About the Cornell Genomics Initiative

By Roger Segelken

The goal is pre-eminence for Cornell University in biological research in the coming century. It is a vision that has united researchers from across campus

to produce a plan to assure leadership in what they call "the new era of biology." Their plan, the Cornell Genomics Initia-tive, is a blueprint to make the university a world leader in exploiting the results of DNA sequencing. The stakes represent a watershed in the scientific endeavor at Cornell. The discoveries that will ensue from the initiative, according to the plan, "will revolutionize our understanding of the origins of life and the molecular processes that underlie life. They will also lead to many major discoveries in engineering, medicine, the environment and agriculture."

The genomics plan calls for substantial investments in the Cornell research infrastructure, both at the campus in Ithaca and the Weill Medical College in New York City. It also calls for forging new linkages among departments, providing them with stronger reasons to interact. And it supports the recruiting of specialists for interdisciplinary research teams and the training of students to integrate biology and information sciences.

The plan defines the term "genomics" as more than species-based research, using it instead to describe an interdisciplinary approach to studying the function of genes. Genomics, it says, will use sophisticated equipment and techniques for obtaining and analyzing genetic data on a large scale.

"The old approach was to look at a single gene, or a few genes at a time, and try to determine their function," said Charles F. Aquadro, professor of population genetics and one of 39 members of the Genomics Initiative task force. "We are rapidly being inundated with DNA sequence data through the Human Genome Project and the other genome projects. Fortunately, at the same time, new technologies are coming online to enable genomewide-scale biology and comparisons among the genomes of different organisms."

Aquadro continued, "Instead of a handful of markers, we will look at the whole ensemble. We will take advantage of scalable technologies to sift through all the information and find the real biological signals. Functional genomics will allow us, to begin to understand the molecular basis of disease by studying how genes change in response to disease challenges."

The plan proposes building human and technological capabilities in five discrete areas and closely linking resources in each of the areas:

Computational genomics -- Aiming to transform raw sequence and gene expression data into biologically relevant insight and discovery, an interdisciplinary panel of researchers calls for establishment of an institute for computational genomics under the auspices of the Cornell Theory Center.

Nanobiotechnology -- The scaling down in size of sequencing technology (See story, Page 4) is a wave that Cornell should lead, says the Genomics Initiative's Subcommittee on Nanobiotechnology.

Mammalian genomics -- Three genomic systemsÊ--Êmouse, canine and human -- are targeted for development and expansion by the proposal, which also suggests concentration on molecular quantitative genetics. The necessity of a mouse transgenic facility (See story, Page 5) is emphasized.

Microbial genomics -- The proposal would add faculty-research positions in the fields of bacterial genomics, including microorganisms of interest to veterinary medicine, as well as to the medical college's Program on Persistent Infections, bacterial genome evolution, fungal genomics and microbial diversity.

Plant genomics -- Additional faculty, upgraded facilities and investment in graduate education will complement efforts already under way for an institute for genomic diversity of plants.

The next step is for Cornell's administration to sign off on the plan. The genomics task force recommended an initial commitment of $15 million to implement the plan, $5 million of which would go for the transgenic mouse facility.

The ultimate cost of the plan is still being worked out, but Cornell President Hunter Rawlings says that the administration is close to reaching a decision on the first phase of the budget and how the money will be raised.

"There is very strong support for this initiative," Rawlings says.

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The image on the front page of this section shows human chromosomes stained with fluorescent dyes. The red dots identify a protein called Zwint, discovered at Cornell, part of the mechanism that pulls one copy of each chromosome into each of two daughter cells when a cell divides. The image is overlaid with an artist's stylized impression of the structure of biological molecules.