is a division of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland.NHGRI began as the National Center for Human Genome Research , which was established in 1989 to carry out the role of the NIH in the International Human Genome Project...
’s Minority Action Plan. Since its inception, Outreach has conducted activities that serve to educate K-12 students and the community at large regarding genomics and the role The Genome Institute plays in this field. Outreach has hosted thousands of patrons through tours, presentations, science fairs and various off-site visits. The department established Opportunities in Genomics Research whose purpose is to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who obtain Ph.D.s in the field of genomics/genetics. Two programs have been implemented under OGR, which provide research opportunities for undergraduates (Undergraduate Scholars) and recent college graduates (Extensive Study).
Facilities
The Genome Institute is located on the Washington University School of Medicine campus in St. Louis, Missouri, at 4444 Forest Park Avenue. It is accessible by Metrolink (Central West End Station).The Genome Institute has a separate data center located across the street at 222 Newstead Avenue. The $20 million, 16,000 square-foot data center was built with fully redundant power and cooling systems capable of housing over 100 racks of high-density computation and storage systems.
The Genome Institute's data center is the first "green" building on the School of Medicine's campus and has received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status by the U.S. Green Building Council. The data center also houses a legacy 1200 square feet (111.5 m²) server room equipped with raised floors, redundant power and cooling.