NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The US Army has awarded Timothy Triche at Children's Hospital Los Angeles $1.05 million to implement next-generation sequencing to diagnose and treat high-risk childhood cancer.
The center will be the first genomic profiling facility using the technology to study diseases of the young, the hospital said in a statement.
While genomic research has yielded important information about the genetic bases of cancer and other illnesses, the high cost and length of time for results associated with such technologies have limited the ability to gain a detailed view of underlying disease genetics in a clinical setting, according to the hospital.
In a statement, Triche, director of the Center for Personalized Medicine at the hospital, added that his center will "establish a next-generation whole genome characterization core facility … that utilizes newly available sequencing technology that can detect even the smallest change in a patient's DNA or RNA."
Advances in next-gen sequencing and "extraordinary decreases in the cost" now make it possible to apply the technology to patients, he added.