CHAPEL HILL, NC – Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will participate in a three-year, $100 million program utilizing large-scale genome analysis technologies to chart molecular changes in specific types of cancer, especially focusing on lung, brain, and ovarian cancers.

UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is based in the UNC School of Medicine, has been named one of seven Cancer Genome Characterization Centers for the “Cancer Genome Atlas” project organized by the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute, which are both sub-sects of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The Cancer Genome Atlas pilot project will assess the feasibility of a full-scale effort to systematically explore the entire spectrum of genomic changes involved in human cancer. The overarching goal of The Cancer Genome Atlas is to improve the ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent cancer.

UNC’s grant for the project totals $1.6 million. Funding for the seven characterization centers totals $11.7 million.

http://cancergenome.nih.gov

Related Stories:

• Collins confirmed as NIH director
• Breakthrough: UNC researchers decode entire HIV genome
• UNC, Duke, NC State researchers awarded $12.5M grant to improve cancer treatment trials
• Research Triangle researchers land $147M in stimulus funds
• UNC chemist advances “lab-on-a-chip” technology with $3.8 million grant

© 2006, TechJournal. All rights reserved.