Funding the hunt for proteins

Yale scientists have received a $15 million, five-year grant that will fund a search for key regulatory proteins in the human genome. The grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute will create the Center of Excellence in Genomic Science, to be headed by Michael Snyder, Ph.D., professor and chair of molecular, cellular and developmental biology. “Much of the human genome is comprised of DNA whose function is not known,” Snyder said. “Our team’s methods will elucidate the functions of many of these regions for the first time, and as a result of these studies, we will emerge with a much more detailed understanding of the human genome and its regulation.” Other investigators at the center are Mark B. Gerstein, Ph.D.; Richard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D.; Perry L. Miller, M.D., Ph.D.; and Sherman M. Weissman, M.D.