Is Genomics Finally Coming to You?

The international Human Genome Project deciphered the basic building blocks of life. Now, armed with the knowledge of the reference genome sequence, a plethora of new discoveries and drug developments have been initiated.  New methods have been developed for even faster genome sequencing of individuals and are being directed toward rapid diagnosis of genetic conditions.  The foremost of these is characterization of cancer, since new tumors can be tested to identify common alterations in the DNA that can guide therapy or else help to monitor the disease. At the current rate of development, we can expect complete genome DNA sequencing to be a routine part of medicine within three years.

Richard Gibbs is the Founder and Director of the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center, in Houston, Texas.  In addition to the genome projects, Gibbs oversees BCM-HGSC s development of innovations in  mutation discovery  which has implications in medical conditions from cancer to bipolar/manic depressive illness. This lecture is sponsored by Darwin2009 Houston.