Now that the genome is complete, whats next for NHGRI?
NHGRI’s vision for the future, which is being published April 24, 2003 in the journal Nature, details a diverse and exciting landscape of new possibilities. NHGRI will particularly focus on opportunities to translate the results of the Human Genome Project into advances in medicine, including projects that build upon the completed human genome sequence. This is particularly true of projects of a large international scope that require extensive coordination and public investment to ensure that results and discoveries remain freely available in the public domain. An example is NHGRI’s genetic variation mapping project, or HapMap, which will speed the discovery of genes related to common illnesses such as asthma, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The HapMap should also be a powerful resource for studying the genetic factors contributing to variation in response to environmental influences, in susceptibility to infection, and in the effectiveness of drugs and vaccines. Another example is
