Human Genome Organisation’s 14th Human Genome Meeting (HGM)
PRESS RELEASE
500 international scientific delegates expected to participate in Human Genome Organisation’s 14th Human Genome Meeting (HGM), 18TH to 21st May 2010, in Montpellier, France
500 international scientists from all over the world will converge at the HGM2010 – the Human Genome Organisation’s (HUGO) 14th Annual Meeting, to be held in Montpellier, France, from 18th to 21st May 2010.
HGM2010 will bring together senior and junior scientists from 50 countries to interact with the world-renowed experts in genomics and genetics. The topic this year is "Next Generation Genomics and Medicine", with a focus on the integration of biology, computational sciences, and genomic technologies towards resolving complex biological and medical questions. It will showcase a wide-ranging programme covering, amongst other topics, the interface between next generation technologies and human biology and pathophysiology, the application of new genetic knowledge to further the understanding of diseases and enhance health care, and the ethical dilemmas and issues that advances in science present.
HUGO’s current president, Prof Edison T Liu, Executive Director of the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), said, “The Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) has experienced a wonderful resurgence as a scientific organization directed towards two major goals: to foster the integration of genomic sciences in biology and medicine, and to enhance the genomic capabilities of emerging scientific nations. Our HGM 2008 conference in India focused on the second goal, and we return to Europe (Montpellier), to focus on the first goal.”
“We are delighted to join force with HUGO to organize the HGM2010, it is also a great platform for us to meet with colleagues from around the world and at the same time to showcase what we have in France,” added Prof Mireille Claustres, Chair of HGM2010. “We are living through an unprecedented era of progress in bioinformatics and biotechnology, and the ‘genomics revolution’ is transforming health research. The new tools it provides will generate an entirely different type of health care, one that is predictive, preventive, participative and personalised (‘P4 medicine’). We will see new ways of diagnosing diseases and new ways of thinking about disease prevention and health promotion. In terms of genomics-based medicine, knowing who we are will allow better targeting of cures.” Prof Claustres is the head of the Molecular Genetics Department, University Hospital of Montpellier, and the director of Inserm (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, or in English, National Institute of Health and Medical Research) unit 827.
Integral to HGM2010 is a commercial exhibition with over twenty exhibitors spanning the East and the West. As industry looks to develop targeted therapies based on a more complete understanding of various diseases – biobank formation and management are on the agenda of every major pharmaceutical and biotech company. These complex and massive datasets require new systems approaches to data analysis and data security.
HUGO is also hosting a companion symposium on Genomics and Bioeconomy (BIO2010) with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health (an academic centre at the University Health Network and University of Toronto) and the Mexican Health Foundation (FUNSALUD) to discuss the impact of genomics on the bioeconomy, with an outcome to producing a paper to inform policy makers on the unique opportunities in genomics for national development pertinent to economic advancement and health management.
Montpellier was chosen not only because of its establishment as a centre of excellence in genetics and genomics where it has a rich scientific environment, but also a modern ‘technopolis’ with over 200 laboratories and 70,000 students. Moreover, the dedication and support of the scientific community at Inserm contributed to Montpellier being considered a choice location.
About the Human Genome Organisation
The Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) is an international organisation formally established in 1988 to foster collaboration between genome scientists around the world. It is entering its 21st year of history by making an inflection in its direction. Now that the human genome has been sequenced, we are seeking the biological meaning of its information content. To this end, it is focusing on the medical implications of this genomic knowledge. Moving forward, HUGO is also working to enhance the genomic capabilities of the world’s emerging countries. The excitement and interest in genomic sciences in Asia, the Middle East, South America, and Africa are palpable and the hope is that these technologies will aid in national development and improved health.
Media Contacts:
Ms. Diana Hon, Human Genome Organisation, (Tel) 65-6808-8192 (Fax) 65-6808-8297, (Email) honyf@gis.a-star.edu.sg
Conference Websites:
HGM2010 – www.hgm2010.org
BIO2010 – www.bioeconomy2010.org
HUGO Young Scientist Travel Award for 14th Human Genome Meeting
Wishing you could attend the HGM 2010 meeting in Montpellier, France this May but short on funds? If you’re a young scientist under the age of 40 who is involved in human genome research, you could be eligible for a HUGO Young Scientist Travel Award which covers registration fees, airfare, and accommodation. Partial awards for registration fees are also available.
Applications should consist of:
- Curriculum vitae of the applicant: this should occupy no more than one single sheet and should include a list of recent publications.
- A recommendation by their superior or lecturer / mentor indicating knowledge and support of the application.
- An abstract submission on any topic listed in the HGM 2010 programme
Applications are due 25 February 2010 but if you mention the HUGO Matters blog or HUGO on Facebook or Twitter, we’ll extend the deadline to 5 March 2010.
Good luck!
14th Human Genome Meeting 2010
Have you registered for the 14th Human Genome Meeting (HGM) in May? The meeting’s main focus will be on next generation sequencing and genotyping and related computational challenges. It’s of the moment, in the moment information that you won’t want to miss and the chance to network with leaders in the field.
Some of our confirmed speakers include:
- Augustine Kong of deCODE
- Christina D. Smoke of Stanford University
- David B Goldstein of Duke University
- David Cox of Pfizer Inc.
- Edward Rubin of the Joint Genome Institute
More info to come as we get closer to the big event!
Also don’t forget about the HUGO-OECD Symposium on Genomics & Bioeconomy, a satellite meeting of HGM 2010 focusing on the impact of genomics on the world economy.
Speakers include:
- Abdullah Daar of the University of Toronto
- Gerardo Jimenez-Sanchez of OECD
- Li Jin of Fudan University
- Stephen Scherer of The Centre for Applied Genomics
- Yoshihide Hayashizaki of RIKEN Genomic Sciences Center
Let us know in the comments if you’ll be joining us!
Call for Abstracts – Human Genome Meeting 2010
The deadline is soon approaching for abstract submissions to the Human Genome Organisation Human Genome Meeting 2010 in Montepellier, France. The meeting will be held from 18 to 21 May 2010 and abstracts should be submitted by 31 January 2010.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Each registrant may submit one abstract of his or her work for presentation during the meeting. It is expected that the abstract will include original data not previously published in a peer-review journal or the proceedings of a national meeting. Only those abstracts that have been reviewed and selected by the Scientific Program Committee may be presented. Abstract submissions will only be accepted electronically through the abstract submission service; paper abstracts will not be accepted. ALL abstracts must be in ENGLISH. The abstract submission deadline is 31 January 2010.
Please take note that all abstracts will be reviewed by our international panel of reviewers. They will decide on the final acceptance for either oral or poster presentation for each abstract. We accept up to 8 oral presentations for each workshop.
Click here to submit an abstract online.
The Impact of Next Generation Sequencing on Society, Policy and Law
by Dr. Benjamin Capps, Centre for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore.
Listening to the discussions at the 2009 HUGO Symposium on Genomics and Ethics, Law and Society, held in the City of Geneva, I was drawn to the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, born in Geneva in 1712. In particular, one paragraph of the Discourse on Inequality (1754) came to mind:
The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said "This is mine," and found people naive enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not any one have saved mankind, by pulling up the stakes, or filling up the ditch, and crying to his fellows: ‘Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody.‘
Rousseau could not possibly have known that his ideas would have resonance in the debates on genetic ownership, privacy, and exploitation. As biotech companies trawl isolated regions of the world for their biodiversity, sheltered, until now, by situation and circumstance from the melting pot of migration, international organisations have tried to cultivate a sense of awe in a collective global cultural heritage, while simultaneously asserting on behalf of these communities their rights to be compensated. But now, every individual has an opportunity to demark their uniqueness – to own their genetic sequence – as part of what Linda Avey calls ‘democratising DNA’.
Personalised medicine promises to be a defining advance in allowing drugs to be prescribed effectively and safely. But there were also some words of caution at the Symposium. It should not be forgotten that uncovering our uniqueness brings with it certain risks; most notably ‘bioinformational creep’, a process whereby uncensored access to an individual’s genetic sequence is routinely justified in ‘the public interests’. Moreover, genetic polymorphisms do not always result in expected phenotypes, as was demonstrated by the discovery that James Watson’s genome revealed that he had two normally debilitating, but clearly unexpressed, monogenetic disorders.
Some participants at the HUGO Symposium raised these issues as important concerns for sequencing standards and premature use of sequence data to make future health projections – particularly when made available to the public through commercial enterprises. One may also question where the responsibility for the access and use of this information lies – do these companies have any enduring role to their clients’ wellbeing, particularly subsequent to the delivery of the test results; and who are they bound to divulge, or withhold, this information from? Is it merely paternalistic to raise these concerns, or is it a clear warning that vital individual interests are at risk? Answering these issues will be a task taken forward by the HUGO Ethics Committee over the coming year.
Linda Avey at the HUGO Symposium on Genomics and Ethics, Law and Society
Many thanks to Linda Avey, co-founder and former co-president of 23andMe, for speaking at HUGO GELS 2009. The founder and president of Brainstorm Research Foundation also Twittered live from the event and contributed some valuable highlights. Last week, Linda started a new blog—The Life and Times of Lilly Mendel—in which her inaugural post talked about her experience at HUGO GELS 2009.
…back to Geneva. The usual arrows were flying at the HUGO conference…a few, very vocal scientists seem to be quite threatened by this notion of democratizing DNA. They characterize it as "trivializing", which simply doesn’t make sense. I just don’t agree that providing people with their genetic data, which would be virtually impossible for them to derive on their own, demeans or trivializes it. Rather, I think the research community has taken the notion of "human subject protection" way too far, to the point of unchecked paternalism (for more on this, check out Anne’s post here, http://j.mp/RHIrX). And I do think the lay public is capable of understanding that what is currently known about their DNA is mostly a work-in-progress.
She also mentions HUGO again in a discussion of the need for a database that makes it possible to cross-reference genetic associations and disease risk.
…the job of curating, evaluating and scoring genetic associations would be taken on by representatives of the scientific community.
Who would take on this fairly gargantuan role? During my visit to the HUGO GELS meeting last week, I threw out the suggestion that HUGO could be one possibility. They’re an international body–which, in my humble opinion, is important–and they seem to be looking for a new raison d’etre. The problem, as always, comes down primarily to funding. Where would the monies come from to host such a service? And who would take the leadership role within the organization?
Thanks again, Linda, for giving us so much to think about! As always, Linda has incredible ideas and her blog is definitely one to follow.
Report from HUGO at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics
This is a guest post from Conover Talbot, Jr. of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The warm beaches of Waikiki provided a pleasant contrast to last year’s chilly streets of Philadelphia, but on the Hawaii Convention Center floor, the American Society for Human Genetics (ASHG) 59th annual meeting was all business.
HUGO joined forces with the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee and met with over 200 interested registrants who were keen to know more about HUGO and its new initiatives, its mission, and pending initiatives. Many sought information on the coming HUGO HGM2010 annual meeting in Montpellier but topics covered a wide range from the Organisation’s mission to specific scientific issues. We were also able to answer numerous specific questions about the naming of human genes and gene variants.
Some, who remembered HUGO largely from its role in the Human Genome Project and concern for ethics, had heard of HUGO’s new projects and sought information on the focus of the new official society journal, The HUGO Journal , and were keen to submit articles online.
ASHG’s lively booth traffic reflected HUGO’s increased visibility and pointed towards an exciting Human Genome meeting next May in France, where we look forward to welcoming many old and new colleagues.
Twitter Highlights from Day 2 of HUGO GELS 2009 Symposium
Day 2 of the 2009 HUGO Symposium on Genomics and Ethics, Law and Society was just as interesting as the first. Here are some highlights from our Twitter stream @humangenomeorg.
@liuedison: #GELS09. Stylianos Antonarakis says Francis Galton showed mid parental height accounts for 40% of predicting height.
@liuedison: #GELS09. GWAS showed 54 genomic variants account 4 only 5% of ht. Shows limits of molecular genetics in phenotype prediction
@liuedison: #GELS09.Function of information is important in considering privacy.Functional creep describes secondary uses of information.
@liuedison: #GELS09.There is also significance creep. what is marginally important gets expanded in perception
@liuedison: #GELS09.Public has mixed feelings re genetic research.86% trust info from doc but 75% distrust insurer, 83% distrust employer
@liuedison: #GELS09.Marjolein Kriek speaks.jokes that she wanted to be sequenced after Watson since her name is Kriek
@liuedison: #GELS09.what did Kriek family say? all family was fine with it. – Twitterati: What do you think your family would say?
@liuedison: #GELS09.HUGO Journal announcing laumch of Research Vignettes. http://bit.ly/jxd0y
@liuedison: #GELS09.Research Vignettes requirements access to raw data so that the analysis can be replicated
@liuedison: Research Vignettes are short reports 500-1000 words. single observation
@liuedison: Research Vignettes:for GWAS no validation set required.
@liuedison: HUGO Journal Research Vignettes:rely on post-publication for “review”
@liuedison: HUGO Journal Research Vignettes:encourage others to validate data
HUGO President Reports from the HUGO Symposium on Genomics and Ethics, Law and Society 2009
This post was contributed by HUGO President Prof. Edison T. Liu.
The opening talks at the HUGO conference on Genomics and Ethics, Law, and Society in Geneva, Switzerland led to lively discussions from the floor of the stately International Conference Center.
In the morning session, the focus was on the technologies. Dr. Ala Awan from the WHO reminded the audience of the new focus on health outcomes in governments worldwide including those who previously considered to be third world. This is in recognition of the increase in the burden of chronic illnesses as nations advance economically.
Both Edison Liu (Singapore) and Mark McCarthy (Oxford) described the new sequencing strategies and the seven orders of magnitude increase in throughput and decrease in cost of sequencing in the last 15-20 years. But the excitement was the outcome of sequencing many genomes or partial genomes of hundreds to thousands of individuals. Over three million SNPs are found in individuals, many that are new resulting in up to 20,000 amino acid substitutions. When complete genome sequences were compared, only ~700,000 are shared amongst 5 individual genomes, whilst the remaining are either unique to the individual or shared with only one or two other. 300,000 heterozygous and >500,000 homozygous indels (as compared to the reference genome). There is plenty of genomic variation in human beings.
Twitter Highlights from Day 1 of HUGO GELS 2009 Symposium
Day 1 of the 2009 HUGO Symposium on Genomics and Ethics, Law and Society has concluded. Aside from the excellent presentations and engaging discussions that followed, we also had an active Twitter feed @humangenomeorg with live tweets from HUGO President Prof. Edison Liu and 23andMe co-founder, healthcare activist Linda Avey. Here are some Twitter highlights from day 1. For more, follow the hashtag #GELS09.
@mrgunn: @kshameer Me too. GELS is fascinating – can genetic data be anonymized & if not how do we share data?
@lindaavey Technological answers to access/privacy issues. Barth Knoppers trusts the public. Amen!
@liuedison: #GELS09. Knoppers – need to regulate malicious data use rather than to regulate databases
@lindaavey: Barth Knoppers Answers to data access/privacy issues best not to come from the political realm
@liuedison: #GELS09.Genetic protection laws except in the absence of universal health care are not a good way to go.
@lindaavey: Privacy barriers coming down as extension of personal autonomy, zone of freedom individually determined #GELS09 Bartha Knoppers
@liuedison: #GELS09.Linda Avey concerned about data standards in DTC reports.Suggests org like HUGO may want to help dev standards
@liuedison: #GELS09. DTC genetics is challenged as too simplistic.Response: companies work to be clear and public wants this information
@liuedison: #GELS09. Open consent is challenged – because it sounds like it is revealing all possibilities.
@liuedison: #GELS09.Lunshof – Is there more privacy through sharing?
@liuedison #GELS09. Privacy is based on context-relative norms.is the information in a medical context or friendship context?
@liuedison: #GELS09. Privacy affected by revelations of 3rd persons. writing in blogs about friends. Genetic info is also about relatives
@liuedison: #GELS09. Challenges to privacy #3: New exhibitionism – physical (tattoos), blogs, twitter,reality TV
@liuedison: #GELS09. Challenges to privacy #2: Side effects of new technologies – mobile phones, GPS, forensic & genetic databases…
@liuedison: #GELS09 Ruth Chadwick tells that there are three challenges to privacy: 1) intentional from corporations and governments….
@liuedison: #GELS09. Dev countries have special challenges that need their own tech solutions-Avoid blind adoption of 1st world protocols
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