Utah-based Intermountain Precision Genomics has awarded more than $400,000 to four translational research projects to accelerate clinical and translational research, advance molecular knowledge in precision medicine.
Recipients include researchers from Stanford University, Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) in Salt Lake City, University of Utah School of Medicine and Vivid Genomics, who will use the funding to study familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), breast and ovarian cancers, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The institutions will utilize NGS ONE Genomic Services, a next-generation sequencing service offered by Intermountain Precision Genomics, to complete their research. These projects were selected in response to the call for proposals in 2018.
“Award recipients have put forward innovative proposals and have demonstrated high competency in leveraging next-generation sequencing approaches for precision medicine across various medical disciplines,” said Helaman Escobar, director of the Intermountain Precision Genomics Translation Science Center, in a prepared statement.
Carlos Bustamante, Ph.D., and colleagues at Stanford University will use the award to study a method for predicting undiagnosed cases of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). The study aims to apply an algorithm to patient electronic medical records provided by Intermountain Healthcare to predict an individual’s risk for FH.
Nicola Camp, Ph.D., cancer researcher at HCI and professor of medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, will conduct a project on the discovery of novel germline breast cancer susceptibility variants.
Another HCI investigator, associate professor of population health sciences at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Jennifer Doherty, M.S., Ph.D., along with her postdoctoral fellow, Mollie Barnard, M.S., Sc.D., have been awarded funds to explore the genetic epidemiology of ovarian cancers in high-risk pedigrees.
Vivid Genomics received funds for a pilot project to study genetic predictors of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases by sequencing the genomes of individuals both with and without a diagnosis of dementia. This study aims to use genetics to improve disease prediction and ultimately lead to approved drugs by identifying novel variants and regions of the genome associated with the manifestation of and the brain pathology related to neurodegenerative diseases.
Intermountain Precision Genomics is now seeking spring 2019 research proposals. Intermountain will provide up to $200,000 in funding and access to high-throughput genomic sequencing efforts utilizing NGS ONE Genomic Services. Funds are designated to cover costs of procuring, preparing and sequencing samples at Intermountain Precision Genomics and exclude indirect costs and investigator salaries. The spring submission deadline is April 30. Selected projects will be announced by May 31. Visit https://NGSONE.com for more information.
