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Genome Quebec, Montreal Hospital Launch Pediatric Clinical Genomics Center

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The Sainte-Justine Mother and Child University Hospital Center and Genome Quebec have partnered to launch a pediatric clinical genomics center that will seek to develop new diagnostics for children with genetic diseases.

Genome Quebec said on Monday that the center, located in Montreal at Saint-Justine UHC, will aim to improve care for sick children by using genome sequencing to improve diagnosis and prevention efforts in early childhood.

Sainte-Justine UHC already hosts a lab that serves as a center for pediatric genetic analysis, and it already has in place an ongoing partnership with Genome Quebec.

In this joint initiative, Genome Quebec will lead the center's sequencing and bioinformatics analysis activities, while the Sainte-Justine UHC team will be responsible for developing interpretation strategies, producing reports, and validating clinical data.

"With this new [genomic analysis] technology, we can sequence all the genes of a child’s genome, develop a genetic profile in a timely manner, establish a diagnosis and deliver the treatment, if one is available at the time or becomes available in the future," Jacques Michaud, a doctor and geneticist at Sainte-Justine UHC, said in a statement.

Genome Quebec said the center will offer its services to patients outside of Quebec, including in international markets.

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