{"id":1553,"date":"2011-05-26T10:36:18","date_gmt":"2011-05-26T08:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/?p=1553"},"modified":"2011-05-26T10:39:24","modified_gmt":"2011-05-26T08:39:24","slug":"boost-for-university-of-limpopo-prostrate-cancer-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/boost-for-university-of-limpopo-prostrate-cancer-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Boost for University of Limpopo Prostrate Cancer Research"},"content":{"rendered":"
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J. Craig Venter - Image via Wikipedia \/ PLoS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The J. Craig Venter Institute<\/a> (JCVI) today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the University of Limpopo<\/a> (UL) in South Africa to expand ongoing research collaborations on a variety of levels including in human genomics and prostate cancer in indigenous African populations. The collaboration will be called the University of Limpopo (UL) – J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) Genomics Network.<\/p>\n

As part of the new relationship, the institutions, along with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health, will convene a workshop and conference at the UL on May 30-June 1 titled, “Empowering Genomics in Southern Africa – Application to Infectious Disease.” At the meeting, the JCVI and NIAID will conduct a hands-on workshop on next-generation sequencing technologies and bioinformatics and host a conference focused on human genomics\/genetics, bioinformatics, infectious disease, and viral and microbial genomics. Experts will also discuss their latest findings in infectious disease research. JCVI is one of three U.S. centers funded as part of NIAID’s Genomic Sequencing Centers for Infectious Diseases.<\/p>\n

The JCVI’s Vanessa Hayes, Professor of Genomic Medicine and UL’s Philip Venter, Professor of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Turfloop Campus, have had a long-standing collaboration with both being involved in the Southern African Genome Project that culminated in the historic sequencing and publication of the first South African Genome in February 2010. South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu and four Southern African Bushmen were the subjects whose genomes were sequenced and analyzed. The new UL-JCVI Genomics Network will expand on this fruitful collaboration by formally enabling researchers at both institutions to utilize and learn from the experience and expertise of their colleagues.<\/p>\n

Specific goals and projects established within the framework of the UL-JCVI Network include:<\/strong><\/p>\n