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NHGRI Awards Coriell Institute $4.6M to Manage Biobank

NEW YORK – The Coriell Institute for Medical Research said on Monday that it has been awarded $4.6 million from the National Human Genome Research Institute to continue maintaining the NHGRI Sample Repository for Human Genetic Research.

The Coriell Institute was originally awarded a five-year, $4.3 million grant from the NHGRI in 2016 to house and maintain the repository. Under the terms of the new collaborative agreement, the institute will continue to maintain the NHGRI's biobank for an additional five years.

The NHGRI repository is a collection of samples that's used in research around the world, including by the International HapMap and 1000 Genomes projects. The samples include genotype and sequence data, but no identifying or phenotypic information. Over the past five years, the repository has distributed tens of thousands of biospecimens to 47 countries around the world, the institute said.

"The NHGRI Sample Repository for Human Genetic Research is a treasure for genetics research," Jean-Pierre Issa, Coriell president and CEO, said in a statement. "The samples contained in this collection were used in several of the most important studies in human genetics, and its focus on increasing diversity in human genetics research is potentially transformative."

The Coriell Institute is also home to other NIH biorepositories. In April 2020, it was awarded a five-year, $9.2 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to continue maintaining the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository, a biobank of about 11,800 unique cell lines and 6,400 DNA samples representing more than 1,000 heritable diseases.

And in November 2019, the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded the Coriell Institute $7.7 million for ongoing support of the NINDS Human Genetics Research Center, which it has maintained since that repository's establishment in 2002.

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