Strategic Award for the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics. (360G-Wellcome-084818_Z_08_Z)

The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics was established in 1994 to undertake research into the genetic basis of common diseases. The scientific objective of the Centre is to gain insight into mechanisms controlling genetic susceptibility to human disease including the localization and identification of disease genes, functional characterization of gene variants responsible for susceptibility, understanding how gene variants contribute to risk of disease in the population and how genetic fa ctors contribute biologically to a disease process, and the development and application of new analytical tools. In order to achieve this objective the Centre has brought together multidisciplinary research groups collaborating on human and rodent genetics, genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics, functional analysis of disease genes, cell and developmental biology and structural biology. The Centre has a strong focus of expertise, equipment and resources centralized in Core groups allow ing all research groups to benefit and expand their research strategies. This grant follows the recent appointment of Professor Peter Donnelly as Centre Director and recent discussions with the Wellcome Trust on three high priority investment areas in the Centre: 1) additional computing infrastructure, 2) a Solexa sequencing machine, 3) part-funding of additional office space.