Top medical research into human genomes to be carried out in Brno

Czech experts have a rare opportunity to participate in a leading project in medical genomics, which will help many Czech people suffering from, or in risk of, coronary or oncology diseases. First to obtain this information was the Czech biotechnology portal www.gate2biotech.com Thanks to the building of the International Clinical Research Centre (ICRC) on the Faculty Hospital campus, St. Anne’s in Brno Czech medics and researchers will be able to make use of the most advanced technology and the latest discoveries in medical genomics by specialists from the world famous American hospital, the Mayo Clinic, and IBM, including test results from this company’s new super computer, more powerful than that used by the American space agency NASA. #img_239#.<> This first European branch of this American clinic will be involved in a whole range of research and testing which will also have an impact on improving care of Czech patients. “The research programme which forms part of this project will be aimed at developing new aims and approaches for detecting cardiovascular, oncology and other diseases earlier and ideally identifying individuals at risk before they contract such illnesses” explained Dr. Tomáš Kára, main author of the project for www.gate2biotech.com. “We will also be concerned with developing new diagnostic methods, equipment and treatments for considerably reducing the risk, while at the same time offering more economical methods of diagnosing and treating these illnesses in order to raise quality of life. We also aim to develop diagnostic approaches and treatment which can be tailored to the needs of specific individuals.“ Even though this concerns typical ‘clinical research’ all three areas rely strongly on support from basic research, in particular medical genomics. Medical genomics is a scientific branch which studies the relationship between individual differences within the structure and function of genes with disease characteristics and their response to treatment. Genomics offers the possibility of a fundamental improvement in the patient and in particular: faster identification of new genes and their relationship to individual illnesses, more precise characterization of individual types of illnesses and their subtypes and the possibility of individual treatments. “The setting up of the Human Genome Project (HGP) provided deeper research into the structure of human genes. Thanks to this project we have access to very detailed information about which genes make up the human genetic code” says Dr. Kára. On the other hand, according to him, the Human Genome Project yielded only a limited amount of information about the function of individual genes and their role in physiological and pathological states. Understandably, research into the function of genes is considerably more demanding than research into structure and requires a much wider range of intellectual and technological resources. One of the key projects in current medical science is ‘Information Based Medicine‘, set up jointly by a team of specialists from The Mayo Clinic and IBM. Its aim is to take the information about structure gained from the Human Genome Project and combine it with new discoveries enabling us to understand the significance of individual genes (function) in the occurance, progress and treatment of individual illnesses. #img_248#.<> One of the main aims of the ‘Information Based Medicine Project is the development of new diagnostic and treatment approaches which respect the individuality of each patient and find a specific solution for him. The basis of the Information Based Medicine project is long-term clinical monitoring of more than four million patients linked to an in-depth study of their genes. This combination enables very detailed investigation into the role of individual genes in the occurrence, and development of illnesses and an understanding of the individual differences in how patients react to treatment. This allows us not only to discover new illnesses and/or their causes, but in particular to establish the optimal method of treatment for any specific given patient. This will be one of the greatest qualitative advances to be achieved in the history of medical science. In order to achieve such a result will require processing the most extensive file of data in the history of Mankind and the most complicated calculation to date. For this purpose IBM has developed the most powerful computer system yet. Named Blue Gene, this supercomputer (more powerful than that used by NASA for controlling space flights) is installed in Rochester, (headquarters of the Mayo Clinic). Thanks to collaboration between the Mayo Clinic and IBM on the Brno ICRC project there is a high likelihood that Czech specialists will be able to join this unique medical science project during 2007.More precise information concerning opportunities for our experts and patients, thanks to the Czech Republic’s participation in the Information Based Medicine project, will be presented at the Gate2Biotech conference, to be held on 25th October 2006 in Brno as part of the official programme at the opening of the ICRC building. As previously stated, modern biotechnology today is able not only to describe, but also to change, the genetic arrangement of cells and organisms, thanks to genetic engineering which is just one branch of biotechnology. It is most symbolic that as the ICRC project enables research into human genomes in Brno it will be returning the baton back to where it started-to the town which was home to the father of modern genetics, Gregor Mendel. **Related article** "**Unique International Centre for Clinical Research set up in Brno**":[./topic-of-the-month/unique-international-centre-for-clinical.html]

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