Triangle Genomics Centers Cooperate

The Carolina Center for Genome Sciences, backed by $245 million in public and private funds, gained official university recognition at UNC-CH in August of this year. Duke has launched a $200 million Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, and N.C. State boasts a $300 million Bioinformatics Research Center.

The three universities will be working together as part of the N.C. Genomics and Bioinformatics Consortium, a group formed in December 2000 that will plan joint ventures between the universities. The program focuses on cooperating and building on each other's research.

Genomics, the study of DNA sequences, is an emerging field that could lead to valuable information about diseases such as cancer. Scientists hope genomics research ultimately will lead to cures for a variety of diseases and improve crop yields and food quality.

The Triangle programs are still in their infancy, with positions left unfilled and buildings left to be built on the UNC-CH and Duke campuses.

Duke's institute, which will study genomics in its entirety and also focus on ethical questions, still has no director.

But Duke Provost Peter Lange said the program is not encountering any problems and said it should find a director within the next three to six months.

Lange said there will probably be a few areas in which there will be competition between the universities but that he hopes that there will be a "lot of cooperation."

The trick is "to be competitive where that's appropriate and to maximize cooperation where we can," he said. "Overall, there should be a huge advantage."

Bruce Weir, founding director of the Bioinformatics Research Center at N.C. State, said the school's degree programs in bioinformatics and functional genomics are already in "full swing."

"We're up and running," he said.

Researchers at N.C. State will focus more on nonhuman genomics, such as that of plants and animals, as opposed to UNC-CH and Duke, Weir said.

Although the programs will complement each other, Weir said, the schools "always compete" for the best students and faculty.

At UNC-CH, researchers will concentrate on genomics sciences and medicine.

Terry Magnuson, chairman of the genetics department and director of the Carolina Genome Sciences Center, said the UNC initiative has already been highly successful in recruiting "outstanding" faculty members.

Although each school will have its strong points, Magnuson said working together on projects "builds strength."

"Genome sciences is the key to the future," Magnuson said. "It really is the future of research."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.