New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to study the genomes of one million people with or who are at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, the Times-Union reports.
It notes that the governor's budget proposal includes $20 million in funding for a five-year project to study Alzheimer's disease. According to the governor's office, this project would establish a Curing Alzheimer's Health Consortium within the State University of New York and the first phase of the project would be to have that consortium recruit an initial 200,000 individuals to undergo genetic testing. SUNY and the Empire State Development's Life Sciences Initiative would also issue a request for proposals to enable partnerships between SUNY and other hospitals or research institutions.
"Alzheimer's disease affects hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers each year and takes a devastating toll on both patients and caregivers who lack access to sufficient treatment options due to an insufficient body of research," Cuomo, a Democrat, says in a statement. "Genomics have made significant progress in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases ranging from cancer to cardiovascular disease, and could present major breakthroughs in the fight against Alzheimer's disease."
The Times-Union notes that the state budget still needs legislative approval.