Understanding the genetic basis of common human diseases: core funding for the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics. (360G-Wellcome-090532_Z_09_Z)

The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics was established in 1994 to undertake research into the genetic basis of common diseases. The objective of the Centre is to gain insight into mechanisms controlling genetic susceptibility to human disease, including the localization and identification of disease genes or disease-causing variants, functional characterization of genetic variants responsible for susceptibility, understanding how they contribute to disease risk in populations and how genet ic factors contribute biologically to disease processes, 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, and structural biology. The Centre has a strong focus of expertise, equipment, and resources centralized in Core groups allowing all research groups to benefit and expand their research strategies. Recent years have seen major advances in human genetics, in which Centre scientists have played leading roles, and we see major opportunities and challenges ahead. This application is for the renewal of the 5-year core award to fund the Centre's Core Groups: Genomics, Bioinformatics, Molecular Cytogenetics and Microscopy, Transgenics, and IT, for the period 1.4.2011 to 31.3.2016.