With an eye to the future of gene-based medicine, Northwestern University has launched the Chicago area’s first hospital gene bank and hopes to eventually recruit as many as 100,000 people willing to donate their DNA in the interest of science.
The project, called NUgene, will use DNA samples and personal health information from volunteers, plus information from the human genetic code, to search out genes that play a role in diseases and then to determine personalized treatments, according to Northwestern officials.
The university is the second in the U.S. to announce plans for such a gene bank. The gene banks will rely on information from the taxpayer-funded Human Genome Project and are regarded as the next step toward personalized medicine.
