New York Genome Center Recipient of $3 Million Grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
World-Class Team of 350 Sequencing and Bioinformatics Personnel will be Recruited and Supported over Five Years
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The New York Genome Center (NYGC) today announced that it has been selected to receive a generous grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to help build the infrastructure needed to support a large-scale genome sequencing and bioinformatics facility for translational research. By combining the power of 11 top-tier academic institutions, together with leaders in technology and pharmaceuticals, NYGC expects to create more than 500 science-related jobs over the next five years, with a significant impact on science and technology.
Specifically, this $3 million grant will make possible the recruitment and support of core bioinformatics and sequencing professionals, part of a team that is expected to number 350 over the next several years. Not only will NYGC create hundreds of jobs in a growth industry of the future, but it also will create the genomics and bioinformatics capacity for New York that will allow it to compete globally, diversify the City's economy by expanding its applied sciences sector, and ultimately drive the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics in order to greatly impact patient care. Nancy J. Kelley, Founding Executive Director of the New York Genome Center, is the Principal Investigator on the project.
"We are very pleased that the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation recognizes the importance of investing in large-scale genomic sequencing, bioinformatics, data mining, and translational research," said Nancy J. Kelley, JD, MPP, Founding Executive Director of the New York Genome Center. "NYGC's mission and operations align with the Sloan Foundation's commitment to support unique opportunities that will benefit the New York metro area in ways that advance the Foundation's interests in science, technology, and economic performance."
Founded in August 2010, NYGC is an independent non-profit that brings together the expertise and resources of world-class universities, medical centers, technology partners, pharmaceutical companies, and private philanthropists that are engaged in a cooperative effort to transform medical research and clinical care. NYGC's Institutional Founding Members include Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Columbia University, Cornell University/Weill Cornell Medical College, The Jackson Laboratory, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York University/NYU School of Medicine, North Shore-LIJ Health System, The Rockefeller University, and Stony Brook University. The Hospital for Special Surgery is an Associate Founding Member.
The vision of NYGC is to serve as a transformational catalyst for the future of science and medicine by creating an intellectually vibrant collaboration among the biomedical and research communities in New York. NYGC's Institutional Founding Members ordinarily compete aggressively for patients, for leadership in various specialties, for medical staff, and for research dollars. These highly regarded institutions have come together to form this Center with complete unity of purpose: to make the New York region a global magnet for genomic-based research and development. NYCG's sequencing, bioinformatics, and data storage capacity will provide the groundwork for these efforts and is intended to enhance the productivity and understanding of both scientists and clinicians in a manner that will lead to innovation.
"The New York Genome Center is a rare achievement in scientific collaboration, and a model for how New York City institutions can come together to help to make the city a leader in scientific research," said Dr. Paul L. Joskow, President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. "The Foundation is proud to support this transformative project."
NYGC's operations will include: a Service Center (sequencing operations), Bioinformatics (in-depth analysis of the sequences), Research (internal and collaborative), an Innovation Center (testing of new technologies), Training (events, courses, and seminars taught around bioinformatics and genomics), and Commercialization/Data Mining (sponsored research and licensing opportunities/spin offs). Expected outcomes of the project include creation of the genomics and bioinformatics capacity that will allow New York to compete globally, diversification of the City's economy by expanding its applied sciences sector, the creation of hundreds of high-paying jobs in a growth industry of the future and the creation of new diagnostics and therapeutics that will impact cancer, brain disorders, metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, and pediatric disease research and care.
"The New York Genome Center is a good idea at every level," said Dr. Paula J. Olsiewski, Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. "It's good for science, it's good for scientists, and it's good for New York City."
NYGC intends to become one of the largest genomic facilities in North America, establishing an unprecedented, large-scale collaborative venture in genomic medicine. The NYGC model facilitates adoption of personalized medicine through its Institutional Founding Members that collectively treat millions of patients each year; drives therapeutic and diagnostic product development by connecting technology collaborators and the pharmaceutical industry directly to researchers and clinicians at the front lines of discovery; and accelerates the entire translational process by linking all the stakeholders in information-enabled common projects.
About the New York Genome Center
The New York Genome Center (NYGC) is an independent, non-profit organization that leverages the collaborative resources of leading academic medical centers, research universities, and commercial organizations. Its vision is to transform medical research and clinical care in New York and beyond through the creation of what will be one of the largest genomics and bioinformatics facilities in North America.
New York Genome Center Online:
Website:
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/nygenome
Twitter:
@nygenome
About the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profit grant making institution based in New York City. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then President and Chief Executive Officer of the General Motors Corporation, the Foundation makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economic performance. www.sloan.org.
Contacts
Feinstein Kean Healthcare
Lynn Blenkhorn, 508-851-0930
[email protected]
or
The TASC Group
Larry Kopp, 646-723-4344
[email protected]