Media Advisory

Friday, June 18, 2010

NIH and Wellcome Trust Announce Partnership To Support Genomic, Population-Based Studies in Africa

What: The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Wellcome Trust, a global charity based in London, will announce a partnership with African researchers to conduct genetic and environmental studies in Africa of common, non-communicable disorders — such as heart disease and cancer — as well as communicable diseases, such as malaria.

When: 11 a.m., British Summer Time; 6 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time, Tuesday, June 22

Where: Wellcome Trust, 215 Euston Rd, London NW1 2BE. Directions at http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Contact-us/Travel-information/index.htm.

* Reporters may listen to the press conference by dialing in to the following teleconference number:

International Toll Number: +44 (0) 20 3003 2666

Passcode: "Human heredity and health"

The press conference will also be webcast live at www.genome.gov/H3A.

Speakers:

Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health
Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust
Dr. Eric Green, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Dr. Pat Goodwin, Head of the Department for Pathogens, Immunology and Populations Studies at the Wellcome Trust
Dr. Charles Rotimi, Director of the NIH Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health, and a Senior Investigator at NHGRI
Dr. Bongani Mayosi, Professor of Medicine and Head of the Department of Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town in South Africa
Dr. Sékou Traoré, Member of the Department Fundamental Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine Pharmacy and Dentistry, University of Mali, and Director of the Malaria Research and Training Center Entomology/Mali International Center for Excellence in Research.

The Wellcome Trust is a global charity dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust's breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests, http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/.

NHGRI is one of the 27 institutes and centers at the NIH. The NHGRI Division of Intramural Research, of which the Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health is a part, develops and implements technology to understand, diagnose and treat genomic and genetic diseases. Additional information about NHGRI can be found at its website, www.genome.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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