This award is part of a larger initiative announced today by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the NHGRI, the grants, which total $32 million, aim to advance the development of innovative sequencing technologies, reduce the cost of DNA sequencing, and expand the use of genomics in biomedical research and health care.
The new Scripps Research grant, titled "Single-Molecule DNA Sequencing with Engineered Nanopores," is a collaborative effort between the laboratories of Scripps Research Professor Reza Ghadiri, Ph.D., and Oxford Professor Hagan Bayley, Ph.D. The goal is to develop technology that enables scientists to sequence a single piece of DNA -- something that isn't yet possible.
Over the past decade, DNA sequencing costs have fallen more than 50-fold, fueled in large part by tools, technologies, and process improvements developed as part of the successful effort to sequence the human genome. However, it still costs about $10 million to sequence 3 billion base pairs the amount of DNA found in the genomes of humans and other mammals. Ultimately, NHGRI's vision is to cut the cost of whole-genome sequencing to $1,000 or less, which would enable the sequencing of individual genomes as part of routine medical care.
"Just as our fingerprints are unique, we have genetic fingerprints that are unique as well," says Ghadiri.
Ghadiri, Bayley, and their colleagues aim to engineer a device with the ability to recognize a nucleotide on the basis of changes in electrical current as it passes through a nanopore -- a naturally hollow molecule that can be imbedded into membrane surfaces where they are just big enough to allow ions, small molecules, and other molecules such as DNA to pass through. Pieces of DNA can thread through these pores, and the team has developed a way to recognize which types of bases are passing through.
Because DNA bases are negatively charged, when they pass through the pore, the electrical conductance changes. Potentially, a researcher could measure the sequential conductance changes as a DNA strand passes through the nanopore to determine the linear sequence of the DNA. The goal of the grant is to conduct the basic science that will enable the development of this technology.
About The Scripps Research Institute and Scripps Florida
The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, and Palm Beach County, Florida, is one of the world's largest, independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations. It stands at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. Scripps Research is internationally recognized for its research into immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, and synthetic vaccine development.
The Scripps Research Institute employs approximately 3,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, scientific and other technicians, doctoral degree graduate students, and administrative and technical support personnel in 14 buildings overlooking the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, a part of the City of San Diego.
Scripps Florida will be a 350,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art biomedical research facility to be built on 100 acres of undeveloped land in Palm Beach County. Scripps Florida will focus on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development, employing more than 500 researchers and support staff by 2010. Palm Beach County and the State of Florida have provided start-up economic incentives for development, building, staffing, and equipping the campus.
Scripps Florida is now operating with more than 100 researchers and technicians at a 40,000 square-foot facility on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter.