NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The National Human Genome Research Institute expects to issue a funding initiative this summer to support pilot demonstration research projects that incorporate patients' genomic information into clinical care.
NHGRI said in a notice yesterday that it plans to fund a consortium of collaborative genomic medicine projects that will demonstrate the feasibility of, and develop methods for, incorporating individual genomic information into their treatment.
The initiative is aimed at expanding current genomic medicine efforts, with an emphasis on collaborative projects in a diverse range of populations and contributing to the available evidence base regarding how genomic information can be used in clinical care. It also seeks to define and disseminate the ways that genomic information is applied and used in treating patients.
The types of genomic information expected to contribute to the efforts include genotypic, sequencing, and family history data, among others.
These pilot studies may involve screening for highly penetrant germline mutations to identify an individual's genetic risks, integrating family history information into electronic medical records, and providing clinical decision support using genomic information.
NHGRI also wants to encourage research that applies pharmacogenomic information in drug selection and dosing, and to use an individual's whole-exome or sequence data for diagnosis and treatment.
The initiative will use the Research Project Cooperative Agreement (U01) code, which supports specified projects in areas representing specific interests and competencies. Such projects do not have a specific funding limit unless it is specified in the funding announcement.