New EU-project to create knowledgebase of gene-disease relationships

12M Euro project will provide improved access to information connecting genes with diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer. One of the project partners is the research group of Dr. Juha Muilu at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), on the Meilahti Campus.

'Technologies for the exploration of genetic variation in 'common' disorders such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and autoimmune states, have only been devised in the last few years, with widespread deployment only now happening, explained project coordinator Professor Anthony Brookes of the University of Leicester, UK.

“An unprecedented torrent of exciting, valuable, and important research observations is therefore now arriving, and yet there is no universal internet-ready system able to receive all these data, to store and combine them, and to make them available for researchers and doctors alike to evaluate and exploit”, Brookes says.

The GEN2PHEN project will oversee the collection and use of data from research from around the world investigating the links between genetic variation and health. The project partners will develop database components, tools and technologies that will ensure that all relevant research results can be properly integrated and made available via an online portal called the 'GEN2PHEN Knowledge Centre'.

Powerful search capabilities will permit researchers and doctors to access and make use of the very latest research in their field. In addition to this, the project will identify current needs and practices in the genotype-phenotype field. The ethical aspects relating to the data will also be investigated, and the project partners will look into ways of ensuring the durability and financing of the Knowledge Centre in the longer term.

The EU is contributing €12 million to the initiative from the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The 17 partners come from across Europe as well as India and South Africa.

Text: Päivi Lehtinen
Photo: Veikko Somerpuro