Structural Genomics Consortium - fit-out of Old Road Campus Research Building (360G-Wellcome-073665_B_03_A)

The Structural Genomic Consortium (SGC) is a program led by Dr. Aled Edwards of the University of Toronto. The main objective of the SGC is to produce structures of a large number of human proteins (over 350 over the term of the current proposal) of scientific interest to be deposited in a public database. As proposed, the SGC would comprise two sites, one in Toronto and one in Oxford. Initially, the program was focused solely in Oxford and was to be funded by a consortium led by the Wellcome Trust and a number of pharmaceutical companies. When Dr. Edwards was selected to be the Director of the consortium, he approached a group of Canadian funding agencies to consider funding a Canadian component, to be based in Toronto. "The Toronto relationship would provide both sites immediate access to technologies and know-how in the areas of protein production, crystallization, NMR, spectroscopy, and X-ray data collection. SGC funding would both increase the capacity and capabilities of the Toronto site and build the Oxford site based on the Toronto technologies. The SGC would also enter into a small number of key strategic alliances. These alliances would provide reagents, technologies, and bioinformatics." "In the first 10-2 years, protein production and crystallization will take place largely at the Toronto site of the SGC. Over the course of the four-year funding period, the Oxford site would be built near, or on, the University campus." "By the end of the four-year funding period, the SGC will comprise two completely operational facilities that would each have specific and coordinated technology and production milestones." This proposal represents the highest international standards in the field of structural genomics and is comparable in scale and potential impact to projects worldwide with similar goals. Structural genomics is a key component of modern biological research, following in the footsteps of the human genome program. The mapping of genetic diversity onto protein structures is an important ingredient in the molecular basis of disease and ultimately in the development of personalized medicines for disease treatment.