Eight healthcare organizations in the U.S. and Canada have joined forces to establish the Medical Genome Initiative.
The initiative aims to expand access to clinical whole genome sequencing to enhance genetic disease diagnosis. Together, the organization will publish common laboratory and clinical best practices for the application of clinical whole genome sequencing.
Organizations that founded the Medical Genome Initiative include:
• Baylor Genetics in Houston
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Boston
• HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala.
• Illumina in San Diego, Calif.
• Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
• Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine in San Diego
• The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada
• Stanford (Calif.) Medicine
The consortium will initially focus on clinical whole genome sequencing analytical validity, clinical utility measures, clinical data infrastructure and data sharing.