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BCM-HGSC receives genomics funding
Helping families
Improving the bovine genome Focusing on the Y chromosome to improve the bovine genome
Aphids and beetles and mites. Oh, My! Dr. Stephen Richards works with scientists around the world to understand what bugs us
Genome center scientists investigate hon-human primates as models of human disease and windows into human genome evolution.

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HGM 2016 - Translational Genomics

Registration is open for the Human Genome Meeting (HGM 2016) to be held in Houston Feb. 28 - March 2, 2016. The unifying theme of this key annual meeting of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO) is translational genomics, focusing on genomics driven approaches in diagnosis, treatment and management of cancer and genetic disease, with a specific focus on strategies and technologies for implementation.

› Learn more and register to attend

6th International Conference on Primate Genomics

Please join us May 15-17, 2016, at the Bolger Center in Potomac, Md., to learn about the latest advances in primate genomics and share your own work with the community. This conference will bring together internationally recognized experts in genome technology, comparative genomics, bioinformatics, genetic analysis of primate models of disease and other related fields.

› Learn more
› Non-human primate genome sequencing at HGSC

Assessing structural variation in a personal genome—towards a human reference diploid genome

In a paper published in BMC Genomics, a team led by scientists from Baylor College of Medicine’s Human Genome Sequencing Center present Parliament, a structural variant (SV) calling pipeline that brings together multiple data types and SV detection methods to improve the characterization of these larger variants.

› Read the research article in BMC Genomics

Gibbon genome and the fast karyotype evolution of small apes

image: Cover of Nature higlighting article titled "Gibbon genome and the fast karyotype evolution of small apes"The sequence and analysis of the gibbon genome was published in the journal Nature and led by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University, the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center and the Washington University School of Medicine’s Genome Institute.

Visit BCM-HGSC gibbon genome project page

Read full announcement in BCM News

Read article in Nature

Image courtesy of Nature Publishing Group

Whole Genome Sequencing

WGL: Whole Genome LaboratoryThe development and clinical implementation of the Whole Exome Sequencing test derives from a joint effort by Baylor's Human Genome Sequencing Center and Baylor Miraca Genetics Laboratories to establish a clinical laboratory dedicated to state-of-the-art next generation sequencing.

Visit the Whole Genome Laboratory (WGL) website

BCM-HGSC in the News

Blood sucking fated in bed bug’s genome

Cimex lecturlariusIn a report that appears in the journal Nature Communications, an international consortium of scientists describe the sequence of the 650 megabase genome of the Cimex lecturlarius, the common bed bug. Within the code of the 14,200 genes that provide the blueprint for the workhorse proteins of the cell, they found genes linked to reproduction, the genes that attract the insects to human blood and several mechanisms that could lead to pesticide resistance.

“There are consequences of the bed bugs’ vampire tendencies,” said Dr. Stephen Richards, associate professor in the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center. “Their blood meals make them swell up, and they have cuticle genes that give them the flexibility to do that. Blood is a liquid diet, and they have water channels that allow them to deal with the sheer amount of fluid. They have the olfactory and vision repertoire similar to other dawn-to-dusk insects.”

“It’s no surprise we like to kill them. However, that is becoming more difficult. We now have a list of all the genes that can be involved in resistance to pesticides.”

› Read press release 
› Nature Communications: Unique features of a global human ectoparasite identified through sequencing of the bed bug genome

Broad genetic testing for childhood cancer patients can pinpoint cancer causes and identify potential treatments

Dr. Will Parsons and Dr. Sharon PlonCombined whole exome tumor and blood sequencing in pediatric cancer patients revealed mutations that could help explain the cause of cancer or have the potential to impact clinical cancer care in 40 percent of patients in a study led by researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

These findings point toward the usefulness of broad-based testing of both tumor and blood samples for children diagnosed with solid tumors, say study senior co-authors Dr. Sharon Plon, professor of pediatrics at Baylor, and Dr. Will Parsons, associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor and Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

The study, which appears in the current issue of JAMA Oncology, is part of the ongoing Baylor College of Medicine Advancing Sequencing in Childhood Cancer Care (BASIC3) project funded through a $6.6 million grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Cancer Institute.

“This is an important study and a powerful illustration of how genomic data can be effectively used by skilled physicians in a clinical context,” said Dr. Richard Gibbs, professor of molecular and human genetics and director of the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor. Gibbs and Dr. Christine Eng, professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor, lead the study’s efforts to perform genomic testing -- conducted at the WGL -- and evaluate results.

› Read press release
› Read article in JAMA Oncology

National Human Genome Research Institute funds Baylor centers for common, rare diseases

Baylor College of Medicine centers will play major roles in newly announced National Human Genome Research Institute DNA sequencing programs designed to understand the genomics of both common and rare diseases.

Baylor College of Medicine’s Human Genome Sequencing Center was named one of four Centers for Common Disease Genomics. The center, under the leadership of Dr. Richard Gibbs, will receive a four-year $60 million grant to focus on the genomics of heart and blood vessel and metabolic diseases as well as neuropsychiatric disorders.

“2016 marks the 20th year since the inception of the Human Genome Sequencing Center and its continuing funding by the NHGRI,” said Gibbs. “We will continue the push to translate genomic discovery into medicine.”

› Read news release from Baylor College of Medicine
› Read news coverage from Houston Chronicle

Study finds genes associated with bleeding disorder caused by low platelets

Blood cellsResearchers at Baylor College of Medicine have found genes associated with an autoimmune bleeding disorder called chronic immune thrombocytopenia, or ITP.

Dr. Jenny Despotovic, assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor and Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, presented the research Dec. 5 at the American Society of Hematology 57th Annual Meeting.

Baylor College of Medicine’s Human Genome Sequencing Center performed whole exome sequencing of DNA samples from the North American Chronic ITP Registry and the Platelet Disorders Center at the Weill-Cornell Medical Center. This work was done as a collaboration with the ITP Consortium of North America.

› Read the press release
› 73 Genes Influencing the Development and Severity of Chronic ITP Identified through Whole Exome Sequencing


by Dr. Radut